Serpentine Galleries

Serpentine Galleries Art and ideas for a changing world. The Serpentine is one of London’s best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art. Guide dogs are permitted.
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They attract up to 800,000 visitors in any one year and admission is free. In the grounds of the Galleries is a permanent work by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, dedicated to the Serpentine’s former Patron Diana, Princess of Wales. The work comprises eight benches, a tree-plaque, and a carved stone circle at the Gallery’s entrance. In September 2013, Serpentine Galleries opened its new space,

the Serpentine North Gallery. This innovative arts venue for the 21st century is housed in the Grade II-listed building formerly known as The Magazine, situated in Kensington Gardens. In 2016 the Serpentine Pavilion programme expanded to include four Summer Houses in a group show of architecture in the built form. The Serpentine, in association with Bloomberg Philanthropies, has also opened the Build Your Own Pavilion Challenge, a competition for 8-14 year olds to design and enter their Pavilion models. For more information http://buildyourownpavilion.serpentinegalleries.org/

Getting here

Serpentine South Gallery
Nearest tube stations: Lancaster Gate, Knightsbridge or South Kensington Main bus routes: 9, 10, 52, 94, 148

Serpentine North Gallery
Nearest tube stations: Lancaster Gate or Marble Arch Main bus routes: 148, 274, 390 94

Group visits
The Serpentine welcomes school, university and community groups to the Galleries on Tuesday through Sunday for self-led visits. All groups must book in advance with the visitor experience team. For further information regarding planning a group visit, please visit our group visits page. Parking for vehicles and bicycles
There is metered car parking in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. There is dedicated cycle parking within the grounds of the Serpentine North Gallery. There are Santander Cycles hire stations on West Carriage Drive near the Serpentine North Gallery and on The Ring near the Serpentine South Gallery. Dogs
Dogs are not permitted inside the Serpentine Galleries or The Magazine restaurant. There are several dog rings and a water bowl outside the Serpentine South Gallery for short visits. Accessibility
We have full disability access and facilities. Facilities – toilets/baby changing room
The Serpentine Galleries have full disability access and facilities. There is a baby changing room located at each Gallery. Refreshments
Benugo runs a cafe at the Serpentine Pavilion. There is a selection of teas, coffees, sandwiches and cakes available daily 10am-6pm from June until October. The Magazine restaurant at the Serpentine North Gallery offers visitors a selection of snack items, teas, coffees, cocktails and wine. Opening times vary on a daily basis. For more information visit: https://www.benugo.com/restaurants/magazine

27/08/2026

“Look with both eyes.” – David Hockney

‘A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting’ has now closed, after welcoming nearly 300,000 visitors. If you missed it or are left wanting more, our film about the exhibition is available to watch on YouTube.

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Film by and

26/08/2026

In 2024, we presented ‘The Call’, an exhibition by artists and that proposed new cultural, legal and technical rituals for art in the age of AI.

Here, Assistant Arts Technologies Curator Vi Trinh () speaks about the choral AI models featured in the show.

You can learn more about ‘The Call’ in ‘processing...’, an archive display of our work at the intersection of art and advanced technologies, currently on view at Serpentine South until 6 September.

Full video on our YouTube channel.

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Video by Ralph Pritchard

Serpentine Pavilion 2026: ‘a serpentine’ by LANZA. Visit for free until 25 October 2026.-Photos: Iwan Baan
25/08/2026

Serpentine Pavilion 2026: ‘a serpentine’ by LANZA.

Visit for free until 25 October 2026.

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Photos: Iwan Baan

It’s the last day to see ‘A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting’ by David Hockney!Visit the exhibit...
23/08/2026

It’s the last day to see ‘A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting’ by David Hockney!

Visit the exhibition for free at Serpentine North from 10am-7pm.

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Serpentine’s 2026 summer programme is made possible by Kenneth C. Griffin Griffin Catalyst
 
With thanks to Major Supporter LUMA Foundation and Supporting Partner Burberry

All images: David Hockney: ‘A Year in Normandie and Some Other Thoughts about Painting’, installation view, Serpentine North, 2026 © Estate of David Hockney.

[1] Photo: George Darrell
[2, 3, 5] Photo: Liam Man
[4, 6] Photo: Daniel Adhami

Cecily Brown (Cecily Brown) made this drawing after ‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’, a children’s picture book written and il...
22/08/2026

Cecily Brown (Cecily Brown) made this drawing after ‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’, a children’s picture book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter.

Brown often copies other artworks and images, explaining, “I don’t really understand something visually until I’ve copied it… then I can use it – it becomes fully part of my vocabulary.”

The artist has frequently used animals as proxies to explore the darker side of human nature, a subject that draws her to the misbehaving mice in Potter’s cautionary animal tale.

See the drawing in the exhibition ‘Picture Making’ at Serpentine South. On view until 6 September 2026.
 
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Images: Cecily Brown, ‘Untitled (from Two Bad Mice)’, 2023. © Cecily Brown, 2026. Photos: Genevieve Hanson.

21/08/2026

Hear from artist David Hockney, Artistic Director and Curator at Large Claude Adjil on how the iPad enabled Hockney to paint en plein air like the Impressionists, but with a swiftness that would have been impossible with traditional painting materials.

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Film by and

Alake Shilling (Alake Shilling) gives us words of affirmation for Serpentine Reader, Issue 02: ‘I hope this finds you we...
19/08/2026

Alake Shilling (Alake Shilling) gives us words of affirmation for Serpentine Reader, Issue 02: ‘I hope this finds you well’, each phrase featuring alongside her iconic, rainbow-coloured animal characters.
 
The artist says, “Sometimes I feel guilty making art while the world around me burns. But I am here for the small bit of joy I can contribute. The stickers I made for Issue 02 hold that irony, how we try to have hope, even joy, while feeling like we have one foot in the grave. Life is duality; nothing is absolute. For me, ‘I hope this finds you well’ is both sincere and questioning. I think the best care you can take of yourself is choosing to look toward the light, even when it’s dark. That’s something I practice often.”
 
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Images: studioeskandar

18/08/2026

Textures of ‘a serpentine’ by LANZA.

Visit the Pavilion for free until 25 October 2026.

17/08/2026

Walk through ‘processing...’, an archive display unearthing our work at the intersection of art and advanced technology, with Vi Trinh (), Assistant Arts Technologies Curator, and Tara Tierney (), Digital Archivist.

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Video by Ralph Pritchard

In this portrait, Hockney depicts his carer, Thomas Mupfupi, wearing a pin featuring one ofthe artist’s own sayings: END...
16/08/2026

In this portrait, Hockney depicts his carer, Thomas Mupfupi, wearing a pin featuring one of
the artist’s own sayings: END BOSSINESS SOON.

Here, ‘bossiness’ becomes a catch-all term for over control, moral instruction and
bureaucratic management. The inclusion of ‘soon’ is also significant, as Hockney’s phrase
asks for change without being bossy itself.

It is neither instruction nor manifesto, but a small act of resistance grounded in courtesy,
clarity and belief in human judgement.

There’s only one week left to see the painting in the exhibition ‘A Year in Normandie and
Some Other Thoughts about Painting’. Free to visit until 23 August 2026.

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Images: David Hockney, ‘Thomas Mupfupi Resting on a Pink and White Checkered Tablecloth’
(detail), 2025. Acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 121.9 cm © Estate of David Hockney. Photo: Prudence Cuming

Address

West Carriage Drive
London
W23XA

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+442074026075

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