Art exhibitions to see in London in December 2024
While December may not see the opening of many new exhibitions in London as the city prepares for the festive season, there are still a few exciting openings, as well as several ongoing exhibitions worth keeping on your radar. Here is our pick of art exhibitions you need to check out in London this December.
For more exhibitions happening across the city, click here for our guide to unmissable art shows this Christmas at museums and galleries, including Tate, V&A, and Serpentine.
Motion in Stillness: Dance and the Human Body in Movement
#FLODown: Artists explore the challenge of capturing human motion and dance in static forms, with many creating new works specifically for this exhibition. The showcase examines the intersection of dance and visual art, highlighting how physicality shapes the creative process. Examples include Megan Rooney’s choreographed brushstrokes and Florence Peake’s use of her own body to create imprints and outlines. Featuring a diverse range of techniques and perspectives, the exhibition reveals the dynamic relationship between movement and artistic expression.
Date: 21 November 2024 – 18 January 2025. Location: Victoria Miro, 16 Wharf Rd, London N1 7RW. Price: Free.
Feast
#FLODown: Feast at County Hall Pottery is a celebration of contemporary tableware and ceramic artistry, featuring the work of 40 artists. The exhibition showcases a diverse array of handcrafted ceramics, from functional pieces to imaginative designs. All items are available for purchase, offering unique gift options for the holiday season.
Date: 18 November 2024 – 5 January 2025. Location: County Hall Pottery, County Hall, Belvedere Road, SE1 7GP. Price: Free. countyhallpottery.com.
Nicole Eisenman
#FLODown: Following their major survey What Happened at Whitechapel Gallery, Nicole Eisenman presents new works at Sadie Coles HQ on Bury St. The exhibition features a series of mismatched portraits of friends and fellow artists, reflecting Eisenman’s long-standing practice of inviting peers to model in intimate, late-night studio sessions. Alongside these expressive portraits, Eisenman presents Fiddle V. Burns (2024), a new painting that humorously yet solemnly comments on the human condition, showing a character isolated in a chaotic world.
Date: 13 November – 20 December 2024. Location: Sadie Coles HQ, 8 Bury St, London SW1Y 6AB. Price: Free.
Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome
#FLODown: Parmigianino’s The Madonna and Child with Saints (The Vision of Saint Jerome) returns to public display after 10 years, offering a rare opportunity to explore the masterpiece and its creation. Painted during the 1527 Sack of Rome, the work cemented the young artist’s reputation as a “Raphael reborn.” This display reunites the altarpiece with Parmigianino’s preparatory drawings—velvety chalk studies and swirling ink sketches—revealing his dynamic creative process. Part of the Bicentenary celebrations, it highlights the genius and innovation of this Renaissance prodigy.
Date: 5 December 2024 – 9 March 2025. Location: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Price: Free.
Feliciano Centurión: Hope in Bloom
#FLODown: Hope in Bloom at Cecilia Brunson Projects celebrates the tender and innovative artistry of Feliciano Centurión (1962–1996). A pivotal figure in Latin American art, Centurión’s work reflects themes of love, resilience, and beauty, shaped by his exile from Paraguay’s dictatorship and later by his HIV diagnosis. The exhibition features rarely seen works from his estate, including his iconic Macetas (flowerpots) and Frazadas (blankets), which transform domestic materials and traditional techniques into poetic explorations of queerness, gender, and the fleeting nature of life.
Date: 6 November - 13 December 2024. Location: Cecilia Brunson Projects, 3G Royal Oak Yard, Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3GE. Price: Free.
Jeff Wall
#FLODown: The major survey at White Cube celebrates 30 years of collaboration with Jeff Wall, showcasing over 40 works that span his career from the 1980s to the present. Known for blending near-documentary realism with staged compositions, Wall’s photographs capture the subtleties of modern life and explore the boundary between reality and imagination.
Date: 22 November 2024 – 12 January 2025. Location: White Cube Bermondsey, 144 – 152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ. Price: Free.
Justin Dingwall
#FLODown: Doyle Wham presents the first UK solo exhibition of South African photographer Justin Dingwall, showcasing his acclaimed Beautiful Terrible and Fly by Night series. The exhibition also features a selection of distinctive hand-crafted works that seamlessly merge photography with textile art.
Date: 11 December 2024 - 25 January 2025. Location: Doyle Wham, Third Floor, 91a Rivington St, London EC2A 3AY. Price: Free.
Reverb
#FLODown: Reverb at Stephen Friedman Gallery brings together new works by eight prominent artists from the Caribbean diaspora: Julien Creuzet, Denzil Forrester, Hulda Guzmán, Suchitra Mattai, Zinzi Minott, Kathia St. Hilaire, Charmaine Watkiss, and Alberta Whittle. The exhibition explores themes of migration, identity, and colonial legacies through a diverse range of paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and sound-based works. Drawing inspiration from the concept of “reverb” in dub music, the show examines the echoes of diaspora cultures and their far-reaching impact. Key works include Mattai’s tapestry on Indo-Caribbean migration, Minott’s sound piece on Jamaican ancestral journeys, and Forrester’s vibrant paintings of reggae and dub scenes. Whittle’s textile works reference Afrofuturism and resistance, while Creuzet’s sculptures reflect on ecological issues, and Guzmán’s spiritual self-portrait captures the interconnectedness of nature.
Date: 22 November – Wednesday 18 December 2024. Location: Stephen Friedman Gallery, 5–6 Cork Street London, W1S 3LQ. Price: Free.
Highgate International Chamber Music Festival · Hampton Court Palace Festive Fayre · Carols at the Royal Albert Hall · Hotel Chocolat Tasting Experience · YARDLIFE at Dalston Yard · Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet · The Tempest at Theatre Royal Drury Lane · Hot Chocolate Trail at Old Spitalfields Market · Electric Brixton · The Nutcracker · Camille Walala and Alex Booker · Sh!t Actually · Baileys Christmas Sip and Sing · HUMO Winter Charity Lunch · Ever After Garden ·
Holy Carrot, located on Portobello Road, is a stylish and sustainable plant-based restaurant offering a fresh alternative to the area’s burger-heavy dining scene.
Khandakar Ohida wins the Jameel Prize for her work on cultural heritage, as the ‘Jameel Prize: Moving Images’ exhibition showcasing shortlisted artists opens at the V&A South Kensington.
UP Projects and LLDC partner with artist Sahra Hersi to create a public art piece focused on safety and inclusivity for women, girls, and gender-diverse individuals in the Marshgate Lane area…
Artist Anna Lomax reimagines the Christmas tree as a playful, light-filled installation celebrating strength, tradition, and festive joy at the V&A…
One of Hoxton’s favourite brunch spots - Friends of Ours has a new pop up in The Magazine restaurant site located at the Serpentine North Gallery…
Belmond unveils the Britannic Explorer, a Belmond Train, UK the first luxury sleeper train in England & Wales. Launching in July 2025, this innovative train blends British heritage, fine dining, and cultural exploration for an unforgettable travel experience…
London’s dazzling Winter Lights festival returns with 11 new installations and iconic displays, transforming Canary Wharf from 21 January 2025…
The UK Premiere of Antony Hamilton’s award winning piece 4/4 performed by Melbourne based Chunky Move, a leading Australian dance company, known for being on the boundary in the art form.…
The UK Premiere of Antony Hamilton’s award winning piece 4/4 performed by Melbourne based Chunky Move, a leading Australian dance company, known for being on the boundary in the art form.…
Running through 16 November, Juno Birch, an outlandish blue alien is performing her brand-new standup comedy show Probed. She is a British comedian and artist from Manchester, who rose to fame performing professionally in late 2018 and has built a cult following…
SKATE at Somerset House · EFG London Jazz Festival · Covent Garden Christmas lights · Booker Prize Shortlist Readings 2024 · Manchester Collective & Abel Selaocoe: Sirocco · Christmas at Kew · World Kindness Day · The Piano Lesson · Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2024 · Self-Made: Reshaping Identities · Drop in drawing at the National Portrait Gallery · Rachel Kneebone · Supperclub on the Tube · FoodCycle…
The 170-metre boardwalk, inspired by the area’s timber trade history, offers a new way to connect with nature and enhances the community-focused transformation of the 53-acre Canada Water site.
Housed in two vintage 1960s Victoria line carriages, this unique supper club transforms the carriages into an intimate dining experience three nights a week.
Peggy Gou headlines Field Day 2025 alongside Jungle, Skream & Benga, Folamour, and more in a star-studded lineup, as the festival moves to Brockwell Park for an electrifying start to summer.
Pitchfork Music Festival · Fireworks · Christmas Light Switch-on events · Voila! Theatre Festival · Canary Wharf Ice Rink · Picasso: Printmaker · Louis Blue Newby & Laila Majid: Inner Heat · Spirit of Lagos by Abi Morocco Photos · Urban Adventure Challenge · Unreported Uprisings by Inès Elsa Dalal…
EFG London Jazz Festival · Fireworks Displays in London · Skate at Somerset House · Chelsea Barracks Winter Fair · The 80s: Photographing Britain · Pitchfork Festival · 30 Years of Bugged Out! · Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair · Christmas at Kew · Christmas Lights in London · Winter Market Southbank Centre · Hacienda Sounds · Winter Light Festival · Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence, c. 1504 · Eva Recacha: The Picnic · Chunky Move: 4/4 · The Royal Opera: Hansel and Gretel
Claudette Johnson’s ‘Three Women’ mural, inspired by her earlier work and Picasso, celebrates the Black female experience while contributing to the station’s public art initiative.
Melek Zeynep Bulut’s Duo at the Painted Hall · An Evening with Fran Lebowitz · Celebrate Diwali with Rav & Tarunima · Fireworks displays in London · Víkingur Ólafsson & Yuja Wang: Two Pianos · Winter Market at the Southbank · Día de los Muertos with Disciples · Ekow Eshun: The Strangers · Preview: Blitz by Steve McQueen · Farah Atassi: The Lost Hours · Claudette Johnson: Three Women · Halloween with LEGO at Battersea Power Station
PATRÓN Tequila presents a month-long celebration featuring top DJs, signature cocktails, and vibrant Mexican food across London’s trendiest venues.
Frieze London came with much anticipation (and hesitation) this year…not least because of gloomy market outlooks. But the mood was cheery, and the crowd was buzzing…
Directed by Patrick Marber, who won a Tony Award in 2023 for Leopoldstadt, an exploration of Viennese Jewish history, the play features familiar TV faces and delivers an entertaining yet serious comedy that tackles weighty issue…
Frieze Sculpture · Halloween at Kew · Jan de Vylder and Inge Vinck · Gin and Jazz at Artesian Bar · LAPADA Berkeley Square Fair · London Literature Festival · Mahler 2 · Jordan Stephens · The Apprentice · Lift 109 Sound Bath · The World of Tim Burton · Francis Bacon · UMBRA · Making a rukus! · Oscar Murillo · Kioku Bar · Action for Happiness
Discover fifteen locations in London where you can enjoy the celebrations on the weekends before and after and the official Bonfire Night itself.
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In partnership with Penguin Books, Canary Wharf Group celebrates Black History Month by offering free, accessible literature from a diverse range of Black authors.
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12th edition of 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 2024 at Somerset House, London review…
Goodbye Horses is an excellent neighbourhood wine bar, offering a memorable combination of delicious food, great wine, and a lively atmosphere.