Exhibitions not to miss in London this November 2020
The past few months have been a rollercoaster for us Londoners and Britons alike. However, many of London’s arts and cultural institutions are hanging in there and bringing us fantastic exhibitions to keep us going.
Here’s our guide to some exhibitions to see in London this November, from first solo exhibitions in the UK by New York-based artist Jennifer Packer to Thao Nguyen Phan’s exhibition, Becoming Alluvium, as well as the much-anticipated exhibition by Tracey Emin at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Thao Nguyen Phan: Becoming Alluvium
Where?
Chisenhale Gallery
When?
26 September 2020 - 6 December 2020
Price: Free
Image: Thao Nguyen Phan
#FLODown: The Chisenhale Gallery presents, the first solo exhibition by artist Thao Nguyen Phan, Becoming Alluvium. The exhibition continues Phan’s on-going research into the Mekong River, which runs through Tibet, China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The exhibition is composed of two elements: a single channel film work and a series of lacquer and silk paintings. The works simultaneously explore real and imaginary worlds.
Location:
64 Chisenhale Road, London, E3 5QZ
Nearest station:
Mile End or Cambridge Heath station
Opening hours:
Thursday – Sunday Noon-6pm
Jennifer Packer exhibition
Where?
Serpentine Gallery
When?
From 18 November 2020
Price: Free
Artist: Jennifer Packer, Detail from Tia, 2017 via Serpentine Gallery
#FLODown: The Serpentine Galleries will be showcasing a solo exhibition by New York-based painter Jennifer Packer. The exhibition will include paintings and drawings from the past decade alongside some of her most recent work. Packer is known for her painting and large-scale drawings which often reveal the emotional and physical fragility of life. They also tackle loss often in response to tragedies of the state and the institutional violence against Black Americans. Packer acknowledges her choice to paint figures as political, stating: ‘Representation and particularly, observation from life, are ways of bearing witness and sharing testimony’.
Location:
Kensington Gardens, London, W2 3XA
Nearest station:
Knightsbridge, South Kensington or Lancaster Gate station
Opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Dub London: Baseline of a city
Where?
Museum of London
When?
2 October 2020 – 31 January 2021
Price: Free
Image: Museum of London
#FLODown: To celebrate dub reggae, the Museum of London is hosting an exhibition which will explore the cultural and social impact the genre has had in the UK over the last 50 years. With a far-reaching influence on other areas of the music industry such as drum and bass, garage, hip-hop and mainstream pop, dub has even inspired legendary punk bands such as The Clash. The exhibition also explores the influence dub has had beyond the music industry, including the impact on the areas of fashion, community and spirituality. Featuring a range of objects, memories and personal stories from some of dub's most iconic people and places from across London, including Hackney, Lambeth, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove, Harlesden and Lewisham, the exhibition will allow you to delve deep into the heart of dub reggae.
Location:
150 London Wall, London, Greater London, EC2Y 5HN
Nearest station:
Moorgate station
Opening hours:
Open daily 10 am – 6 pm, Closed 24 – 26 December
Tracey Emin/ Edvard Munch: The loneliness of The Soul Exhibition
Where?
Royal Academy Arts
When?
Sunday 15 November - 28 February 2021, daily 11am-5pm
Price: £17 – £19
Artist: Tracey Emin, Image: MTotoe
#FLODown: The Loneliness of the Soul exhibition by British contemporary artist Tracey Emin will focus on the influence Norwegian expressionist and painter, Edvard Munch has had her career. Having taken to Munch’s work at a young age, Emin was particularly drawn to his works on expressionism and his exploration of the complexity of the human psyche. The exhibition will display works from both artists including ones by Emin that will be on display for the first time, as well as neons and sculpture.
Location:
Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly, Mayfair, London W1J 0BD
Nearest station:
Green Park Station
Opening hours:
Monday – Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye: Fly-in League with the Night
When?
Wednesday 18 November - Sunday 9 May 2021
Where?
Tate Britain
Price: £13
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Image: Tate
#FLODown: Considered one of the most intriguing painters of her generation, Tate Britain presents 80 painting and works on paper by Lynette Yiadom Boakye from 2003 to the present day. Boakye's paintings of fictitious people have earned her the prestigious Carnegie Prize in 2018, and a shortlist for the Turner Prize in 2013. Expect to find perplexing paintings with poetic titles, that demand you to create your own interpretations. Boakye explains to Tate Britain: ‘I write about the things I can’t paint and paint the things I can’t write about.’
Location:
Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG
Nearest station:
Pimlico tube station
Opening hours:
Daily 10 am-6 pm
Helaine Blumenfeld: LOOKING UP
Where?
Canary Wharf
When?
Until 31 January 2021
Price: Free
Image: Helaine Blumenfeld, Taking Risks, 2018, Image: Henryk Hetflaisz
#FLODown: Canary Wharf Group is presenting the largest solo exhibition to date of the work of Helaine Blumenfeld OBE. LOOKING UP: Helaine Blumenfeld at Canary Wharf will feature Blumenfeld’s lyrical and dynamic sculptures dating back to the 1970s, which will be on view in outdoor locations across the Canary Wharf Estate. Attendees will have the opportunity to look at her development as an artist over the last forty-six years and view items that have been newly commissioned by the Canary Wharf Group.
LOOKING UP focuses on Blumenfeld’s signature materials – Carrara marble, terracotta, cedar wood and bronze. It also features Blumenfeld’s new, monumental three-part sculpture Taking Risks (2019). Carved from Carrara marble, the work highlights the sculptural vocabulary Blumenfeld has refined throughout her career, testing the limits of the materials in which she works. Taking Risks explores the versatility, fluidity and translucency of marble, one of the most valued materials used by sculptors throughout the millennia.
The exhibition follows the 2016 addition of the heroic five-metre bronze sculpture Fortuna to Canary Wharf Group’s permanent art collection on show at the Jubilee Park.
Location:
Canary Wharf, E14 5AB
Nearest station:
Canary Wharf station
Say My Name exhibition
Where?
Signature African Art Gallery
When?
27 October – 28 November 2020
Price: Free
Artist: Dennis Osakue, The Power Of Black And White via Signature African Art
#FLODown: To coincide with Black History Month, the Signature African Art gallery will present, Say My Name, an exhibition that will celebrate influential figures and movements in the UK and USA.
In an exhibition that resonates with the Black Lives Matter movement, 13 African artists will honour the names of black lives who have been lost at the hands of police, including Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Through paintings and sculptures, they will also pay tribute to black activists who have fought for equality such as Angela Davis and Wangari Maathai. Whilst also reflecting on historical moments in black history, ranging from the transatlantic slave trade to the Windrush Scandal.
The exhibition will be curated by Khalil Akar and presented by filmmaker Ava DuVernay, whose works include the critically acclaimed films and series Selma, When They See Us and the Netflix documentary 13th.
Click here for more on Signature African Art.
Location:
20 Davies Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 3DT
Nearest station:
Green Park or Bond Street station
Opening hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10 am – 5.30 pm
Sunday: By appointment
Holidays: Closed
Last chance to see…
Phenomenal Women: Portraits of UK Black Female Professors
Where?
Southbank Centre’s public riverside promenade The Queen’s Walk
When?
10 October - 8 November 2020
Price: Free
#FLODown: The Southbank Centre presents a free outdoor exhibition that celebrates female Black British academics. The exhibition, curated by Dr Nicola Rollock and photographed by Bill Knight, features portraits of 45 professors across a broad range of subjects including law, medicine, creative writing and sociology. The exhibition has been timed to coincide with Black History Month (October), and will also bring attention to the current stats including that fewer than 1% of professors in the UK are Black despite increases in overall levels of academic staff.
Amongst the 45 women being celebrated are:
Gloria Agyemang
Gloria Agyemang has worked in both the UK and Africa, gathering several years of teaching and managing experience. Currently, she is a professor of accounting at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Adele Jones
Image: Bill Knight via Southbank Centre
Adele Jones is a professor of social work in the Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences at the University of Huddersfield. Her areas of expertise include sexual and intimate partner violence and child abuse.
Bernadine Evaristo
Image: Image: Bill Knight via Southbank Centre
Award-winning author, poet and playwright Bernadine Evaristo is best known for her work Girl, Woman, Other which won her the Booker Prize in 2019.
Location:
The Queen’s Walk, Belvedere Road, London, and SE1
Nearest station:
Waterloo station