Expand Your Mind with the London Art Map
In London, the month of May means walking between galleries until your feet are sore, but at the same time, nourishing your soul amidst that intellectual chaos. As Apartman No-26, our updated “Top 10” art exhibition list for this week will make things a bit easier. However, let’s be honest; not every exhibition on this list carries the same artistic weight or sincerity. Setting aside the works polished with press-release jargon just because they are deemed “must-sees,” let us take a deep dive into those true pinnacles that genuinely deserve your mind and time, leaving their mark on May 2026 London.
Tracey Emin: ‘A Second Life’ — Tate Modern
Walking through the corridors of Tate Modern, you confront Tracey Emin’s forty-year-old raw and uncompromising scream. A Second Life juxtaposes the career zeniths of this rebel from Margate with her personal hells. Pouring abortion, sexual violence, and her recently overcome fatal illness onto canvases and neons, Emin transforms pain not into a spectacle, but into jarring monuments. You leave the exhibition feeling emotionally battered; yet, you once again swear allegiance to Tracey Emin’s absolute sovereignty in contemporary art history.
Francisco de Zurbarán — National Gallery
The first major exhibition in the UK for the Spanish Baroque master Francisco de Zurbarán creates the atmosphere of a mystical ritual in Trafalgar Square. Borrowed from giant institutions such as the Prado, the Louvre, and the Art Institute of Chicago, the works bring the religious devotion that once adorned the walls of Spanish monasteries here. Zurbarán paints the paleness of Christ’s flesh on the cross, the coarse fabric folds of a monk’s robe, or the shimmer on a lemon in the corner of a canvas with such mastery that he forces everyone—believer or not—to kneel before the canvas.
Hurvin Anderson — Tate Britain
Spanning from Turner Prize nominee Hurvin Anderson’s student days in 1995 to fresh works, some of which he completed after they were hung on the gallery walls, this selection captivates with its massive scale. Anderson recounts the multi-layered experience of identity that comes with being a Black Briton of Caribbean descent through large, energetic, and surprisingly happy color tones. What makes this exhibition special is that the pure joy of production during the creation phase of the canvases directly infects the viewer. Large paintings have large and honest stories; Anderson is the living proof of this.
Elsa Schiaparelli: ‘Fashion Becomes Art’ — V&A South Kensington
In interwar Paris, Elsa Schiaparelli did not view fashion merely as the act of tailoring clothes; she placed it at the very heart of Surrealism. This first British exhibition at the V&A reads the Italian designer’s partnerships with geniuses like Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Leonor Fini through garments. Right next to Dalí’s famous lobster telephone stand those bizarre, dazzling designs we see on the likes of Ariana Grande or Dua Lipa today. With contributions from current Creative Director Daniel Roseberry, it is a highly aesthetic and provocative show demonstrating how fashion can transform into pure art.
Michaelina Wautier — Royal Academy of Arts
Until recently, art historians—unable to attribute such confident signatures to a woman—credited Michaelina Wautier’s works either to her brother or to other male painters of the era. Re-discovered through the painting The Triumph of Bacchus, retrieved from the vaults of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, this 17th-century Flemish master is now making history at the Royal Academy. Delivering works far superior to her male colleagues in every genre from florals to massive historical scenes—arenas long monopolized by men—Wautier finally takes her usurped seat in art history with this exhibition.
Donald Locke: ‘Resistant Forms’ — Camden Arts Centre
This retrospective of Donald Locke, one of the most furious and talented ceramicist-painters of the Windrush generation, examines the claustrophobic destruction that colonialism left on the soul of a Guyanese artist. Featuring large-scale mixed-media works like Trophies of Empire, the exhibition ranges from fierce black paintings to intricate ceramic assemblages reminiscent of instruments of violence and cages. You cannot always come across Locke’s exhibitions; therefore, you must head toward Camden to confront that subtle yet wild rage embedded within the material.
The Music is Black: A British Story — V&A East
This debut major exhibition at V&A East is a tremendous tribute dedicated to the pioneers, visionaries, and unsung heroes of Black music in Britain from the 1900s to the present day. No genre has been missed, from jazz and swing to jungle, grime, and trip-hop. As you walk through the gallery, personal headphones given to you start playing songs based on the object you stand before. From Stormzy’s famous stab-proof vest to Shy FX’s crude 90s synth machine, more than 200 objects celebrate the history of the best music to come out of this island.
NIGO: From Japan with Love — Design Museum
The genius behind the Bape and Human Made brands, and Kenzo’s creative director since 2021, Nigo is one of those sacred figures who turned streetwear into a religion. Featuring 700 objects, largely drawn from Nigo’s personal archive, this exhibition at the Design Museum delves into the roots of Harajuku street style, hip-hop culture, and Japanese design philosophy. It is an unmissable popular culture lesson to understand how today’s “hype” and limited-edition consumer culture was constructed.
Susan Collier & Sarah Campbell: Paint! Pattern! Print! — Fashion and Textile Museum
The joyful, daring textile designs of sisters Sarah Campbell and Susan Collier offer a literal visual feast in Bermondsey, spanning from the 60s to the present day. Collaborating with giant houses like Yves Saint Laurent, Liberty, and John Lewis for 50 years, the duo crafted everything onto fabric by hand, from still lifes to tropical landscapes, folk figures to flowers. If you are someone who likes to secrete “dopamine” through your clothes in daily life, this textile exhibition where colors explode like fireworks is just for you.
Art Deco: The Golden Age of Poster Design — London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden revives the glamorous, luxurious, and decadent spirit of the interwar period with over a hundred Art Deco posters. Alongside the posters, the exhibition features cigarette cases, compact mirrors, and tea sets reflecting the ethos of the era. Capturing young viewers with its flawless vintage aesthetic while bringing nostalgia to older visitors, this selection reminds us of a very important fact: subway advertisements do not always have to be boring; sometimes, they too can transform into the city’s most refined works of art.
Final Word: Slowing Down Time
As of May 2026, the London art scene whispers a single thing to us: slow down. Whether you get lost in the societal memory layers of Hurvin Anderson or watch the airborne suspension of Lizzie Munn’s print works moving with the wind; the shared triumph of these exhibitions lies in their ability to detach the viewer from the shallow speed of the digital world.
