Fill your August with all this art
This city is fit to bursting with great art, with major exhibitions running at all of London’s big museums and galleries and smaller shows featuring the work of emerging talents dotted all over town. Whether you prefer photography or want to be immersed into the art, you’ve got plenty of exhibitions to choose from – even free ones if you’re on a budget or out exploring on a whim.
You can stay up to date with all the latest exhibitions by signing up to our dedicated exhibitions newsletter but we’ve also rounded up the best exhibitions to see this month so you don’t miss out. August is normally a time when Londoners escape the capital for their summer hols but if you’re sticking around, there’s a real variety of art to enjoy – you can go on a sculpture trail in the City, see some of the country’s niche hobbies in Croydon, check out some Swinging Sixties fashion in Bermondsey and a whole lot more.
The Biba Story, 1964 – 1975
The first ever London exhibition on Biba is running at the Fashion & Textile Museum, exploring the history of the brand from 1964 to 1975. The Biba Story charts how founder Barbara Hulanicki took Biba from a mail-order catalogue to a multi-store brand that defined the Swinging Sixties, creating a cult lifestyle label whose legacy has lasted way beyond the ten years that it lasted. There are lots of archival pieces of clothing on display, including leopard print coats, trouser suits, shift dresses and evening dresses, as well as photographs, film and a selection of fashion illustrations by Barbara Hulanicki that are on display for the first time.
August 2024
83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF
fashiontextilemuseum.org
Maggie West at Outernet
LA-based artist Maggie West is showcasing her style of time-lapse photography and colouration effects at Outernet, presenting a series of works showing the detail of the natural world across The Now Building, Now Trending and Now Arcade. The first section, Terra, covers a night on Earth across different climates, from an arid desert to a tropical rainforest. Pools moves from giant landscapes to grains of sand, and the final section, Ultraviolet, illuminates the way plants absorb water by using ultraviolet light and fluorescent ink. The show is accompanied by a dreamlike score by LA-based composer Matt Nordstrom.
August 2024
Outernet London, Charing Cross Rd, London
outernet.com
Come As You Really Are
Artangel and Hetain Patel are presenting the largest showcase of the UK’s hobbies with the Come As You Really Are exhibition at the Grants Building in Croydon. Over 1500 responses to a public callout for information about people’s hobbies form the basis of the show, which explores how people express themselves through the activities they enjoy. Hobbies like Lego, Warhammer and knitting will be featured alongside pastimes like football shirt collecting, doll customisation and 19th century banjo making, with thousands of pieces from people across the country on display. Hetain Patel will also be exhibiting three Spider Man costumes and two modified cars he’s made, as well as a film that reflects the passion people put into their hobbies.
August 2024
14-32 High Street, Croydon CR0 1YA
artangel.org.uk
Homelessness: Reframed
Prince William’s Homewards programme has teamed up with the Eleven Eleven Foundation and the Saatchi Gallery to host the Homelessness: Reframed exhibition, which uses art to help better the public’s understanding of the experience of homelessness. Works from artists in the UK and beyond, including Dave Martin, Opake, Simone Brewster, Rankin, David Tovey, Marc Davenant, Robi Walters, Surfing Sofas and Sam D’Cruze, that have been inspired by their own or others’ experience of homelessness will be on show, alongside pieces created by young people at creative workshops held at the six Homewards locations.
Opens Weds 7th August 2024
Saatchi Gallery, King’s Rd, London, SW3 4RY
saatchigallery.com
Sculpture in the City
Each year, the City of London works with artists and partners to curate a new trail of artworks that forms the annual sculpture park, Sculpture in the City. This summer marks the 13th edition of the sculpture park and features the work of 17 world-class artists and spans the Square Mile. New pieces, like an interactive kissing gate from Maya Rose Edwards, a gilded paper bag from Richard Mackness and found objects covered in mosaics from Clare Burnett, will be joining works retained from previous editions of the trail including Jesse Pollock’s striking life-sized model of a traditional grain store, and Oliver Bragg’s bench plaque that reads “In loving memory of a loving memory”. The nature of the sculpture park means that it’s 100% free and open 24/7, so you can stroll up and view the art any time you like.
August 2024
Various City of London locations
sculptureinthecity.org.uk
The Formula 1 Exhibition
You’re locked in every Grand Prix weekend, you’ve binged Drive to Survive and now you need a new way to feed your F1 obsession – we’ve got just the thing, the Formula 1 Exhibition. Set across six rooms and created with contributions from drivers, teams and F1 experts, the exhibition will immerse you in the past, present and future of Formula 1. Cars and artefacts, like Lewis Hamilton’s kart and the burnt-out chassis of Romain Grosjean’s HAAS following his Bahrain crash in 2020, will be on show alongside designs, imagery, films and more. You’ll be able to explore the role of the British Grand Prix in the history of racing, go inside a Formula 1 factory, see the innovations that have been made in the sport, get insights into cutting-edge tech from Pirelli, learn the stories of iconic drivers and relive some of of the greatest moments in F1 history at the Pit Wall. You’ll even be able to feel what it’s like driving an F1 car around Silverstone thanks to state-of-the-art racing simulators.
Opens Fri 23rd August 2024
ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL
f1exhibition.com
In the Eye of the Storm | Modernism in Ukraine, 1900–1930s
The Royal Academy is showcasing modernist art made in Ukraine between 1900 and the 1930s with the In the Eye of the Storm exhibition. Though empires were falling and the world was at war, art and creativity flourished in Ukraine during this period with artists like Kazymyr Malevych, Sonia Delaunay, Alexandra Exter and El Lissitzky producing bold works. The show highlights the range of styles and cultural identities being reflected in Ukraine, with 65 pieces (making it the most comprehensive exhibition on modern art in Ukraine held in the UK) across painting, sketches, collage and theatre design on display.
August 2024
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
royalacademy.org.uk