March 27, 2026Your Spring Art Guide: 9 Free Shows Worth Seeing
Spring in London means longer days, birdsong and blossom, and art worth getting lost in.
From photography and painting to sculpture and visual art, we’ve rounded up 9 free exhibitions happening as the city comes into bloom. Be sure to check with individual venues for opening hours over the Easter Bank Holiday.
Osman Yousefzada: A Home That Will Not Behave, Bolanle Contemporary
Osman Yousefzada was one of The Gallery’s commissioned artists for Season 3’s exhibition, No But Where Are You Really From? Now he presents this solo exhibition at the brand new Bolanle Contemporary. Bringing together a new body of work that marks the home as a charged and unstable site shaped by intimacy, memory and presence, Yousefzada constructs tactile layers of oil, collage, screen printing and embroidery across his work, letting the narrative unfold through the material. Continuing his practice of contending with themes of auto-ethnography through fiction and ritual, this exhibition is a must-see for those interested in exploring the intersection of personal history and artistic expression.
When: 10 to 25 April 2026
Where: 9 Cork Street, London W1S 3LL
Cost: Free
Senga Nengudi: Performance Works 1972-1982, Whitechapel Gallery
Our friends at Whitechapel Gallery have revealed their exciting new spring programme, including a rare archival exhibition of the pioneering artist and educator Senga Nengudi. A key figure in the avant-garde Black art scenes of 1960s and 1970s Los Angeles and New York, Nengudi’s influential works were marked by radical experimentation, collective practices and social commentary. Nengudi’s influential and groundbreaking works sit at the intersection of sculpture, choreography and performance and draw on a range of African, Asian and Native American art forms.
When: 1 April to 14 June 2026
Where: Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London E1 7QX
Cost: Free
Gordon Parks: We Shall Not Be Moved, Alison Jacques Gallery
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Gordon Parks Foundation, this photography exhibition reveals a deeper, compassionate look at the systemic issues of racism and segregation in America through a lens of shared humanity and a broader fight for dignity. A must-see for anyone interested in social justice and civil rights history, Parks’ powerful photography demonstrates the struggles and joys of American life over 25 years of his practice.
When: Until 11 April 2026
Where: Alison Jacques, 22 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG
Cost: Free
Christina Mackie: Material Reality, Goldsmiths CCA
Christina Mackie’s exhibition at GOLDSMITHS is attuned to the geological, digital, and scientific modes of imaging and processing. This, her first solo show in the UK in more than ten years, showcases the dynamic material investigations and associative logic of her work in sculpture, painting, and installation.
When: Until 19 April 2026
Where: GOLDSMITHS CCA, St James’, New Cross, London SE14 6AD
Cost: Free
Samuel Laurence Cunnane: Blue Road, Hayward Gallery
Irish artist Samuel Laurence Cunnane’s first London show at Hayward Gallery features works spanning the last decade of his analogue photographic career. The images capture ephemeral situations that may otherwise go undetected, but with Cunnane’s attention to subtle elements of light and atmosphere, these everyday topics produce calm and luminous intensity. The exhibition’s title alludes to one such scene recorded by the artist: a length of recently paved road that appears blue in the early evening light.
When: Until 3 May 2026
Where: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
Cost: Free
Learn more and plan your visit
David Hockney: A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting, Serpentine North Gallery
With his first Serpentine show, one of the most important British artists of the contemporary age focuses on the extraordinary in the everyday. Hockney’s new paintings, produced just for this exhibition, continue his lifelong infatuation with the act of looking, whilst presenting simple beauty worth celebrating.
When: Until 23 August 2026
Where: Serpentine North Gallery, West Carriage Drive, London W2 2AR
Cost: Free
Cecily Brown: Picture Making, Serpentine South Gallery
Make a day of it at the Serpentine with Cecily Browns’ first major solo presentation of paintings in a UK institution in 21 years. Known for her vigorous brushwork, vivid colour and dynamic compositions, Brown presents themes of nature and park life in this captivating exhibition.
When: 27 March to 6 September 2026
Where: Serpentine South Gallery, Kensington Gardens, London W2 3XA
Cost: Free
Nhu Xuan Hua: Of Walking on Fire, Autograph Gallery
Nhu Xuan Hua, a French Vietnamese artist, is set to have her first solo exhibition in the UK at Autograph. Hua’s work at the intersection of art and fashion photography explores the fragility of memory and how stories are communicated – or withheld – across generations. She reimagines archival photographs from her family’s time in Vietnam and early years in Europe, resulting in dreamlike digitally altered compositions that alternate between recognition and distortion. Hua’s work includes elaborate visual reconstructions that reflect how memory in the diaspora can splinter, blur and slip from view.
When: 16 April to 19 September 2026
Where: Autograph, Rivington Place, London. EC2A 3BA
Cost: Free
Pre-book your free tickets here
Museum of Edible Earth, Somerset House
The Museum of Edible Earth makes its debut in the United Kingdom at Somerset House, inviting visitors to learn about geophagy, the practice of eating earth for health, ritual, and culinary benefits. masharu, an artist and researcher, created the internationally touring museum, bringing together edible samples of clay, chalk, and mineral-rich earths from around the world, providing a unique sensory experience with soil.
When: Until 26 April 2026. Tasting sessions daily between 13:00 and 16:00
Where: Terrace Rooms, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Cost: ‘Pay what you can‘