Here are the shows to see this month
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. With a multi-sensory dive into the history of birds, a display featuring pieces from Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe and a look into the early life of Bob Marley just some of the highlights, prepare for a very busy June.
Zanele Muholi
After the pandemic forced this exhibition on visual activist Zanele Muholi – the first major one in the UK – to close early, Tate Modern is staging it once again. The non-binary photographer has been documenting the lives of the Black LGBTQ+ communities in South Africa for twenty years, capturing their love, empowerment and strength alongside the trauma they have often endured. The exhibition includes over 260 of Muholi’s photographs from across their career, including the self-portrait series Somnyama Ngonyama that explores themes of labour, sexual politics and racism. Works featured in the original 2020-2021 exhibition have been joined by new pieces produced by Muholi since then.
June 2024
Bankside, London SE1 9TG
tate.org.uk
Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre
With Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre, the Natural History Museum is presenting an in-depth look into the long history and, often quite odd, character of the feathery vertebrates. The multi-sensory exhibition will have you fully immersed in the bird world – whether through touching a prehistoric egg or braving a whiff of stinky seabird eggs – as it was hundreds of millions of years ago, as it is today and how it’s projected to be decades from now.
June 2024
Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
nhm.ac.uk
Templates for Liberation
The ICA is hosting Templates for Liberation, making it Rheim Alkadhi’s first exhibition in the UK. The show explores the consequences of war and colonialism in present-day Iraq and the surrounding region through sculptures made from tarpaulins of cross-border industrial vehicles, representing the environmental and sociopolitical violence the country experienced. The exhibition also includes a reading room filled with archival documents that reference colonial borders, resource extraction and ethnic categorisation, alongside counter-histories of rebel individuals and groups pushing back against colonial narratives.
Opens Tues 11th June 2024
The Mall, St. James’s, London WC2N 5DU
ica.art
Vivienne Westwood: The Personal Collection
This June, Christie’s auction house will be selling items from the wardrobe of none other than Vivienne Westwood in a two-part public auction. But first, they’ll be displaying the pieces in a free exhibition at their St James’s site. The show will kick off on Fri 14th June, running for 10 days, and will feature clothing, shoes and jewellery from Westwood’s eponymous fashion house, some of which date back to the early 80s. Highlights from the exhibition and auction include a corset gown made of taupe silk taffeta from Westwood’s A/W 1998/99 ‘Dressed to Scale’ collection, a two-piece ensemble made of navy blue serge from A/W 1983’s ‘Witches’ collection and a dress/ blouse/ modesty panel combination from the A/W 2005/06 ‘Propaganda’ collection.
Fri 14th – Mon 24th June 2024
8 King Street, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6QT
christies.com
Delight
Experience a slice of Seoul in London with Delight, an exhibition about the city’s heritage and culture. The show has been produced by Seoul-based artist Gyoungtae Hong and director Younsook Im, and curated by Daehyung Lee, as a way for Londoners to experience Seoul in a new way – or for the first time. The exhibition is designed to be fully immersive and is presented as a series of multimedia installations. Expect to see 12 large-scale pieces that represent Korean deities, distinctive landmarks (such as Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbok Palace), and contemporary cultural hubs. The works exhibited include major digital displays, including one comprising 631 glowing lights, but there are also excerpts from works of literature that tell stories of the city’s history, life, and identity.
Until Sun 16th June 2024
Borough Yards, Stoney St, London SE1 9AD
delightexhibit.com
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The RA Summer Exhibition is one of the highlights of the city’s artistic calendar – it’s been held every year since 1769 – and this year’s edition looks set to be another cracker. Sculptor Ann Christopher is co-ordinating this year’s show, which includes works in every possible medium from established artists, Royal Academicians and emerging talent.
Opens Tues 18th June 2024
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
royalacademy.org.uk
Through The Lens of Esther Anderson: Bob Marley: The Early Years
See Bob Marley like never before at the Through The Lens of Esther Anderson: Bob Marley: The Early Years exhibition at Muswell Hill Gallery. 20 rare and iconic photos of Marley, taken by filmmaker, activist, photographer and co-founder of Island Records Esther Anderson, in the early ’70s are on display at the show. Anderson worked closely with Marley at the time, so her work offers an intimate glimpse into his life before he became a superstar.
Until Weds 19th June 2024
21 High St, London N8 7QB
@muswellhillgallery
Back in the Dazed: Rankin 1991 – 2001
Roll back to the nineties at 180 Studios, which is looking back at a decade of Rankin’s work for Dazed magazine with the first UK retrospective of his work from 1991 – 2001. Across those ten years, Rankin, who co-founded and worked as Dazed & Confused’s first Photographic Editor, led over 200 editorial shoots and the Back in the Dazed exhibition revisits some of those images. Throughout that period Rankin captured celebs, actors, supermodels, music icons, and Cool Britannia, and through the magazine, helped define the youth aesthetic of the 90s.
Until Sun 23rd June 2024
180 Strand, Temple, London WC2R 1EA
180studios.com