Serpentine Galleries

Serpentine Galleries Art and ideas for a changing world. Free exhibitions across two art galleries and the Pavilion. All groups must book in advance with the visitor experience team.

The Serpentine is one of London’s best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art. 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. 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. Guide dogs are permitted. 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

‘emajendat’ by Lauren Halsey () closes this month! Head over to Serpentine South through 23 Feb to catch the LA artist’s...
04/02/2025

‘emajendat’ by Lauren Halsey () closes this month! Head over to Serpentine South through 23 Feb to catch the LA artist’s maximalist installations.

Open Tue-Sun, 10am-6pm. Free and open to all.

02/02/2025

‘The Call’ by and closes today!

Visit the exhibition at Serpentine North from 10am to 6pm.

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Exhibition made possible by , with major support from LUMA Foundation, , Rosenkranz Foundation and .xyz. Special thanks to and .

Credits:
[1] and
[2]
[3]
[4]

5 things to know about , architect of the Serpentine Pavilion 2025:Tabassum frequently looks at the interplay between pe...
29/01/2025

5 things to know about , architect of the Serpentine Pavilion 2025:

Tabassum frequently looks at the interplay between permanence and impermanence. Her Pavilion will extend on work undertaken for projects including Khudi Bari, her easily assembled and disassembled modular shelters for marginalised, landless communities living on the sandbeds of the rivers Jamuna, Meghna and Teesta.

She often uses locally sourced materials, such as red brick made from Bangladeshi soil, which plays a key role in several projects.

Tabassum engages deeply with community stakeholders –  including river nomads, refugees and marginalised groups in Dhaka – in the design and implementation of her projects.

She also works as an educator. Tabassum is Professor at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and has taught at Yale and Harvard Universities in the USA and the University of Toronto in Canada, among others.

Tabassum’s global recognition includes listing in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024, the Soane Medal in 2021 and the Aga Khan Award, received in 2016 for the Bait ur Rouf Mosque.

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[1] Khudi Bari, Chandpur, Char Hijla, Lower Meghna. Photo: Asif Salman
[2] Alfadanga Mosque. Photo: City Syntax
[3] Women Led Community Center. Photo: Asif Salman
[4] Hamidur Rahman Community Center. Photo: City Syntax
[5] Bait ur Rouf Mosque. Photo: Sandro di Carlo Darsa

📢 Announcing the Serpentine Pavilion 2025! and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects, have been selected to design this y...
28/01/2025

📢 Announcing the Serpentine Pavilion 2025!

and her firm, Marina Tabassum Architects, have been selected to design this year’s Pavilion.

Celebrated for her work that engages with place, climate, context, culture and history, Tabassum looks at the permanent and the ephemeral nature of the commission with her design.

Titled ‘A Capsule in Time’, the Pavilion will be comprised of four wooden forms with a translucent façade that diffuses and dapples light — inspired by arched garden canopies that filter daylight through foliage.

Central to the design is a kinetic element, whereby one of the capsule forms is able to move and connect, transforming the Pavilion into a new space.

She draws on the history and architectural language of Shamiyana tents, similarly kinetic structures commonly used for outdoor gatherings in South Asia.

The openness of Tabassum’s Pavilion welcomes conversations, live programmes and public convenings. We look forward to seeing you in June!

🎟️ Free entry
📍 Serpentine South
📆 6 June – 26 October 2025

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Images: Serpentine Pavilion 2025 designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). Design renders. Photo © Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA)

Barby Asante () is a London-based artist, curator and educator whose work explores space, place and identity. She is int...
26/01/2025

Barby Asante () is a London-based artist, curator and educator whose work explores space, place and identity.

She is interested in breaking down the language of archive to interrupt, interrogate and explore the effects and possibilities of the unheard and the missing.

As part of ‘Cracks in the Curriculum’, a project led by our Education team, Asante has created a resource that aims to open up a space for teachers and students to talk about race and racism in the classroom.

You can listen to Asante speak on the project and download the resource on our website - it’s titled ‘Countless Ways of Knowing – A Mixtape on Education as a Practice of Freedom’.

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Stills from film by

 believes in art as a direct form of action and is committed to drawing as an affordable and immediate tool to achieve c...
24/01/2025

believes in art as a direct form of action and is committed to drawing as an affordable and immediate tool to achieve change.

Her work looks at the intersection of gender, race, class and colonialism, often within rural communities.

As part of our Education team’s ‘Cracks in the Curriculum’ series, she created a resource which offers ways we might imagine liberated futures where everyone can live freely and thrive.

‘What is it to be Oneself?’ delves into Afrofuturism and digital culture, using the process of collage to normalise fluid exploratory approaches to the formation, deconstruction and reformation of identity.

Hear more from Jade and download her resource on our website.

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Stills from film by

In their practices, artists  and  routinely amplify histories of resistance and nourish new q***r and anti-colonial narr...
23/01/2025

In their practices, artists and routinely amplify histories of resistance and nourish new q***r and anti-colonial narratives.

For ‘Cracks in the Curriculum’, a project led by our Education team, they have created a resourced that responds to the histories of British sugar plantations and the black activism that contributed to their abolition.

Titled ‘Sweet Rebellion’, it’s an invitation for History and Art teachers in Years 7–9 to rethink the ways we talk about colonialism and its legacy in schools.

It offers a series of activities, which look at the histories of rebellion on British Caribbean plantations through drawing, discussion, group investigations and further study.

Head to our website to hear from the artists and download the resource.

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Stills from film by

There are only two weeks left to see ‘The Call’ — stop by Serpentine North before the exhibition closes on 2 Feb!
19/01/2025

There are only two weeks left to see ‘The Call’ — stop by Serpentine North before the exhibition closes on 2 Feb!

Dive into the Future Art Ecosystems series—an essential toolkit for understanding how 21st-century cultural infrastructu...
10/01/2025

Dive into the Future Art Ecosystems series—an essential toolkit for understanding how 21st-century cultural infrastructure is being reshaped by advanced technologies.

💡 FAE1: Art x Advanced Technologies
💡 FAE2: Art x Metaverse
💡 FAE3: Art x Decentralised Tech
💡 FAE4: Art x Public AI

From AI to Blockchain—the Future Art Ecosystems series provides the concepts, references, and arguments you need to understand art’s technological future.

🔗 Shop online now or pick up your bundle on your next visit to the gallery.

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Photos: Thomas Rydin

It’s also the last month to see Gerhard Richter’s public artwork ‘STRIP-TOWER’. Situated outside Serpentine South, the w...
09/01/2025

It’s also the last month to see Gerhard Richter’s public artwork ‘STRIP-TOWER’.

Situated outside Serpentine South, the work builds on the artist’s interest in reflections, systems and repetitions. The origins of ‘STRIP-TOWER’ go back to 1990, when Richter created ‘Abstract Painting 724-4’, which he started to photograph, scan and digitally manipulate in 2010 to create his series of ‘Strip Paintings’.

On view until 9 Feb.
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Images: ‘STRIP-TOWER’ (2023) by Gerhard Richter © 2024, Gerhard Richter. Photos:

One month left! Don’t miss your chance to visit ‘The Call’ by  and  at Serpentine North. Open Tue-Sun, 10am-6pm. Free to...
02/01/2025

One month left! Don’t miss your chance to visit ‘The Call’ by and at Serpentine North.

Open Tue-Sun, 10am-6pm. Free to visit.

Taking a walk in the park this weekend? Stop by Serpentine North to see Esther Mahlangu’s mural ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabant...
27/12/2024

Taking a walk in the park this weekend? Stop by Serpentine North to see Esther Mahlangu’s mural ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’!

We’re open 27-29 Dec, 10am-6pm.

The more you look at the floor inside ‘emajendat’, the more there is to see… what have you spotted?
21/12/2024

The more you look at the floor inside ‘emajendat’, the more there is to see… what have you spotted?

Coming to Serpentine North in 2025: ‘Arpita Singh: Remembering’Born in Baranagar in 1937, artist Arpita Singh emerged as...
18/12/2024

Coming to Serpentine North in 2025: ‘Arpita Singh: Remembering’

Born in Baranagar in 1937, artist Arpita Singh emerged as a pivotal figure in the 1960s, developing a painting practice that brings together Surrealism, figuration and Indian Court painting narratives.

This exhibition will explore the full breadth of Singh’s prolific six-decade practice, showcasing her large-scale oil paintings, ink drawings and intimate watercolours.

“‘Remembering’ draws from old memories from which these works emerged,” says Singh. “Whether I am aware or not, there is something happening at my core. It is how my life flows.”

On view 20 March - 27 July 2025.

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Images:
[1] Arpita Singh, A Feminine Tale, 1995. Courtesy of Taimur Hassan Collection © Arpita Singh, Photo: Justin Piperger

[2] Arpita Singh, Devi Pistol Wali, 1990. Courtesy of Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru, India. © Arpita Singh

[3] Arpita Singh, My Lollipop City: Gemini Rising, 2005. Vadehra Art Gallery © Arpita Singh

New book alert! Presenting ‘All Media is Training Data’, a publication exploring the past decade of  and ’s pioneering w...
12/12/2024

New book alert! Presenting ‘All Media is Training Data’, a publication exploring the past decade of and ’s pioneering work in music and machine learning. Swipe for a preview!

Edited by and Caroline Busta (), and designed by , the book includes artworks, reflections, and key references by Herndon and Dryhurst, along with written contributions from , Francesca Bria (), , Ryan Murdock, and Primavera De Filippi ().

‘All Media is Training Data’ is published on the occasion of Herndon and Dryhurst’s exhibition ‘The Call,’ which is currently on view at Serpentine North until 2 February. Pick up a copy from our shop on your next visit.

Special thanks to Managing Editor , Editorial Assistant: , Assistant Editor: and Copyeditor: .

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Photography: Tomas Rydin

‘emajendat’ details 💿
06/12/2024

‘emajendat’ details 💿

Take a look inside another of Lauren Halsey’s vignettes in the exhibition  ‘emajendat’ at Serpentine South.
03/12/2024

Take a look inside another of Lauren Halsey’s vignettes in the exhibition  ‘emajendat’ at Serpentine South.

Life inside one of the vignettes in Lauren Halsey’s ‘emajendat’. Find it in the central room of the gallery.
29/11/2024

Life inside one of the vignettes in Lauren Halsey’s ‘emajendat’. Find it in the central room of the gallery.

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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

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Our Story

Championing the possibilities of new ideas in contemporary art since opening in 1970, the Serpentine has presented pioneering exhibitions for almost half a century, showing a wide range of work from emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognised artists of our time, providing a place for them to experiment and an open platform for them to be seen and heard.

The Serpentine is committed to presenting interdisciplinary and collaborative work across art, architecture, design, fashion and digital.

Across two sites, the Serpentine Gallery and the Serpentine Sackler Gallery present a year-round, open programme of exhibitions, education, live events and technological innovation, in the park and beyond. Proud to maintain free access for all visitors, thanks to its unique location, the Galleries also reach an exceptionally broad audience and connect with the local community.

Architecture is a core aspect of the Serpentine’s programme, with the annual Serpentine Pavilion commission as well as its global extension, with a Beijing Pavilion in 2018. The late Dame Zaha Hadid, Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate Zaha Hadid, designed the Serpentine Sackler Gallery and Chucs Serpentine, a former 1805 Grade II* listed former gunpowder store, returning it to public use for the first time in its 208-year history.