Having trouble deciding on the best spots for photography in London?
Then check out the fantastic events in the London and Watford area this month. These events are more geared towards photography, fashion and art.
Hello August!
Summer may be winding down, but the city is still buzzing with energy and unforgettable events. Whether you’re soaking up the last days of your holiday or easing back into routine, there’s plenty to explore this month. From the vibrant spectacle of Notting Hill Carnival to the dynamic Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, August is packed with culture. Don’t miss the latest art gallery openings and a striking new sculpture unveiled in Somerset House’s courtyard—part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.
Last Updated: 1st August
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Ronnie Scott’s Street Party on Frith Street, Soho – 2nd
Ronnie Scott’s is bringing back our free summer street party on Saturday, 2 August. Artists lined up to perform include Jazz Jamaica, Theon Cross, Cosmic Fusion, Tomorrow’s Warriors Youth Ensemble, Kinetika Bloco, plus special guest DJ AG kicking things off.
Find out more here.
Watford Carnival 2025 at Radlett Road Playing Fields – 2nd
The Watford Carnival, organized by Mojo Fusion Ltd CIC, is an annual event that epitomizes our commitment to promoting sociocultural interaction, supporting local and small businesses, and celebrating unity in diversity. This vibrant festival is a testament to the rich tapestry of cultures that make up our community, bringing together people of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds for a day of joy, learning, and connection.
Find out more here.
Thamesmead Festival at Southmere Park – 2nd
Thamesmead’s free, family-friendly festival promises another unforgettable celebration of music, culture and community spirit. With four big stages to visit, you can enjoy everything from Afrobeat, R&B, rock and pop to spoken word, comedy, and street dance. Plus a market featuring local artists and world food.
Find out more here.
Fireworks in Greenwich at Old Royal Naval College – 2nd & 9th
On 2nd and 9th August 2025 from approximately 22:45 for a duration of approximately 5 minutes, a fireworks display will be taking place in the vicinity of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.
Find out more here.
Grief Rave at the Southbank Centre – 3rd
The Grief Rave invites anyone and everyone to shake out their day, to dedicate a song to someone or something they may be missing – from a personal bereavement to a breakup or a few minutes of releasing some political rage, pain or fury in these ever complex times.
Find out more here.
Chelsea Physic Garden Lates – 5th till 26th
Step into the magic of London’s oldest botanic garden after hours during our exclusive late openings, taking place every Tuesday throughout August. For the first of these special evenings, we’ll be delving into the nature of the Garden itself. Join ecologist Connor Butler for a fascinating look at the often-overlooked wildlife that calls the Garden home. From liverworts and lichens to woodlice and springtails, discover the intricate web of life thriving just beneath the surface.
Find out more here.
Millet: Life on the Land at National Gallery – 7th till 19th October
The sower, the woodcutter, a shepherd girl. These are the subjects that made French artist Jean-Francois Millet famous. Marking the 150th anniversary of his death, this is an opportunity to see some of Millet’s best-loved paintings and drawings.
Find out more here.
Deptford Northern Soul Club & Friends at the Southbank Centre – 8th
Spin and shuffle on down to an evening of Northern Soul with some top notch DJ sets and a dance floor to shake it out. Created by childhood friends Will Foot and Lewis Henderson, whose early love of soul developed after discovering Henderson’s dad’s record collection, Deptford Northern Soul Club is spreading the love for music and dance across the country and across all ages.
Find out more here.
Tai Shani: The Spell or The Dream at Somerset House – 8th till 14th
Turner Prize-winning, Somerset House Studios artist Tai Shani presents: The Spell or The Dream, a major free commission celebrating Somerset House’s 25th birthday.
Find out more here.
Skate Up Space at the Southbank Centre – 9th
Rollerskaters: assemble on the Riverside Terrace for a day of workshops, live music and DJs guiding us to move together to the beat on wheels.
Find out more here.
Tales of the River Festival at Oxhey Park, Watford – 9th
a special event celebrating the ‘Tales of the River’ project – a unique opportunity to explore the rich heritage of the River Colne through stories, history, and community connection.
Find out more here.
African Fashion Week – 9th till 10th
Africa Fashion Week London marks 15 years of championing African fashion, culture, and creativity on the global stage! This milestone event promises to be bigger and better than ever, featuring TWO DAYS of our famous catwalk shows, exclusive designer showcases, full-to-the-brim exhibition shopping halls, fashion talks, influencer interviews, and cultural experiences celebrating African heritage in fashion
Find out more here.
Walthamstow Colour Walk and Picnic 2025 – 10th
Penny Rutterford, Sarah Corbett and Silvana Gambini invite you all to don your brightest and most colourful outfits and join this year’s Walthamstow Colour Walk and Picnic at 12.30 on Sunday 10th August 2025!!!
Find out more here.
Perseid meteor shower in Cassiobury Park – 11th
Bring a flask and a deck chair and watch the celestial light show. Or if you have a camera with a tripod, take some photographs of the night sky. The Perseid meteor shower happens every year and can be pretty spectacular. The peak display is between the 11th & 12th of August, with around 50 to 90 meteors visible per hour. Back in 2016, there were 80 – 100 an hour.
Find out more here
Ballerina in the Woods in Whippendell Woods – TBA
We will be going on a woodland walk with a model / ballerina. You will be able to take photos of the model during the walk. We will have some props for you to use.
Find out more here.
Colourscape in Cassiobury Park, Watford – 16th till 25th
Enter a new world of colour and light. Explore a unique labyrinth of about 70 interlinked chambers of intense colours and discover musicians and dancers interacting with you.
Find out more here.
Falling from the Sky by Sho Shibuya at Unit London – 20th till 25th September
Falling From the Sky turns its gaze toward a more contemplative subject: rain. For Shibuya, rainy days offer a particular kind of beauty; as raindrops roll down window panes, or are pushed along them by strong winds, they form delicate, ever-changing patterns that give renewed meaning to ideas of ephemerality and idiosyncrasy. These patterns, recorded through photographs and transformed into painted compositions, are at once meditative and spontaneous.
Find out more here.
Colour Walk Meetup at Spitalfields Market – 21st
It is an informal gathering of colourful, creative souls who meet, dressed in their finest, to walk, talk, and strut their stuff. It is excellent for photography.
Find out more here.
Greenwich+Docklands International Festival – 22nd till 6th September
Discover an all-female high-wire walk framed by London’s best view, extraordinary on-water physical theatre with an urgent climate message, an unmissable fusion of engineering and circus and much, much more from 22 August – 6 September.
Find out more here.
Photographic Walk in Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve – 23rd
Take a guided walk through Cassiobury Park Nature Reserve led by Andrew Lalchan (local photographer), we will be exploring summer in the park with the butterflies, dragonflies & damselflies.
Find out more here.
Notting Hill Carnival- 24th till 25th
Notting Hill Carnival is a vibrant annual street festival in London that celebrates Caribbean culture, held over the August bank holiday weekend. It’s one of the largest street festivals in Europe, attracting over a million people with its parades, music, dancing, and food.
Find out more here.
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Last chance to see
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style at Design Museum – till 17th August 2025
A major exhibition celebrating our enduring love of the water over the last 100 years. Explore the full spectrum of the design of swimming — from sports performance and fashion, to architecture.
Find out more here.
Dan Guthrie at Chisenhale Gallery – to 17th August
Film and installation artist Dan Guthrie explores Black British identity and local histories.
Find out more here
Ed Atkins at Tate Britain – till 25th August
Ed Atkins is best known for his computer-generated videos and animations. Repurposing contemporary technologies in unexpected ways, his work traces the dwindling gap between the digital world and human feeling. He borrows techniques from literature, cinema, video games, music and theatre to examine the relationship between reality, realism and fiction.
Find out more here.
Feel the Sound at the Barbican Centre – till 31st August
A new immersive exhibition will rearrange what you think sound is. Feel the Sound includes multi-sensory installations that take you on a journey across locations in the Barbican, from the car parks to the Lakeside Terrace.
Find out more here.
Yoshitomo Nara at Hayward Gallery – till 31st August
Dive into the captivating, creative world of Yoshitomo Nara in the largest European retrospective of one of Japan’s most celebrated artists.
Find out more here
Hiroshige – artist of the open road at The British Museum – till 7th September
This is the first exhibition on Hiroshige to be held at the British Museum and the first on the artist in London for more than a quarter of a century. It is a visually stunning portrait of a country about to change forever. Born during an unsettled time in Japan’s history, Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) went on to become one of the country’s most talented, prolific, and popular artists.
Find out more here
Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting at National Portrait Gallery – till 7th September
The first UK museum exhibition dedicated to Jenny Saville, showcasing 50 powerful figurative works spanning her career. Saville rose to prominence in the early 1990s, following her acclaimed degree show at the Glasgow School of Art. Since then, she has played a leading role in the reinvigoration of figurative painting – a genre that she continues to test today.
Find out more here.
Emily Kam Kngwarray at Tate Modern – till 11th January 2026
Renowned Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1914–1996) created compelling, powerful works that reflect her extraordinary life as an Anmatyerr woman born in Alhalker in the Sandover region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Find out more here.
Leigh Bowery exhibition at Tate Modern – till 2nd September 2025
This is a celebration of the boundary-pushing career of artist Leigh Bowery. An artist, performer, model, TV personality, club promoter, fashion designer, and musician, Bowery took on many different roles, refusing to be limited by convention.
Find out more here.
Giuseppe Penone at Serpentine South – till 7th September
With a career spanning over five decades, Giuseppe Penone (b. 1947 Garessio, Italy) has created an expansive body of work that encompasses sculpture, drawing, painting, installation, and photography. Born in a village near Cuneo, Italy, his practice is deeply influenced by the forested landscapes of Northern Italy, shaping his lifelong exploration of the relationship between humans and nature.
Find out more here.
Rachel Jones at Dulwich Picture Gallery – till 19th October
An explosion of colour and feeling, this solo show explores identity and abstraction in Jones’s vivid new paintings.
Find out more here
Virtual Beauty at Somerset House – till 28th September
Featuring over 20 international artists, Virtual Beauty will delve into the influence of artificial intelligence, social media, and virtual identities on self-image. The exhibition will feature interactive installations and pioneering works that challenge traditional beauty standards. Highlights include ORLAN’s Omniprésence (1993), a groundbreaking performance in which the artist live-streamed her own facial aesthetic surgery to critique Western beauty ideals, and Amalia Ulman’s Excellences & Perfections, a powerful commentary on the authenticity of social media personas.
Find out more here.
More Than Human at The Design Museum – till 5th October
Why has design traditionally only focused on the needs of humans, when we exist alongside billions of animals, plants and other living beings? This groundbreaking exhibition offers a new perspective, one that will be crucial to enabling the planet to thrive.
Find out more here.
Ancient India: living traditions at The British Museum – till 25th October
This new exhibition, reaching back more than 2,000 years, explores the origins of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist sacred art in the ancient and powerful nature spirits of India and the spread of this art beyond the subcontinent.
Find out more here.
Edward Burra & Edward Burra at Tate Britain – till 19th October
Edward Burra runs in parallel with an exhibition of works by Ithell Colquhoun, offering visitors the chance to see two influential British artists with one ticket. Edward Burra is one of the most distinctive British artists of the 20th century, renowned for his vibrant, satirical scenes of the uninhibited urban underworld and queer culture during the ‘Roaring Twenties.’
Find out more here
Making Egypt exhibition at the Young V&A – till 2nd November 2025
Embark on a fascinating journey through the ancient past to the modern day, exploring ancient Egypt’s creativity and how it continues to influence art, design and popular culture today.
Find out more here.
VE Day – The Tower Remembers at Tower Of London – 11th November
2025 Poppies commemorative display to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The display will feature nearly 30,000 of the original poppies, created for the 2014 installation, ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’, returning to the Tower, marking the sacrifices made by many during the Second World War.
Find out more here
The Edwardians: Age of Elegance at Kings Gallery – til 23rd November 2025
Explore the opulence and glamour of the Edwardian age – the period between the Victorian era and the First World War. Visitors will learn about the lives and tastes of two of Britain’s most fashionable royal couples – King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, and King George V and Queen Mary – from their family lives and personal collecting to their glittering social circles and spectacular royal events.
Find out more here.
Future Of Food at Design Museum – till 4th January
How does our food today go from field to plate? How did food use to be produced in the past? And how will major advances in ecology and biotechnology change food in the future? Discover the answers to these and many more vital questions in an exciting new exhibition exploring how science is creating more sustainable ways of growing, making, cooking and eating food.
Find out more here.
Performance of Entrapment by Jane and Louise Wilson at London Mithraeum – till 17th January 2026
Central to the installation will be 2,000-year-old oak stakes discovered during excavations for Bloomberg’s European headquarters. The Wilsons use high-resolution microscopic imagery of the oak’s grain as a starting point for a new body of work. Blending screen-printing, resin, and carved wooden forms, and drawing inspiration from the wood’s structure, patterns and DNA sequencing to create large-scale, visually layered artworks.
Find out more here.
Sculpture in the City – till spring 2026
Sculpture in the City is an annual sculpture park that uses the urban realm as a rotating gallery space. The 14th Edition of Sculpture in the City will be on display from 16 July 2025 to Spring 2026, and includes 11 artworks from renowned and emerging artists alike: Ai Weiwei, Jane and Louise Wilson, Andrew Sabin, Julian Opie, Maya Rose Edwards, Samuel Ross, Richard Mackness, Elisa Artesero, Daniel Silver, and Oliver Bragg.
Find out more here.
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