Having trouble deciding on the best spots for photography in London?
Then check out the amazing events in the London and Watford area this month. These events are more geared towards photography and art.
From the whimsical dance of cherry blossoms to the proud stance of tuAs one of the most colourful times of the year unfolds, we’re greeted by the delightful blooms of wisteria and a palette of early summer beauty. This month promises a return of warmer weather and a host of exciting events tailored for everyone. From community gatherings to outdoor festivals, May offers ample opportunities to enjoy the burgeoning warmth and the photography community spirit.
Last Updated: 7th May
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May Day 24 – 1st
Some workers worldwide will mark May Day. In London, there will be a march from Clerkenwell to Trafalgar Square.
Find out more here.
Watford Market Lates – 3rd
There will also be craft beer, a pop-up bar and delicious street food from around the globe, including Caribbean, Asian and Korean street food. Music from Soraya Ray and Studio 6 Band, as well as face painting, a magician and a book signing with ‘The Apprentice’ star, Tom Skinner
Find out more here.
Marc Quinn: Light into Life at Kew Gardens – 4th till 29th September 2024
Explore a new exhibition from leading contemporary artist Marc Quinn at Kew Gardens this spring and summer. Light into Life presents 17 stunning stainless steel and bronze sculptures around the Gardens and in the Temperate House alongside a presentation of Quinn’s new and existing paintings, drawings, sculptures and evocative frozen works in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery.
Find out more here.
IWA Canalway Cavalcade at Little Venice – 4th till 6th
There’s something for everyone at IWA Canalway Cavalcade, a vibrant canal festival in the heart of London’s waterways. Whether visiting by boat or on foot, it’s a splendid day out for you and your family. Soak up the atmosphere surrounded by colourful crafts of all shapes and sizes alongside many unique stalls, a real ale bar, and delicious foods for all appetites. With eclectic live music around the site, special boating activities like the legendary illuminated procession, and kids’ entertainment for all ages.
Find out more here.
The Fourth Grand Flaneur Walk – 5th
The Fourth Grand Flaneur Walk will be held on Sunday, May 5th, 2024, commencing at midday by the statue of Beau Brummell on Jermyn Street, London W1. The Grand Flaneur Walk celebrates the pure, the immutable, and the pointless, and it is taken by the bold, the adventurous, and the inebriated.
Find out more here.
Weaving International Fashion – 11th
Explore a world of fashion and culture at a stunning showcase of international fashion design at the Inaugural Fundraising Event hosted by the Young Diplomats in London (YDL) in association with the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in London, celebrating its 125 years of partnership with the UK.
Find out more here.
Fashion Unfiltered! at Atria in Watford – 11th & 12th
Join us for catwalk shows and curated looks from our special guests and brand spotlights that you won’t want to miss! Best of all, it’s a FREE event!
Find out more here.
Ballerina in the city of London – 12th
Explore the vibrant streets of London with Julia, a professional ballerina who brings the elegance of ballet to the urban landscape. As we wander through the city from St. Pauls to Leaden Hall Market, capture Julia seamlessly integrating classic ballet poses and movements into the dynamic setting.
Find out more here.
London Craft Week at various locations – 13th to 19th
London Craft Week is a city-wide festival celebrating exceptional craftsmanship across multiple sectors and disciplines from around the world. Through our curated programme of events, we shine a light on the creative talent behind some of the world’s most beautiful objects, telling stories of their inspiration, process and materials.
Find out more here.
Portobello Wall Launch Event – 14th
Ten panels of artwork along a stretch of brick wall linking two of the most vibrant and well-known market areas in London: Portobello Road and Golborne Road. Since the initial iteration of the project in 2009, successful installations have created a visual link between these two unique markets. RSVP Essential: info@themuseat269.com
Find out more here.
Photographic Nature Walk in Whippendell Woods with Bluebells – 15th
Take a guided walk through Cassiobury Peace Garden and the Nature Reserve led by Andrew Lalchan (local photographer); we will explore late spring. Depending on the weather, there may be dragonflies & damselflies.
Find out more here.
Design Discoveries: Towards a DESIGN MUSEUM JAPAN – 15th till 8th September 2024
While Japan is synonymous with exemplary design, it doesn’t yet have a dedicated national museum. This exhibition brings together seven significant designers, from filmmakers to architects, to consider what they would put into a permanent collection of design treasures. Their personal responses capture Japan’s regional diversity and 10,000 years of history.
Find out more here.
Tate Britain: Now You See Us – 16th till 13 October 2024
Spanning 400 years, this exhibition follows women on their journeys to becoming professional artists. From Tudor times to the First World War, artists such as Mary Beale, Angelica Kauffman, Elizabeth Butler and Laura Knight paved a new artistic path for generations of women. They challenged what it meant to be a working woman of the time by going against society’s expectations – having commercial careers as artists and participating in public exhibitions.
Find out more here.
Colour Walk Meetup at Spitalfields Market – 16th
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.
Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography at Buckingham Palace – 17th till 28th August 2024
For centuries, portraiture has played a vital role in shaping the public’s perception of the Royal Family. This exhibition will chart the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, bringing together more than 150 photographic prints, proofs and documents from the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.
Find out more here.
Urban Village Fete in Greenwich Peninsula – 19th
Greenwich Peninsula’s Urban Village Fete is back, and it’s BIGGER than ever! Mark your calendars for Sunday, 19th May (11am – late) and get ready to crank up your summer vibes. Legendary DJ Gilles Peterson joins forces with the sonic storyteller, Jamz Supernova, for a musical experience you won’t want to miss.
Find out more here.
Chelsea In Bloom Model Shoot – 24th
Explore Chelsea In Bloom with a couple of models dressed in floral dresses. Chelsea in Bloom is a prestigious annual floral art show held in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood. It’s celebrated as London’s largest free-to-attend festival of flowers, coinciding with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Find out more here.
Chelsea In Bloom – 20th to 26th
Celebrate the start of summer with a visit to Chelsea in Bloom, Chelsea’s prestigious annual floral art show and London’s largest free-to-attend festival of flowers. Each year, local retailers, restaurants, and hotels participate by creating stunning floral displays based on a specific theme, transforming the streets of Chelsea into a vibrant and colourful floral exhibition. This year, the theme is floral feasts.
Find out more here.
Belgravia In Bloom – 20th till 27th
Get your floral fix at the FREE Belgravia in Bloom festival, which takes place from 20 to 27 May. In its ninth year, 2024’s festival theme is Floral Fun and Games. With a nod to a summer of epic sporting events, this year’s festival will bring the world of fun and games to life with eye-popping floral displays and unique experiences across the neighbourhood.
Find out more here.
Chelsea Flower Show – 21st to 25th
RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024 promises amazing garden designs, gorgeous floral displays and exclusive shopping.
Find out more here.
Clerkenwell Design Week – 21st till 23rd
Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week has created a unique way of showcasing world-leading interior brands and emerging design talent.
Find out more here.
Saville Row Concours – 22nd & 23rd
The Concours on Savile Row will start at 10am and finish at 8pm on each of the two days, Wednesday, May 22 and Thursday, May 23, 2024. You will see some of the greatest cars ever made, matched with specific tailors to continue a long tradition of car manufacturers pairing with the craftsmanship of Savile Row.
Find out more here.
Judy Chicago: Revelations at Serpentine North – 23rd till 1st September 2024
Serpentine presents the first major interdisciplinary, immersive institutional exhibition in London of Judy Chicago. Focused on drawing, it will combine new and little-seen works and preparatory studies alongside audio, visual and new technology materials.
Find out more here.
Feria de Londres 2024 in Shoreditch – 25th & 26th
Feria de Londres, one of the UK’s biggest celebrations of Spanish culture, is set to return to London this Spring Bank Holiday. Brick Lane Yard at the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch will be transformed into a vibrant Spanish fiesta, with the aroma of authentic cuisine and the sounds of lively music and performances such as Spanish dancer Emilio Serrano, Lourdes Fernandez flamenco show, live band Zurito y Dj El Gallo among others.
Find out more here.
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Last chance to see
Sony World Photography Awards exhibition – till 6th May
The highly anticipated Sony World Photography Awards exhibition returns to Somerset House this April, bringing extraordinary images – from luscious landscapes to impressive architecture, striking street shots to moving documentary projects – to an iconic location.
Find out more here.
Burtynsky: Extraction / Abstraction at Saatchi Gallery – till 6th May
This exhibition marks the largest exhibition ever mounted in the 40+ year career of world-renowned photographic artist, Edward Burtynsky, who has dedicated his practice to bearing witness to the impact of human industry on the planet. Curated by Marc Mayer, former Director of the National Gallery of Canada and Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the exhibition will feature 94 of Burtynsky’s large-format photographs as well as 13 high-resolution murals, and an augmented reality (AR) experience.
Find out more here.
When Forms Come Alive at Hayward Gallery – till 6th May 2024
Spanning over 60 years of contemporary sculpture, this exhibition highlights ways in which artists draw on familiar experiences of movement, flux and organic growth. Inspired by sources ranging from a dancer’s gesture to the breaking of a wave, from a flow of molten metal to the interlacing of a spider’s web, the artworks in When Forms Come Alive conjure fluid and shifting realms of experience.
Find out more here.
Angelica Kauffman at RA – till 30th June
Angelica Kauffman RA was one of the most celebrated artists of the 18th century. In this major exhibition, we trace her trajectory from child prodigy to one of Europe’s most sought-after painters. Known for her celebrity portraits and pioneering history paintings, Angelica Kauffman helped to shape the direction of European art.
Find out more here.
Sargent & Fashion exhibition at Tate Britain – till 7th July 2024
Celebrated for his striking portrait paintings, this exhibition sheds new light on John Singer Sargent’s acclaimed works. It explores how he worked like a stylist to craft the image of the sitters he painted, whom he often had close relationships with. Sargent used fashion as a powerful tool to express identity and personality. He regularly chose the outfits of his collaborators or manipulated their clothing.
Find out more here.
The Last Caravaggio at National Gallery – till 21st July
May 1610. Caravaggio is in Naples working on the last picture he’d ever paint. Two months later, he died in mysterious circumstances. But it was during his final tumultuous years that Caravaggio made some of his most striking works. His characteristic style includes tightly cropped scenes and dramatic lighting. He used real models with dirty feet and grimy fingernails.
Find out more here.
Yoko Ono: ‘Music of the Mind’ at Tate Britain – 1st September
Delve into the powerful, participatory work of artist and activist Yoko Ono. Yoko Ono is a trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, a celebrated musician, and a formidable campaigner for world peace. Developing her practice in the United States, Japan and the UK, ideas are central to her art, often expressed in poetic, humorous, profound and radical ways.
Find out more here.
Enzo Mari at the Design Museum – till 8th September
This major exhibition will celebrate the life and work of one of the greatest Italian designers of the 20th century, Enzo Mari, whose designs have inspired generations of creatives worldwide. Mari was also an artist, teacher, theorist, and more. During his prolific career, he created countless enduring and timeless designs, filling the homes and streets of the Milanese and beyond.
Find out more here.
Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence – till 22nd September
Tropical Modernism was an architectural style developed in the hot, humid conditions of West Africa in the 1940s. After independence, India and Ghana adopted the style as a symbol of modernity and progressiveness, distinct from colonial culture.
Find out more here.
Expressionists: Kandinsky at Tate Modern – till 20th October
Explore the groundbreaking work of a circle of friends and close collaborators known as The Blue Rider. In the early 20th century they came together to form, in their own words, ‘a union of various countries to serve one purpose’ – to transform modern art. The artists rallied around Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter to experiment with colour, sound and light, creating bold and vibrant art.
Find out more here.
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