What’s on

Tue 27 Aug –Tue 31 Dec 2024

This free installation invites visitors to orient themselves in the buildings and their complex, fascinating histories in an exciting new display at the heart of the Barbican’s Foyers.

Thu 19 Sep 2024 –Sun 5 Jan 2025

In her first solo exhibition at a major UK institution, Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum fills The Curve with theatrical installations, building an imagined world in which to display her paintings.

Sat 5 Oct 2024 –Sun 5 Jan 2025

A landmark group exhibition of art made in response to India’s changing cultural-political landscape during pivotal years.

Wed 27 Nov 2024, 18:30

An Audio Described tour of the exhibition, for blind and partially sighted visitors, led by Lisa Squirrel who will describe key works on display.

Fri 29 Nov 2024, 18:30

Join scholar Diva Gujral for a tour of The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998, focusing on the sociopolitical movements that the exhibition's artists participated in and responded to.

Sun 1 Dec 2024, 15:45

Embedded in the socio-political contexts of Kerala in the 1980s, this road movie-come-political chronicle explores themes of grief, solidarity, and the cost of political revolution.  

Tue 3 Dec 2024, 19:00

Co-founder of BC Architects & Studies and BC Materials, Ken De Cooman’s work focuses on the decarbonisation of the construction industry. 

Tue 3 Dec 2024, 19:00

Join us for a talk by renowned photographer Pablo Bartholomew, artist featured in The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998. 

Wed 4 Dec 2024, 19:00

This provocative documentary by Anand Patwardhan explores the intense and turbulent socio-political landscape of India in the early 1990s.  

Thu 5 Dec 2024, 18:30

Join Amber Li, Assistant Curator, as she leads a tour of The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998.

Mon 9 Dec 2024, 17:30

Organised in collaboration with The Courtauld, this panel discussion explores comparative frameworks outside South Asia and asks how curatorial practices can destabilise established art histories.

Thu 12 Dec 2024, 18:30

Originally believed lost and only recently rediscovered in 2019, this pioneering film was India’s first queer film. 

Mon 16 –Tue 17 Dec 2024

Join us for two screenings of Stardust: The Story of Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (2024) – an intimate portrait of two of the most influential architects of the last century.

Thu 30 Jan –Sun 20 Apr 2025

The Indonesian artist transforms The Curve in her first solo UK exhibition. Via painting, installation, embroidery and scent, take a sensory journey exploring ancestral memory, ritual and migration. 

Thu 6 Feb –Sun 11 May 2025

Celebrating the late artist’s expansive creativity, this debut retrospective showcases Noah Davis as one of the most original and uncanny painters emerging in recent years.