February 2026
February 2026 at a glance: 12 exhibitions opened, 0 closed, and 18 more were on view across the city.

British Museum · Past
The reality of Japan's armour-clad warriors over 1,000 years, with around 280 items many shown for the first time.

Science Museum · Free · Past
Photography revealing the fragile beauty of the world's largest wetland and the threats to its wildlife.

National Portrait Gallery · Past
The first major UK exhibition of the celebrated portrait artist's works on paper, with rarely shown preparatory studies.

Barbican Centre · Free · Past
Never-before-shown sculptures by Lynda Benglis paired with historic works by Alberto Giacometti.

Victoria and Albert Museum
A behind-the-scenes look at Aardman's stop-motion animation, revisiting Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep and Morph. At Young V&A.

Courtauld Gallery · Past
The first exhibition dedicated to Georges Seurat's seascapes, and the first UK Seurat show in almost 30 years.

Hayward Gallery · Past
Large-scale intricate web-like installations woven floor-to-ceiling, alongside drawings, videos, and photographs.

Hayward Gallery · Past
The first major UK survey of the Chinese artist's immersive installations and sculptures.

Saatchi Gallery · Free · Past
Six recent Royal College of Art and Slade graduates explore gender, the body, and identity through figurative painting. Free entry.

Barbican Centre · Past
A retrospective charting the Colombian artist's prolific six-decade practice exploring the politics of everyday images.

Tate Modern · Past
A major survey of four decades of Tracey Emin's work across painting, video, textiles, neons, sculpture and installation, with works never shown before.

Royal Academy of Arts · Past
The largest ever UK survey of Rose Wylie's vibrant figurative paintings spanning art history, cinema, and celebrity culture.

Whitechapel Gallery · Free · Past
An immersive labyrinth of painted cardboard panels depicting a fantastical world of creatures, commissioned for the gallery. Free.

Whitechapel Gallery · Past
First major survey spanning four decades of Joy Gregory's photography, film, and textiles exploring identity, race, and beauty.

Whitechapel Gallery · Free · Past
An immersive textile installation of printed and embroidered panels celebrating women in folklore and myth, with participatory storytelling. Free.
Barbican Centre · Past
A major survey of the German sculptor's visceral, body-centred practice exploring power, care, and institutional systems.

Saatchi Gallery · Past
A landmark group show celebrating 40 years of the gallery, featuring new commissions and Richard Wilson's iconic oil-filled room, 20:50.

London Transport Museum · Past
Celebrates the contribution Caribbean people have made to London's transport and British culture since the 1950s, through personal stories, photography, posters and film.

British Museum · Free · Past
Explore this mystical Islamic movement through objects ranging from alms bowls to calligraphic works, miniature paintings and wall tiles.

National Maritime Museum · Past
Over 100 of the world's best space photographs - galaxies, auroras, the Moon and more - shown on glowing lightboxes, from the 17th annual competition.

Design Museum · Past
The first retrospective of filmmaker Wes Anderson, with over 700 storyboards, sketches, puppets, costumes and props spanning three decades of his films.

Courtauld Gallery · Past
Masterpieces from Birmingham's Barber Institute, including works by Hals, Rubens, Turner, Rossetti and Degas, on extended loan during its refurbishment.

Science Museum · Free · Past
Explore how science could transform the way we grow, cook and eat, from a 3,500-year-old loaf to lab-grown meat, across 100+ objects in this family-friendly exhibition.

RAF Museum · Free · Past
Fifty key works by 20th-century British and European artists, marking the museum's 50th anniversary and exploring flight, conflict and RAF operations through art.

Design Museum · Free
Free display of four UK research projects showing how design-led innovation tackles housing, healthcare and resources for a sustainable green transition.

Royal Academy of Arts · Free
Diploma Works and treasures from the RA Collection spanning over 300 years, shown free in the historic John Madejski Fine Rooms while the main Collections Gallery is expanded. Closed on select dates (21 Jul, 11 Aug, 4 Sep, 2 Oct, 6 Nov, 4 Dec 2026).

London Museum · Free
A rotating display in the Reflections Room featuring British Romani artists Corrina Eastwood, Delaine Le Bas and Dan Turner, celebrating the livelihoods, creativity and craft of Romani communities alongside a historical timeline from 500 CE to 2022.

Tate Modern · Free
A collection display bringing together works by artists including Abbas Akhavan, Abel Rodríguez and Zheng Bo, exploring the connection between environmental and social justice.

London Transport Museum
Over 100 original London Transport posters mark the centenary of art deco, with work by design greats like McKnight Kauffer and Jean Dupas, plus Charles Holden's Tube architecture.

Victoria and Albert Museum · Free
A free display drawn from the V&A's US photography collection, revealing the breadth of the country's photographic traditions from early prints to contemporary work.
A short note now and then when something new opens worth your time.