Fill your diaries with art: Summer 2022’s best exhibitions.

From a deep dive into global ecology at the Barbican to a boundary-pushing retrospective at Tate Britain, there’s an exhibition for everyone this season.

If there’s one thing London isn’t short of it’s galleries. Whether you’re in the mood for contemporary or classical, escapism or activism, illustration or illusion, you’ll find an exhibition to suit – and this summer’s line up is no exception. Here, we’ve compiled the best cultural fixes to fill your diaries with over the months ahead.

Our Time on Earth –The Barbican

Exploring radical and hopeful ideas to challenge the way we understand the climate emergency, this immersive exhibition encourages visitors to reconsider how we engage with the ecosystem.

Featuring work by 18 international artists, experience a global perspective encompassing technology, art, science, philosophy and socio-political activism. Marvel at the complex layers of the soaring, digitalised Ceiba pentandra tree in Marshmallow Laser Feast’s installation ‘Sanctuary of the Unseen Forest’; sit down to a multi-species dining experience at Superflux’s fantastical banquet ‘Refuge for Resurgence’; or immerse yourself in xxx’s ‘The Ideal City 2040’, which explores three utopian cities that have productively tackled the accelerating climate crisis.

Until 29th August

@barbicancentre

Weird Sensation Feels Good: The World of ASMR – The Design Museum

Ever heard a sound so satisfying it puts you completely at ease – perhaps even making your body tingle? A curious phenomenon ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) is a physical sensation of euphoric relaxation triggered through sound, touch and movement. Having taken the internet by storm, this field of creativity is ever-growing in innovation and popularity, with the Design Museum’s offering the first exhibition of its kind in the UK.

Governed by interactive activities, expect a sound installation where you can make your own audio content, a snaking continuous pillow to nestle into and a room dedicated to the painter Bob Ross – his show ‘The Joy of Painting’ was one of the earliest examples of ASMR.

Probably the only exhibition you’ll visit where feeling drowsy is indicative of success.

Until 16th October 

@designmuseum

Summer Exhibition 2022 – Royal Academy of Arts

Ever since its first show in 1769, the Summer Exhibition has been a cultural calendar staple. Held at Burlington House in the heart of Piccadilly, the world’s oldest open-submission exhibition, offering anyone the opportunity to enter their art to be part of the collection, needs little introduction.

Expect an eclectic mix of work by established artists alongside emerging talent and first-time exhibitors, with mediums ranging from photography and sculpture to print-making and film.

Each year, the Summer Exhibition reflects global happenings. This time around, the theme is ‘Climate’ – spanning crises, opportunities and everyday experiences, it’s a broad and all-encompassing subject guaranteed to inspire.21st 

21st June - 21st August 

@royalacademyarts

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature – The Victoria and Albert Museum 

Perfect for adults and children alike, this is the first exhibition to tell the tale of Beatrix Potter and her multifaceted life as an author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist.

In collaboration with the National Trust, the collection showcases over 200 personal objects, including manuscripts, coded diaries, photographs, merchandise and watercolours – all illustrative of Beatrix’s long-lasting legacy as one of the most beloved children’s writers of the 20^th century.

Not only does it celebrate her business acumen, penchant for storytelling and fascination with the animal world, it shines a spotlight on her passion and pioneering role in landscape conservation and how that legacy remains today – nearly a century later.

Until 8th January 2023

@vamuseum

Future Shock – 108 The Strand

Boundaries of virtual and physical reality are distorted in this awe-inspiring exhibition. Featuring a host of pioneering digital artists from all over the world, the Brutalist, subterranean studios at 108 The Strand have been reimagined with AI and 3D technology.

Walk through Hamill Industries’ hexagonal smoke rings and lasers; immerse yourself in electronic soundscapes by the likes of Aphex Twin; and witness the fragmentation of urban and environmental landscapes courtesy of Ryoichi Kurokawa. If sensorially-rousing experimental art is your thing, this exhibition won’t disappoint.

Until 28th August

@180.studios

Walter Sickert – Tate Britain

Much like the man himself, Water Sickert’s complex art pushes boundaries. As one of the most prolific and challenging figures of British modernism, the Tate Britain hasn’t shied away from portraying Sickert’s voyeuristic lens on crime and society, showcasing his subversive, shocking and often macabre narratives about everyday life in the late 19^th and early-20^th centuries.

Witness the parallels he drew between the British and French art scenes, as well as his reinvention of the ‘conversation piece’, works that captured the gritty realities of contemporary society. Also on display are Walter’s highly celebrated self-portraits that capture himself in a series of comic and tragic moods and illustrate his penchant for the theatrical.

Until 18th September 

@tate