by The cost of living in London is not an excuse for being free to be the culture that the capital has to offer. Many of the city’s art exhibitions and events will not break the bank, and even better, much of them are free. Do not seek more than this guide to obtain the evidence that you can experience London’s living culture scene without spending a cent.
After all, the best things in life are free (even though they quote Coco Chanel, the second best things are usually very, very expensive).
Black Sound London
The Barbican Music Library organizes Black Sound London, an exhibition, the British Black Music and its Global influence, jazz, rock, jungle, the jungle, the jungle and the drill of lovers.
The exhibition brings together vintage mixtapes, renowned magazine covers and fly walls and unpacked how movements such as grime and lovers of the rocks the sound of the UK and have now developed into powerful statements in identity and resistance.
Barbican Library, March 10 to July 19, 2025 Barbican.org.uk
Arpita Singh: Memory
In her first solo exhibition outside of India, Kolkata – born in Arpita Singh, tells the stories about women, political turbulence and social injustices in 60 years of art in the serpentine galleries.
From black and white watercolors in their youth about the lively and colorful Bengal Bengal folk oil paintings, which dominated their career, Singh’s work is a chronology of emotions, culture and female experience.
Her oil paintings examine her interpretation of figuration and surrealism and rely on Indian court paintings to present motherhood, sensuality, innocence and femininity as she sees it. Singh’s London debut in London is both domestic and public, violent and vulnerable, modern and traditional London London debut in London.
Serpentine North Gallery, March 20 – July 27, 2025 Serpentinegalleries.org
Transcestry: 10 years of the Transologiemuseum
One must in a mighty, solemn and exciting testimonial for trans-, non-binary and intersex life. A selection of more than 1,000 artifacts examines topics such as identity, pride and adversity, which were brought together by more than 15 museums, galleries and archives.
From the shaving foam that was given to celebrate testosterone to photos and souvenirs from the first queer relationships, the exhibition that has never been told or have never been listened to.
Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, March 11th – May 11th, 2025 arts.ac.uk
Materials and objects
Eleven rooms of the Tate devote themselves to this visual research of the different materials that artists have used over the decades. Expect works such as Doris Salcedo’s famous metal structures, Marcel Duchamps toilet seat and the installations of Sarah Sze.
Tate modern, continuous; tate.org.uk
Sculpture in the city
If it is the rare English sunshine you are looking for, sculpture in the city is an open-air gallery with 17 works of art in the City of London district. Start a treasure hunt in the city to see installations by Maya Rose Edwards, Richard Mackness and Arturo Herrera.
Different places, July 2024- spring 2025, sculptureinthecity.org.uk
Keith Piper & Rex Whistler: Viva Voce
This commission combines two works of art that are almost a century away and were designed for the same room by Tate Britain. One is a mural from the 1920s, which was painted directly on the walls of the gallery, while the other is a film stallation that was created in response to the wall painting. Together, these works have important questions about our interaction with historical art.
The goal is to have a conversation about dealing with historical works. “I know that there is an argument for young people in which these pictures re -stagger, but I think we look or forget,” said Piper. “To keep a clear feeling of history, we have to see these things. We have to fight the meaning in black and the meaning of difficult pictures.”
Great Britain, continuous; tate.org.uk
Christina Kimeze: Between wood and wheel
Kimez’s exhibition includes new paintings and work on paper, with the resurrection of roller skates in black communities connected to the flight and freedom of women.
Their structured paintings carefully fill the space of passing between two emotions and in their own words, rely on the feelings of “differentness” that exist in this space.
New in the exhibition is a wall carpet that was produced in collaboration with Dovecot Studios and is based on Kimeze’s Painting Blue Door (2024).
South London Gallery, January 31 – May 11, 2025 Southlondongallery.org
Eileen Perrier: a thousand small stories
The photographer Eileen Perrier born in London has created a time capsule of human experience and captured people in their local communities from Peckham to Paris. Your collection of portraits is working to reject the lens and provides a comment on beauty standards and marketing. While portraits can feel very individually, Perrier’s exhibition tells the history of a community.
The autograph, April 17-13. September 2025, Autogram.org.uk
Amoako Boafo: I by chance I can’t come to you
Amoako Boafo sent three of his portraits on board Jeff Bezos’ rocket ship in 2021, but luckily they don’t have to wear a cobalt blue, neoprene room suit to take a look at his work.
Boafo disturbs all western misunderstandings of Africa and the diaspora, mixes oil paintings and paper transfer art to reinterpret portraits. He focuses exclusively on black topics in his work and creates a voice for black artists.
Gagosian, 20 Grosvenor Hill, April 10 to May 24, 2025 gagosian.com
Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader: 1880 that
1880 that Everything revolves around sign language. A playful exhibition meets a mighty and very real thing that is excluded from deaf. The exhibition includes video, pop art and sculptures that replicate and represent the feeling of loss of a language.
Wellzeome Collection, April 17 – November 16, 2025, Wellcyrecollection.org
