WHAT'S ON THIS MONTH
13 & 14 SEP
Step inside weekend
2025 marks two landmark anniversaries: 25 years since Somerset House began its bold transformation from government offices and a car park into London’s leading centre for cultural innovation, and 75 years of Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz’s timeless creation.
Following the success of our 2018 exhibition Good Grief, Charlie Brown!, Somerset House is once again partnering with Peanuts Worldwide. Together, we’ll be reviving a much-loved interactive drawing activity from the exhibition, inviting visitors to join us in celebrating creativity, imagination and cultural legacy.
Don't miss this and so much more next weekend at Step Inside 25 where we open our doors over 2 days for a free festival. Celebrate with us across a weekend of culture and creativity: behind-the-scenes tours, new commissions from Tai Shani, GAIKA and Nick Ryan, a pop-up basketball court, Cute Disco, live music, workshops inspired by Peanuts, family activities, street food, and Somerset House Blue lighting up Waterloo Bridge at sunset.
Proudly supported by 886 by The Royal Mint, our Innovation Supporter for the weekend.
UNTIL 14 SEP
what does the dreamer dream?
Leaving our courtyard soon, Tai Shani’s dreaming figure rests atop a stepped plinth. Suspended between sleep and wakefulness, their blue form rises and falls in a slow breath, drawing visitors to gather, peer inside, or move through the space while tuning into The Dream radio - a daily online broadcast for radical imagination and dreaming of new possibilities.
As Time Out observes, it’s a balance that’s hard to achieve:
'Art with a message often risks being didactic, prioritising its statement over its aesthetic experience. Here, though, is a deft balance of content and form: a nuanced message, contained within immediately impressive and accessible art.'
UNTIL 28 SEP
UNFILTERED, UNMISSABLE – VIRTUAL BEAUTY ENDS SOON
Don’t miss your final chance to experience Virtual Beauty, closing Saturday 28 September.
Described by Wallpaper* as “both profound and thought-provoking,” this critically acclaimed exhibition explores how beauty is filtered, coded and performed online.
Featuring bold, immersive works by artists including Qualeasha Wood, ORLAN, Bunny Kinney and Ines Alpha, the show dives deep into identity, technology and self-image in the digital age.
Want more? Unpack the ideas behind the show with our Channel behind-the-scenes film and long-read essay offering new perspectives from the curator and artists.
UNTIL 28 SEP
Summer Shop
Step inside the vibrant Somerset House summer pop-up shop before it’s gone, and explore a curated collection of gifts, art, fashion, and homeware from brilliant independent designers, artists, and makers. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or a curious newcomer, the range promises to captivate, think bold, bright, and truly one-of-a-kind.
Among the treasures are rare items from key moments in Somerset House’s history, featuring names like PJ Harvey, Andrew Ibi, and Pam Hogg. With the majority of each sale supporting the Somerset House creative community, every purchase makes an impact. Open for a limiited time only.
cOMING SOON
Rhythm, Roots & Culture – A New Season OF ART This Autumn
OPENS 17 OCT
JENNIE BAPTISTE: RHYTHM & ROOTS
A landmark exhibition celebrating photography, music, and Black British culture lands at Somerset House this Autumn.
Opening 17 October as part of our 25th birthday year, Jennie Baptiste: Rhythm & Roots is the first major solo show from one of the UK’s most influential image-makers. With work held in collections at the V&A and National Portrait Gallery, Baptiste’s portraits have helped define the visual language of a generation.
Step inside three decades of bold, joyful and politically charged photography, capturing the spirit of youth, sound and self-expression across the Black British diaspora – and beyond. From iconic portraits of The Notorious B.I.G., Ms. Dynamite, NAS and Estelle, to intimate moments from London’s dancehall and hip-hop scenes, the show charts a powerful visual history of style, identity and cultural pride.
Set to a specially curated soundtrack from featured artists, this is a celebration of rhythm, roots and creative resistance.
Entry is Pay What You Can – helping keep the exhibition open to all.
landmark exhibitions from wayne mcgregor
OPENS 30 OCT
Wayne McGregor: Infinite Bodies
Step into 30 years of radical choreography where dance and the human body collide with AI, robotics, motion-capture and multisensory installations. Expect immersive works, new commissions and unannounced live activations from Company Wayne McGregor.
Presented with Bloomberg Philanthropies, Principal Partner of Infinite Bodies.
OPENS 30 OCT
Wayne McGregor: on the other earth
The world’s first post-cinematic choreographic installation, at Stone Nest in London’s West End.
Visitors will step inside a cutting-edge, 360° 12K LED cylindrical screen, where they’ll experience the hyperreal dancers of Company Wayne McGregor and Hong Kong Ballet, surrounded by shifting AI-powered soundscapes and breathtaking 3D visuals, each and every visit offering a unique and powerful encounter. Presented in partnership at Stone Nest.
Save £5 by booking a ticket to both Infinite Bodies and On The Other Earth
