Art news to be on your radar this week: 27 April - 3 May 2026
Art news to have on your radar this week brings a series of key announcements and updates shaping the contemporary scene. The Royal Drawing School has announced an upcoming exhibition dedicated to Frank Bowling’s drawing practice, while the Hayward Gallery is revealing further details of its HENI Project Space series, expanding its focus on emerging international artists. The Turner Prize 2026 shortlist has been unveiled, highlighting artists working across performance, sculpture and installation, and Wangechi Mutu has been awarded a major National Gallery fellowship leading to a new UK exhibition. Beyond the UK, this weekend sees the return of Gallery Weekend Berlin.
Royal Drawing School announcement: Frank Bowling exhibition this summer
The Royal Drawing School will launch a new summer exhibition series focused on the drawing practice of Frank Bowling. The exhibition brings together early sketches, collages and recent works, showing how drawing has remained central to his artistic practice. It will also act as an active learning space, with talks, workshops and a sketchbook-style publication encouraging visitors to engage directly with drawing.
Date: 25 June – 22 August 2026. Location: The Royal Drawing School. Price: Free (donations encouraged), royaldrawingschool.org
Frank Bowling, Leafy, 2024
Hayward Gallery Unveils 2026 HENI Project Space Exhibition Series in Partnership with RC Foundation, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
The Hayward Gallery announces the 2026 RC Foundation Project Space Exhibition Series at the HENI Project Space, Southbank Centre, in partnership with the RC Foundation, Taiwan (R.O.C.). The programme will include exhibitions by Samuel Laurence Cunnane, Kulpreet Singh, Musquiqui Chihying and Andrius Arutiunian, each presented as part of a year-long series of free public shows that continue the space’s focus on emerging international contemporary art. Click here to discover more.
Date: 16 June – 2 August 2026; 25 August – 18 October 2026; 24 November 2026 – 7 March 2027. Location: Heni Project Space, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: Free. southbankcentre.co.uk
Women in Art Fair, 2025. Image credit greg allen photography
The Photographers’ Gallery Announces Summer Exhibition Programme
The Photographers’ Gallery announces its summer exhibition programme with Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now, a major showcase celebrating the work of 27 pioneering artists who have reshaped the narrative of Japanese photography. Featuring works from the post-war era to present day, the exhibition highlights varied perspectives on identity, gender, culture and everyday life, bringing together both internationally recognised figures and those long overlooked.
Date: 24 June – 27 September 2026. Location: The Photographers’ Gallery, 16–18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW. Price: £12 / £9 concessions (members go free)/ Advance online booking: £10 / £7.50 concessions. Book now
KAWAUCHI Rinko. Untitled, 2004; from the series the eyes, the ears. Courtesy the artist and Aperture
Wangechi Mutu Awarded National Gallery Contemporary Fellowship
Internationally acclaimed artist Wangechi Mutu has been awarded the National Gallery Contemporary Fellowship with Art Fund, a prestigious two-year programme delivered in partnership with the National Gallery, London and the Whitworth, Manchester. Running from 2026 to 2028, the fellowship will see Mutu collaborate with both institutions to research their collections and create new work for her first UK institutional exhibition, opening at the National Gallery in October 2027 before travelling to the Whitworth in spring 2028. Known for her multidisciplinary practice across collage, sculpture, film and installation, Mutu examines themes of womanhood, mythology, ecology and Afro-futurism, challenging historical and contemporary representations of women, particularly Black women, through powerful, imaginative and symbolic imagery. Discover more at nationalgallery.org.uk
Mutu Contemporary Fellowship artist photographed in the National Gallery © Photo: The National Gallery, London
WePresent Spring Show takes over Peckham with three-day global arts programme
WePresent, the arts platform from WeTransfer, will stage its Spring Show at Copeland Gallery in Peckham from 8–10 May 2026, turning the venue into a free public takeover of contemporary art and culture. A key part of the programme is On Belonging, a group exhibition exploring how identity and community are shaped across different cultures, featuring artists from WePresent Selects, which highlights emerging creatives from more than 120 countries. Alongside this, visitors can access a cinema programme of short film commissions, a reading room of artist books and manifestos, plus a schedule of talks, as well as DJ sets, food and a pop-up shop.
Date: 8–10 May 2026. Location: Copeland Gallery, Copeland Park, 133 Copeland Road, Peckham, London SE15 3SN. Price: Free. wepresent.wetransfer.com
Qalb Mahmood by Abdulaziz Al-Hosni. Image courtesy of WePresent
Turner Prize 2026 shortlist announced
Tate Britain and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art have announced the four artists shortlisted for the Turner Prize 2026, Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau and Tanoa Sasraku. Their work will be presented in a major exhibition at MIMA, Teesside University, from 26 September 2026 to 29 March 2027, with the winner revealed on 10 December 2026. The shortlisted artists were recognised for ambitious and varied practices across performance, sculpture and installation, exploring themes such as identity, emotion, ecology and geopolitics. Established in 1984, the Turner Prize remains one of the most significant awards in contemporary British art, celebrating innovation and encouraging public engagement with new artistic developments. Click here to discover more.
Edvard Munch, Girls Harvesting Fruit (The Freia Frieze VI), 1922. Credit Kraft Foods, Freia sjokoladefabrikk. © Munchmuseet
Edvard Munch and the Chocolate Factory exhibition to open at MUNCH, Oslo
MUNCH will open Edvard Munch and the Chocolate Factory this month, presenting the Freia Frieze, a series of 12 monumental paintings by Edvard Munch originally created for a chocolate factory workers’ canteen in 1923. The exhibition brings these works together for the first time, alongside selected works from the museum’s collection and archival material, offering new insight into Munch’s interwar practice and his interest in labour, industry and everyday life. It also reflects on industrialisation, workers’ lives and the global chocolate trade, while highlighting the role of female factory workers and Munch’s approach to large-scale decorative commissions.
Date: 21 May – 11 October 2026. Location: MUNCH, Oslo, Edvard Munchs Plass 1, 0194 Oslo, Norway. Price: approx. 180 NOK (standard adult admission, concessions available). Book now
Juergen Teller, Young Pink Kate, London 1998 © Juergen Teller, All Rights Reserved
Tate Britain to revels further details one The 90s: Art and Fashion exhibition
Tate Britain have revealed further details at a press launch for The 90s: Art and Fashion, introduced by guest curator Edward Enninful OBE, ahead of the exhibition opening in autumn 2026. The exhibition will be the first major exhibition to explore the art, photography and fashion of the 1990s in Britain, bringing together nearly 70 artists, photographers and designers whose work helped redefine the country’s cultural identity. Featuring over 100 works, including photography, painting, sculpture and fashion, the exhibition traces the decade’s creative energy, from the rise of the Young British Artists and grunge-era “anti-fashion”, to nightlife, club culture and the emergence of iconic designers such as Alexander McQueen. It also reflects on the era’s social and political contexts, including issues of identity, class, race and the AIDS crisis, while highlighting how artists and designers used their work to challenge mainstream narratives and imagine new cultural futures.
Date: 8 October 2026 – 14 February 2027. Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Price: from £22. Concessions available. Book now
Image courtesy of Horniman Museum and Gardens
Horniman Museum and Gardens marks 125th anniversary with public celebrations and memory appeal
The Horniman Museum and Gardens has announced a series of events to celebrate its 125th anniversary, beginning with a free birthday party on 27 June featuring more than 40 activities across its South London site. The celebrations will include live music, roaming performances, storytelling, crafts, tours, trails and family activities, alongside food stalls and community events such as a memory map and a “Horniman Future” station. Throughout the year, further highlights will include live concerts on the historic bandstand, a special Sunday market and returning community favourites. As part of the anniversary, the Horniman is also inviting visitors past and present to share memories and historic photographs of their experiences at the museum, which will be featured on its website and social media. People can take part by emailing their contributions directly to web@horniman.ac.uk
Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Foto: Kulturprojekte, Alexander Rentsch
Art gallery weekend
Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026
Gallery Weekend Berlin returns for its 22nd edition this week, presenting a major international showcase of contemporary art across 50 galleries and 63 locations in the city. Arguably the most famous gallery weekend in Europe, the programme features over 80 artists from more than 30 countries. A new curatorial strand titled Perspectives expands the format with seven additional galleries, highlighting ambitious solo presentations and experimental projects, including works by James Turrell, Katherine Bradford, and Giorgio Griffa. Alongside the exhibitions, the weekend includes public talks at major institutions such as the Neue Nationalgalerie and Hamburger Bahnhof.
Date: 1 - 3 May 2026. Website: gallery-weekend-berlin.de Instagram: @galleryweekendberlin
Click here to explore more European art weekends to visit.
