What’s on in London this week: 19 - 25 May 2025
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 19 - 25 May 2025.
Clerkenwell Design Week
Clerkenwell Design Week returns this week for its 14th edition. Set in the heart of Clerkenwell—one of London’s most vibrant and creative districts—the event celebrates the best in contemporary furniture, lighting, and interior design. Visitors can explore a programme of curated exhibitions, historic venues, and over 160 participating showrooms. Alongside public installations, the festival also features insightful talks, hands-on workshops, and valuable networking opportunities.
Date: 20 - 22 May 2025. Location: Various venues across Clerkenwell. Price: Free (registration required for some events). clerkenwelldesignweek.com
Clerkenwell Design Week 2024. Image courtesy of Clerkenwell Design Week.
London music festivals: from GALA to Wide Awake Festival
Several exciting music festivals are taking place across London over the upcoming bank holiday weekend, including the GALA Festival in Peckham Rye Park celebrating its 10th anniversary with artists like Caribou (live) and KiNK (live), Wide Awake Festival in Brockwell Park showcasing underground and alternative acts such as Peaches and Daniel Avery, and Field Day, also in Brockwell Park, headlined by Peggy Gou and featuring James Blake.
Click here to explore more music festivals taking place in London this summer.
GALA Festival.
THE HEAT
THE HEAT by Becky Namgauds is a visceral dance-theatre work staged at Sadler’s Wells. Inspired by Paula Rego’s Dog Woman paintings, it unfolds within a surreal, distorted domestic dreamscape—where the familiar twists into the uncanny and primal forces begin to stir. Blurring the line between comfort and confinement, the piece explores desire, tension, and psychological unrest through raw physicality and arresting imagery. An intergenerational all-female cast leads the audience on an unflinching journey beneath the surface of the everyday.
Date: 22–23 May 2025. Location: Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN. Price: from £17 (+ £4 building maintenance fee). Book now
Shubbak Festival Launch: The People's Catwalk
Shubbak Festival opens on Friday with The People’s Catwalk — a free (pay what you can), inclusive fashion show at the Royal Festival Hall celebrating SWANA (South West Asia and North Africa) creativity. Featuring designs from regional collectives, a choreographed performance, sound and video installations, and a community dance night, the event highlights culture, identity, and expression through fashion and art.
Date: 23 May 2025. Time: 8pm. Location: The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Price: Pay what you can (from £0).southbankcentre.co.uk
THE HEAT - Becky Namgauds © Donata Kukyte.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show is back in London this week, bringing bold garden designs, cutting-edge tech, and a strong green message to the capital. Highlights include Monty Don’s hotly anticipated debut garden—a dog-friendly retreat inspired by his own Longmeadow—and the Avanade ‘Intelligent’ Garden, where AI helps plants thrive.
Date: 20 - 24 May 2025. Location: Royal Hospital Chelsea Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4SR. Price: from £122.85 (with membership or £137.85 without). rhs.org.uk
Lewis Walker: Bornsick at The Round Chapel
As part of Serpentine’s 2025 Live Programme, choreographer and dancer Lewis Walker will premiere Bornsick on 21 and 22 May at the Round Chapel in Lower Clapton, London. Using gymnastics, dance, and physical theatre, Bornsick examines queerness, social conditioning, and the constructed self, presenting identity as a continuous process of layering and reinvention. Even in its most deconstructed form, identity is shown to remain a construct. Following its London debut, the performance will travel to Edinburgh for EAF25 in August 2025, co-commissioned by Serpentine and Edinburgh Art Festival.
Date: 21 - 22 May 2025. Location: The Round Chapel, 1D Glenarm Rd, Lower Clapton, London E5 0LY. Price: £15. Concessions available. Book now.
RHS Chelsea Flower Show returns from 20-24 May 2025. Image credit Alex Quezada.
Faust
Faust opens this week at the Royal Opera House. The opera tells the story of an ageing scholar who, in a moment of despair, makes a pact with the devil, Méphistophélès, trading his soul for youth, riches, and the love of the beautiful Marguerite. But as his dream begins to unravel, the consequences of his actions spiral into tragedy. This production, directed by David McVicar, sets the story in the decadent world of 19th-century Paris.
Date: 23 May – 10 June 2025. Location: The Royal Opera House,Bow St, London WC2E 9DD. Price: from £12. Book now
REDACTED: A Cover-Up of a Cover-Up of a Cover-Up
REDACTED: A Cover-Up of a Cover-Up of a Cover-Up by Voloz Collective is a high-energy, darkly comic thriller blending influences from Fargo, The Office, and James Bond. This 40-minute work-in-progress follows Marnie Makowski’s quest to uncover the truth behind her husband’s disappearance in 1973 New Mexico, unraveling decades of corruption, crime, and bungling law enforcement.
Date: 17 May 2025. Location: Pleasance London Studio, 60 High Holborn, London WC1V 6RL. Price: Pay what you can (£0 - £15). Book now.
Faust ©2019 ROH. Photographed by Tristram Kenton.
Chelsea in Bloom 2025
Chelsea in Bloom returns with flair in 2025, transforming the neighbourhood into a high-fashion floral showcase under the theme Flowers in Fashion. Expect opulent displays from top brands like Tiffany & Co. and Cartier, with the largest installations centred around Sloane Square and artistic designs stretching along the King’s Road and tucked-away side streets. This is the perfect way to soak up Chelsea’s floral buzz this week either before or after a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show.
Date: 19–25 May 2025. Location: Chelsea, SW1, London. Price: Free. chelseainbloom.co.uk
Belgravia in Bloom 2025
Belgravia in Bloom 2025 will also bring a fresh burst of creativity to the elegant neighbourhood with its theme: Seasons. Floral artists will bring spring, summer, autumn, and winter to life through striking displays spread across Eccleston Yard, Motcomb Street, and Elizabeth Street. A visit to Neill Strain’s luxury florist on West Halkin Street is a must-see. Calmer than Chelsea but just as captivating, it’s the perfect post–flower show stroll.
Date: 19–25 May 2025. Location: Belgravia, SW1, London. belgraviavillage.com.
Click here to discover more ways to enjoy the fun and festivities surrounding the Chelsea Flower Show this week.
London Symphony Orchestra/ Half Six Fix – Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, with Sir Antonio Pappano
This week’s Half Six Fix concert at the Barbican features the London Symphony Orchestra performing Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, conducted and presented by Sir Antonio Pappano. The 60-minute event takes place on Wednesday 21 May 2025 at 6:30pm. Part of the LSO’s relaxed concert series.
Date: 21 May 2025. Time: 6.30pm. Location: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £15 - £35. Book now.
Speaking Futures x Diasporas Now
The third event in the Speaking Futures x Diasporas Now programme at the ICA explores movement and performance with artists SERAFINE1369, Ivan Michael Blackstock, and curator Meneesha Kellay. The discussion focuses on using the body as a form of practice, language, and expression. SERAFINE1369 approaches dance as a philosophical and political act within urban spaces, while Ivan Michael Blackstock creates thought-provoking, internationally recognised multidisciplinary work.
Date: 21 May 2025. Location: Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), The Mall, London, Greater London, SW1Y 5AH. Price: £12 full price / £9.50 concession. Book now.
Cinema
Motel Destino
Karim Aïnouz’s latest film Motel Destino is a sultry crime drama set in a seedy motel on Brazil’s north-eastern coast. Following 21-year-old Heraldo as he goes on the run after a gang hit, the story unfolds in a charged environment of danger, desire, and betrayal. Premiered at Cannes 2024, the film blends neon-soaked visuals with simmering emotional tension as secrets unravel within the motel’s walls.
Date: 9 - 22 May 2025. Location: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £13+BF. Book now
Motel Destino, Film still (2024).
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Feel the Sound
Feel the Sound is the Barbican’s headline summer exhibition exploring sound beyond hearing—through the body, memory, and emotion. Spanning the entire Centre, it features 11 interactive installations including holographic choirs, AI symphonies, and car-park raves, combining art, technology, and sensory experiences.
Date: 22 May – 31 August 2025. Location: Barbican Centre, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £20 + BF. Book now
Temporary Pleasure, Joyride, 2025, concept. Image courtesy of the artist.
The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection
While the Barber Institute of Fine Arts in Birmingham undergoes refurbishment, some of its finest works have travelled to London. The Courtauld will display The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection, bringing together 18 masterpieces ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The exhibition features iconic works by artists such as Gainsborough, Reynolds, Turner, Degas, Monet, Hals, Rossetti, and Vigée-Lebrun. These exceptional pieces are shown alongside The Courtauld’s own world-renowned collection.
Date: 23 May 2025 – 22 February 2026. Location: The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN. Price: from £10 (includes entry to the full gallery).
Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882), The Blue Bower, 1865, Oil paint on canvas, 84x 70.9 cm,The HenryBarber Trust, The BarberInstitute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham.
Karl Stengel
Karl Stengel’s debut solo UK exhibition at gallery@oxo offers a rare opportunity to explore the work of this prolific Hungarian postwar artist, marking 100 years since his birth. Featuring 24 paintings, drawings, mixed media works, and rarely seen drawing diaries, the show highlights Stengel’s distinctive style. His art reflects a turbulent life, including imprisonment in a Siberian Gulag and fleeing the Hungarian Revolution, and draws on both European and American 20th century traditions. Visitors will also discover his engagement with literature, theatre, and music, evident in his poetic titles and collage techniques.
Date: 21 – 30 May 2025. Location: gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower, Barge House Street, London SE1 9PH. Price: Free. stengelcollection.org
Karl Stengel, Untitled 21, 2010. Oil pastel and acrylic on Stengel's artwork photocopy. Courtesy of The Karl Stengel Collection.
Ancient India: Living Traditions
Ancient India: Living Traditions at the British Museum explores the roots of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism through over 180 objects, from 2,000-year-old sculptures to vibrant manuscripts and paintings. Drawing on the British Museum’s South Asian collection alongside national and international loans, it’s the first exhibition to present early Indian sacred art through a global, pluralistic lens.
Date: 22 May -19 October 2025. Location: The British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG. Price: from £16. Book now
Click here to discover more art exhibitions opening in London in May 2025.
Hew Locke with The Watchers, the British Museum © Richard Cannon.
#FLOFavourites: This Week
Bold Tendencies: DÉJÀ VU
Bold Tendencies returns for its 19th summer season with DÉJÀ VU — a programme of new site-specific art, live events, and creative learning focused on memory, repetition, and perception. Featuring works by Emii Alrai, Mac Collins, Idris Khan, Gillian Wearing and others, the season also includes performances by The Multi-Story Orchestra, talks, readings, and a dedicated Listening Room. Free creative activities continue to support local engagement, with food and drink available at Frank’s Cafe. Click here for the full programme.
Date: 16 May – 20 September 2025. Location: Bold Tendencies, 4 Holly Grove, Peckham, London, SE15 5DF. Price: Free.
Rene Matić: Idols Lovers Mothers Friends
Idols Lovers Mothers Friends by Rene Matić is a tender photographic exploration of love, identity, and growing up mixed-race. Through intimate portraits, Matić reflects on the complexities of love shaped by whiteness and the strength to keep believing in it despite pain. Using darkroom photography, the work captures moments of resilience and self-acceptance, inviting viewers into a nuanced, hopeful gaze on love and identity.
Date: 25 April – 3 June 2025. Location: Arcadia Missa, 35 Duke Street, Soho, London W1U 1LH. Price: Free. arcadiamissa.com
Ana Bidart, Detail of Notas sueltas, 2023. Oil on wall, site-specific intervention, Mexico City. Photo: Courtesy of fundación/op.cit.
Ana Bidart: Long Before the Walls
Long Before the Walls is the first European solo exhibition by Mexico-based Uruguayan artist Ana Bidart, on view at Delfina Foundation. Featuring newly commissioned, site-specific installations, the exhibition explores the interplay between drawing, writing, and spatial storytelling. Inspired by prehistoric rock art in Brazil, Bidart uses sculptural gestures and in-situ mark making to reflect on history as a construct and reveal hidden, often overlooked narratives embedded in everyday spaces.
Date: 4 April – 25 May 2025. Location: Delfina Foundation, 29–31 Catherine Place, London SW1E 6DY. Price: Free. delfinafoundation.com
Michaela Yearwood-Dan: No Time for Despair
Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s exhibition No Time for Despair celebrates joy, community, and resilience. On display at Hauser & Wirth in London, this debut solo show presents paintings, ceramics, and sculptures that span from monumental landscapes to delicate details, reflecting themes of femininity, queer identity, and emotional connection. A meditative sound piece, created with composer Alex Gruz, enhances the experience. Inspired by Toni Morrison’s call for artists to break silence in difficult times.
Date: 13 May – 2 August 2025. Location:Hauser & Wirth, 23 Savile Row, London W1S 2ET. Price: Free. hauserwirth.com
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Free event of the week
Creative Encounters: The Londoners' Printing Press
Image credit: Owen Tozer.
Join artist and designer Theo Hersey for Creative Encounters: The Londoners’ Printing Press, a free, hands-on workshop where you can explore the art of letterpress printing using a DIY press. Guided by Theo, you’ll learn the basics of typography, carve your own letter blocks, and collaborate with others to create unique, text-based prints. Part of the Southbank Centre’s Open Doors programme, the event is a creative and communal experience designed to bring Londoners together through making, conversation, and print.
Date: 21 May 2025. Time: 5:30pm–8:30pm. Location: Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Price: Free (no ticket required). southbankcentre.co.uk
Interview of the week
In conversation with Hanna Salomonsson
Hanna Salomonsson. Portrait credit: Rebecca Westcott.
Hanna Salomonsson is a London-based Swedish ceramic artist with a background in landscape architecture and a BA in Art History. Since retraining in ceramics in 2018, her work has drawn on themes of folklore, modern mythology, and identity. Influenced by her childhood landscapes, echoes of the Swedish woodlands often appear in her pieces, reflecting a unique blend of narrative and nature.
Click here for the full interview.
Food of the week
The Culpeper
Grilled leeks with green sauce and cheddar breadcrumbs. The Culpeper. Image credit MTotoe
Last week, we visited The Culpeper’s rooftop as it reopened for the summer to try their seasonal menu and woodland-inspired cocktails, and it didn’t disappoint. Surrounded by silver birch trees and edible herbs, the rooftop offers a calm, green space above the city with views of the Gherkin and East London skyline in the distance. We enjoyed Wildfarmed sourdough with Estate Dairy butter, followed by fresh dishes like blue pea & mint, cucumber & radishes, and goat’s curd with beetroot and hazelnut. The grilled leeks with green sauce and cheddar breadcrumbs and tender lamb ribs and chops with mint sauce stood out, while dessert was a refreshing Rooftop Mess with strawberry, Botivo, meringue, and cream. Every dish was seriously tasty, and the setting was perfect for soaking up the sun and enjoying a wholesome meal.
Location: The Culpeper, 40 Commercial St, London E1 6LP. Website: theculpeper.com. Instagram: @theculpeper
Cause of the week
St Mungo’s
St Mungo’s.
St Mungo’s is a UK homelessness charity helping people rebuild their lives through housing, health support, and skills training. Volunteers are vital to this work, supporting outreach, running activities like art classes, and helping clients move towards independence. With over 450 volunteers last year, St Mungo’s offers a rewarding experience with training, skill development, and a chance to make a real impact.
Click here to discover volunteer roles currently available.
