{"id":699455,"date":"2026-01-16T08:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T08:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/699455\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T08:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T08:07:17","slug":"the-8-best-photography-exhibitions-coming-to-london-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/699455\/","title":{"rendered":"The 8 Best Photography Exhibitions Coming to London in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

We might only be a couple of weeks into the new year, but\u00a02026 is already looking like a stellar vintage for London\u2019s arts and culture scene, with\u00a0major new venues on the horizon \u2013 including the new London Museum<\/a>, the opening of\u00a0V&A East<\/a> and a permanent home for the Museum of Youth Culture<\/a> \u2013 and some fabulous art shows<\/a> and museum exhibitions<\/a> to look forward to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And if you haven\u2019t already filled up your diary for the next few months, we\u2019ve got\u00a0even more\u00a0unmissable culture for you in the form of some eye-catching photography exhibitions. Make the most of \u2018planuary\u2019 by organising your upcoming excursions to these shows encompassing everything from snapshots of queer communities and American urban life to\u00a0cutting-edge wildlife and fashion photography.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED: The 26 best things to do in London in 2026<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The\u00a08\u00a0best\u00a0photography exhibitions\u00a0coming to London in 2026<\/strong>
\n1. \u2018Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography\u2019 at Tate Modern<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the camera was first invented, it was a wonder of science, able to capture images with an accuracy that had never been seen before. But soon, instead of being seen as a rival to painters and sculptors, photographers began to join them as artists, interested in all the creative possibilities of this new method of image making. Tate Modern\u2019s\u00a0autumn opening explores how art photography emerged as a discipline between the 1880s and 1960s, taking an international approach that spans places from Shanghai to Sydney, New York to Cape Town, and Brazil to Singapore.<\/p>\n

Tate Modern. Oct 14-Feb 21 2027. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Lewis
\nImage: Lewis Hine, \u2018Riding the Ball High up on Empire State\u2019, (c.1930). Courtesy of The Savings Bank Foundation DNB Collection, on deposit at Lillehammer Art Museum. <\/p>\n

2. \u2018Portrait of a City: A Century of American Photography\u2019 at Dulwich Picture Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dulwich Picture Gallery\u2019s big summer exhibition will be an intriguing contrast with the pastoral landscapes found in its permanent collection. Portrait of a City is all about American urban life, as documented by photographers between 1907 and 2012. It’ll offer a fascinating insight into how big cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco grew from low-rise communities into towering assemblages of skyscrapers and multi-lane traffic. Photos from big names including Diane Arbus, Lewis Hine and Dorothea Lange will chart the faces and sights of cities in flux.<\/p>\n

Dulwich Picture Gallery. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. Nan Goldin: \u2018The Ballad of Sexual Dependency\u2019 at Gagosian<\/strong><\/p>\n

American icon Nan Goldin\u2019s seminal photography series goes on display in full for the first time ever in the UK to mark the 40th anniversary of\u00a0its publication as a photobook.\u00a0Featuring 123 photographs shot between 1973 and 1986, it\u2019s an intimate, wistful portrait of Goldin\u2019s downtown NYC community \u2013 including pop culture icons like Cookie Mueller and Greer Lankton \u2013 shot in\u00a0the saturated, moody hues that have become her signature.<\/p>\n

Gagosian Davies St. Until Mar 21. Free. More details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4. Nhu Xuan Hua: \u2018Of walking on fire\u2019 at Autograph<\/p>\n

French Vietnamese artist Nhu Xuan Hua will take over both of Autograph Gallery\u2019s main spaces this spring with newly commissioned work at the intersection of art and fashion photography. It will draw on her Vietnamese parentage, reimagining her family photographs to explore the fragility of memory, and what’s lost between generations<\/p>\n

Autograph. Apr 16-Sep19. Free. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A
\nImage: \u2018Chloe, 1993\u2019 \u00a9 Catherine Opie. Courtesy the artist, Regen Projects, Los Angeles and Thomas Dane Gallery <\/p>\n

5. Catherine Opie: \u2018To Be Seen<\/strong>\u2019 at the National Portrait Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Portrait Gallery builds on its\u00a0brilliant programming in 2025 with the first major UK exhibition on Catherine Opie, the American photographer best known for her stylised, painterly portraits of queer communities.\u00a0<\/strong>It\u2019ll\u00a0span the Ohio-born artist\u2019s three-decade career, from her first major series \u2018Being and Having\u2019\u00a0(1991) to later photographs of\u00a0children, surfers, high school footballers, political crowds and self-portraits.<\/p>\n

National Portrait Gallery.\u00a0Mar 5-May 31.\u00a0\u00a319.50. More details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

6. \u2018Water Pantanal Fire\u2019\u00a0at the Science Museum<\/p>\n

The Science Museum\u2019s free springtime photography exhibition will illustrate the beauty and fragility of the world\u2019s largest wetland, the Pantanal, which sprawls across\u00a0Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay.\u00a0Over 60 images, captured by two of Brazil\u2019s leading documentary photographers, will feature, introducing visitors to the area\u2019s amazing biodiversity with photographs of jaguars, howler monkeys, caiman and marsh deer, while also\u00a0documenting the ravages of wildfires and deforestation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Science Museum. Feb 6-May 31. Free. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

7. \u2018We Others\u2019: Donna Gottschalk and H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Giannecchini at The Photographers\u2019 Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get a glimpse of the hidden lives of queer people in midcentury New York at this intimate exhibition. Before homosexuality was legalised,\u00a0Donna Gottschalk photographed the people she described as\u00a0\u2018brave and defiant warriors\u2019 for daring to live openly as themselves, and take part in the emerging lesbian, trans and gay rights movements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Photographers\u2019 Gallery. Mar 6-Jun 7. \u00a38.50. More details here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Ian
\nPhotograph: \u2018Ian McKellen, Love, London\u2019 (2023) \u00a9 Tim Walker <\/p>\n

8.\u00a0Tim Walker\u2019s \u2018Fairyland: Love and Legends\u2019 at the National Portrait Gallery<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Portrait Gallery collaborates with another huge name in contemporary photography for its autumn exhibition.\u00a0Best known for his eye-popping, fantastical fashion photography for titles including\u00a0British Vogue,\u00a0i-D, W,\u00a0Vanity Fair\u00a0and\u00a0Another Man, British photographer Tim Walker has spent the past five years photographing the nation\u2019s LGBTQ+ trailblazers in preparation for this major exhibition, his first show in London since\u00a0the V&A\u2019s acclaimed\u00a0one in 2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

National Portrait Gallery. Oct 8-Jan 31 2027. More details here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Start planning an amazing year with our\u00a02026 preview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke \u2013 from news and reviews to events and trends. Just\u00a0<\/strong>follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay in the loop: sign up for our\u00a0<\/strong>free Time Out London newsletter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We might only be a couple of weeks into the new year, but\u00a02026 is already looking like a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[2606,748,13721,393,4884,257,13722,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-699455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-categories-art","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-london","14":"tag-news-art","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115903754796790755","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}