The best free exhibitions in London – get your culture fix and keep your money for coffee

Want to have a fun day out but also save those pennies? These free London art exhibitions are perfect

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Sheida Soleimani, Delara, 2015
© Sheida Soleimani. Courtesy of Edel Assanti
Elizabeth Gregory16 hours ago

Spring has finally, gloriously, sprung, and as usual, London is absolutely packed with things to do – whether that’s exhibitions, events, theatre or music.

But of course, it can all get a bit pricey. So if you want to have a great weekend seeing some of London’s best culture, but also want to save a few quid, look no further than this guide to the best art shows to see in the city, which are all absolutely free.

Chris Ofili: Requiem

In this moving commission, Turner Prize-winning British artist Chris Ofili has created a giant art work across Tate Britain’s Northern Staircase to pay tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The dream-like, brightly-coloured mural gives a special nod to fellow artist Khadija Saye who was killed in the 2017 tragedy.

Tate Britain, ongoing; tate.org.uk

Materials and Objects

Eleven rooms of the Tate are dedicated to this visual exploration of the varied materials that artists have used over the decades. Expect to see works such as Doris Salcedos famous metal structures, Marcel Duchamp’s toilet seat and Sarah Sze’s installations.

Tate Modern, ongoing; tate.org.uk

Farley Aguilar: The Age of Effluence

Farley Aguilar: The Age of Effluence, installation view, Edel Assanti, London, 2024
Photo: Tom Carter

Nicaraguan, Miami-based, artist Farley Aguilar’s unsettling, brightly-coloured paintings depict people – in groups, walking with friends – and ask questions about the social facades of and within communities.

Edel Assanti, to May 11; edelassanti.com

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: A Scot in St Ives

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
© The Trustees of the British Museum

Trailblazing British artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004), a key member of the St Ives group of artists whose cohort included Barbara Hepworth and Patrick Heron, is best remembered for her illuminating abstract paintings. Here 12 of her lesser-known, brilliant works on paper are displayed.

The British Museum, to May 12; britishmuseum.org

Richard Serra: Six Large Drawings

Richard Serra, Periodic Table, 1991, Paintstick on two sheets of paper
Richard Serra/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ (DACS), London, Courtesy the artist and David Zwirner

It’s been less than a fortnight since the death of Richard Serra, who was recently described as “the greatest sculptor of his generation and one of the greatest in the history of American art”. Known for creating monumental steel architectural installations that would loom over visitors below, Serra’s works were unforgiving and severe - and beautiful. Here are six of his large drawings.

David Zwirner, to May 18; davidzwirner.com

Shizuko Yoshikawa: Possible Progressions

Shizuko Yoshikawa, one of the leading female figures of the 20th century Constructivist and Concrete art movement, has spent her career creating sculptures, paintings and drawings. Here, see four-decades of the Japan-born, Switzerland-based artist’s thought-provoking works.

Marlborough Gallery London, to May 18; marlboroughgallerylondon.com

Secundino Hernández: Problematic Corners

Secundino Hernández, Spithere Crab, 2024
© Secundino Hernández Studio. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro

In his fifth solo exhibition with this east London gallery, Spanish artist Secundino Hernández presents colourful works on giant ovals (the mystical shapes reoccur throughout religious iconography, and are “deeply ingrained in the Spanish imagination”). They continue his exploration of art history and aesthetic movements.

Victoria Miro, to May 18; victoria-miro.com

Shaqúelle Whyte: Yute, you’re gonna be fine

Shaqúelle Whyte, It's inferred, 2024
Photo: Eva Herzog

Shaqúelle Whyte’s enigmatic paintings, which often depict figures caught off-guard, ask questions about the human condition, and explore how everyday moments come to form a life.

Pippy Houldsworth, to May 25; houldsworth.co.uk

LR Vandy: Twist

LR Vandy, Dancing in Time Twist, 2023
Courtesy of the artist and October Gallery

Twist is a continuation of Dancing in Time: The Ties That Bind Us, London-based artist LR Vandy’s five-meter-high rope sculpture commissioned for the International Slavery Museum’s 2023 Martin Luther King celebrations. LR Vandy is known for creating thought-provoking sculptures from unusual objects; here she has used ropes and boat hulls to examine the history of trade and power.

October Gallery, to May 25; octobergallery.co.uk

Earthly Bodies

Anwyn Howarth, Earthly Bodies
Courtesy of the artist and Sarah Myerscough Gallery

Featuring the work of Ken Eastman, Luke Fuller, Yoshimi Futamura, Tomonari Hashimoto and Jonathan Keep, this group exhibition is a love letter to ceramics in a series of exquisite pots and sculptures.

Sarah Myerscough Gallery, to June 1; sarahmyerscough.com

Mark Corfield-Moore: We Speak Chicken

Mark Corfield-Moore, Cathedral, 2021
© the artist, courtesy of Cob Gallery

In this thought-provoking and humorous exhibition, multidisciplinary artist Mark Corfield-Moore (b. 1988, Bangkok) looks into the history of textile craftsmanship, adopting traditional techniques he learnt in northern Thailand and utilising the methods in his own playful textile works.

Goldsmiths CCA, to June 2; goldsmithscca.art

Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and The Art of Protest

Sheida Soleimani, Delara, 2015
© Sheida Soleimani. Courtesy of Edel Assanti

Anti-rape demonstrations in Bangladesh, Iranian unrest after Mahsa Amini’s death, reactions to the US Supreme Court overturning of Roe vs Wade – these are just a few of the global events depicted in Acts of Resistance. The group photography exhibition, which has been organised in collaboration with the V&A, explores documentation as a tool of protest.

South London Gallery, to June 9; southlondongallery.org

Fanciful Figures

Soane office and Antonio Van Assen, Lothbury Court, Bank of England, c.1797-1801
© Sir John Soane’s Museum, London

Drawing largely on pieces in the Lincoln's Inn museum’s fantastic collection, Fanciful Figures shines a light on the small human and animal figures that would populate large-scale Georgian architectural drawings, used by artists to add intrigue and create a sense of size.

Sir John Soane’s Museum, to June 9; soane.org

N.Dash

N Dash
Lévy Gorvy Dayan, photo by Nick Moss

Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s inaugural London show is a solo exhibition of new paintings by American visual artist N.Dash. The process-focused works are inspired by the natural world and continue her exploration of bodily intelligence, this time honing in on touch.

Lévy Gorvy Dayan, to June 12; levygorvydayan.com

Judith Bernstein: Truth And Chaos

Courtesy the artist , Emalin, London and Karma International, Zurich. Photo by Stephen James

An outspoken feminist and anti-war activist, New Jersey-born Judith Bernstein has spent her career making provocative large-scale drawings of genitalia. Her first exhibition in London in over a decade is a retrospective of 30 years of her startling, confrontational works.

Emalin, to June 15; emalin.co.uk

Beyond Surrealism

Jean Arp Untitled, 1927
Courtesy Waddington Custot

This illuminating group exhibition presents Surrealist works from pioneers of the movement, such as Giorgio De Chirico, Max Ernst and Joan Miró, alongside lesser-known contemporary artists who continue Surrealist ideas or strategies in their work. Asking questions about reality, the unconscious and perception, the exhibition marks 100 years since the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto.

Waddington Custot, to June 15; waddingtoncustot.com

Uri Aran: zero point everything

Uri Aran, Interiors 2024
Credit: © Uri Aran. Courtesy the Artist and Sadie Coles HQ, London. Photo: Dan Bradica

Jerusalem-born, New York-based multimedia artist Uri Aran imagines his works - drawings, paintings, sculptures, collages, photographs - as a visual language or a poem, with a rhythm and repeated motifs within. By exploring how these pieces relate to each other, he raises questions about excess, information, history and lexicons.

Sadie Coles HQ, to June 15; sadiecoles.com

Georg Baselitz: A Confession of My Sins

Georg Baselitz, Oh, ach, dazwischen, 2023
Photo © White Cube (Theo Christelis)

86-year-old German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz returns to White Cube Bermondsey for the first time in eight years, presenting a body of new work in which he reflects on a variety of moments from his extraordinary life, and reflects on his art practice to date.

White Cube Bermondsey, to June 16; whitecube.com

Tesfaye Urgessa

Tesfaye Urgessa, As if she's always been, 2022
Courtesy of the artist and Saatchi Yates

An excellent option for those who won’t be able to make it to see Tesfaye Urgessa’s presentation at Ethiopia’s first National Pavilion at Venice this year. The show spotlights 14 paintings the celebrated Ethiopian painter has created over the last two years in Addis Ababa, Nürtingen and Padua. Depicting contorted human figures, the works deal with the artist’s personal experience of prejudice.

Saatchi Yates, to June 16; saatchiyates.com

Art Now: Zeinab Saleh

Zeinab Saleh, Early morning, 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Tate Britain

Art Now is Tate Britain’s long-running exhibition series spotlighting rising stars in the art scene; this time, it’s Kenyan-born and London-based artist Zeinab Saleh’s turn to shine. Drawing on everyday experiences and memories, Saleh uses patterns and silhouettes in soft colours to create a feeling of otherworldliness and intimacy.

Tate Britain, to June 23; tate.org.uk

Matthew Krishanu: The Bough Breaks

Boy Swimming, 2023, Matthew Krishanu
Courtesy of the artist and Jhaveri Contemporary, Photo: Rob Harris

Bradford-born Matthew Krishanu draws on his childhood in Bangladesh raised by Christian missionary parents to create this new series of paintings and works on paper. Atmospheric and sometimes haunting, the pieces explore memory, religion and history.

Camden Art Centre, to June 23; camdenartcentre.org

Andrew Omoding: Animals To Remember Uganda

Andrew Omoding, Teddy, 2016
Image courtesy of the Artist and ActionSpace

Ugandan-born, London-based artist Andrew Omoding presents a brand new site specific series of abstract installations that incorporate music, video and sculpture, which have been made from repurposed objects and metal. The autobiographical pieces, a continuation of his 2019 presentation at the gallery, reflect on childhood and migration.

Camden Arts Centre, April 26 to June 23; camdenartcentre.org

Leo Robinson: DREAM-BRIDGE-OMNIGLYPH

Leo Robinson: DREAM–BRIDGE–OMNIGLYPH, installation view, 2023
Photo: Marcus Leith

Bloomberg’s City of London basement is full of surprises. It not only consists of an art gallery, but it is home to parts of an ancient Roman temple and showcases a number of Roman artefacts too. Its next art commission is DREAM-BRIDGE-OMNIGLYPH, a collection of multimedia works from British artist Leo Robinson that explores ancient myths, personal identity, history, tradition and colonialism.

London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE, to June 29; londonmithraeum.com

Soufiane Ababri: Their mouths were full of bumblebees but it was me who was pollinated

Soufiane Ababri. Photo: Rebecca Fanuele

Moroccan artist Soufiane Ababri’s first major solo UK exhibition is a tender investigation of queerness, desire and diasporic life through drawings and set design: “This atmospheric installation won’t give up all its secrets to everyone, but it’s evocative nonetheless,” said the Standard

Barbican, to June 30; barbican.org.uk

The Conservatory x Ranjani Shettar

Installation view of Ranjani Shettar: Cloud songs on the horizon
Courtesy Barbican Centre, KNMA, Ranjani Shettar © Max Colson, Barbican Art Gallery

Not that anyone really needs an excuse to visit the Barbican’s gorgeous conservatory, but the space now features five large-scale works from Indian sculptor Ranjani Shettar. The delightful sculptures, which have been inspired by nature, have been crafted by hand using materials - including wood, stainless steel, muslin - and techniques that are used in traditional Indian craftwork.

Barbican, to July 1; barbican.org.uk

Adriano Costa: ax-d. us. t

Adriano Costa, FRANGO ASSADO (You Will Always Be My Baby I Won’t Tell Anyone), 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Emalin, London. Photo by Stephen James

Brazilian artist Adriano Costa uses everyday materials to create his sculpture, installation and painting works. His minimalist and modernist work is here presented in – and draws from – the historical Clerk’s House in Shoreditch High Street.

Emalin, to July 13; emalin.co.uk

The Last Caravaggio

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, 1610
Archivio Patrimonio Artistico Intesa Sanpaolo / Luciano Pedicini, Napoli

Violent, cinematic, eternally provocative, Caravaggio’s kinetic paintings continue to inspire. Which is why a one-room show of just two of the Italian master’s paintings – The National Gallery’s Salome with the Head of John the Baptist (1609-10) and The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula (1610), seen in London for the first time in 20 years – is one of the most buzzy openings of the year.

The National Gallery, to July 21; nationalgallery.org.uk

Isa Genzken: Wasserspeier and Angels

Installation view, Isa Genzken, Wasserspeier and Angels, 2004, Art Basel Unlimited, Switzerland, 2016
Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Stef an Altenburger Photography Zürich

Influential German contemporary artist Isa Genzken, best known for her sculptural works, draws on the aesthetics of Minimalism and punk culture to ask questions about society, capitalism, human experience and perception. Here her 2004 installation, Wasserspeier and Angels, is revived to celebrate two decades since its London debut.

Hauser & Wirth, to July 27; hauserwirth.com

Ibrahim Mahama: Purple Hibiscus

Ibrahim Mahama’s Purple Hibiscus during installation at the Barbican, 2024
Courtesy Ibrahim Mahama, Red Clay Tamale, Barbican Centre, London and White Cube. © Pete Cadman, Barbican Centre

Ibrahim Mahama has collaborated with hundreds of craftspeople from Ghana to create this delicate, uplifting installation, which sees the Barbican wrapped in 2,000 square metres of purple cloth. 100 ‘batakaris’ – royal Ghanian robes – have been hand sewn to the brightly-coloured piece that adds a shock of colour to the famous grey tones of the Brutalist space.

Barbican, to August 18; barbican.org.uk

Yinka Shonibare: Suspended States

Yinka Shonibare CBE, Decolonised Structures, 2022-23.
Yinka Shonibare, Serpentine South Gallery

Described as “beautiful, alluring and disquieting” and “classic Yinka”, Suspended States, Yinka Shonibare’s first London solo exhibition in more than two decades is a series of illuminating installations made since 2017. Expect statues of Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill wrapped head to toe in bright fabrics; models of buildings that have housed the vulnerable; and his harrowing war library.

Serpentine South Gallery, to September 1; serpentinegalleries.org

Beyond The Matrix: A Sculptural Exhibition by Jodie Carey

Beyond The Matrix: A Sculptural Exhibition by Jodie Carey
AWITA x Brookfield Properties, Beyond the Matrix

British artist Jodie Carey’s large-scale installations extend across the giant glass foyer of this east London office, inviting viewers to contemplate the anthropocene, material memory, and the relationship between objects and their environment.

100 Bishopsgate, to September 20; brookfieldproperties.com

Art Without Heroes: Mingei

From the collections of the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts

Mingei, meaning ‘the art of the people’, is an early 20th century Japanese folk-craft style which encompassed ceramics, woodwork, paper, toys, textiles, photography and film. In this wide-ranging, illuminating show, unseen pieces, museum loans and archival footage tell the story of the influential movement.

William Morris Gallery, to September 22; wmgallery.org.uk

Flaming June

Frederic, Lord Leighton PRA, Flaming June, c. 1895.
Museo de Arte de Ponce. Luis A. Ferré Foundation, Inc.

Frederic Leighton’s most famous painting, the exquisite Flaming June, was originally part of the British artist’s submission to the RA’s Summer Exhibition in 1895. Now, 128 years later, it’s on show at the institution again (on loan from the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico), being shown alongside work from both Leighton and his contemporaries.

Royal Academy of Arts, to January 12, 2025; royalacademy.org.uk

Colin Davidson: Silent Testimony

Walter, Colin Davidson: Silent Testimony
Courtesy of the artist and National Portrait Gallery

Quiet, thought-provoking and moving, the exhibition displays 18 large-scale portraits by the Belfast-born artist Colin Davidson. He’s painted individuals who have experienced loss due to The Troubles, Ireland’s 30-year sectarian conflict.

National portrait Gallery, February 23, 2025; npg.org.uk