Autumn at the Barbican

There's always something new to explore here – discover Art, Cinema, Theatre, Music and a whole lot more...

'Amid multiple campaigns, elections and changing governments around the world, autumn at the Barbican explores the turbulent period we’re experiencing through a multidisciplinary artistic lens, striving to make sense of a world more polarised than ever. During unsettling times, making space for the essential voices of artists, for thought provoking ideas, and, sometimes, convening difficult conversations is what we are committed to now more than ever.

In a world of increasing change, the Barbican is a space to explore its complexities through the forefront of artistic practice. Whatever brings you here this autumn, we’re delighted to welcome you.'

Devyani Saltzman, Director for Arts & Participation

Art & Design

In The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975-1998, our Art Gallery show, and the accompanying cinema programme, Rewriting the Rules: Pioneering Indian Cinema after 1970, we delve into India’s negotiations with maintaining a secular democracy during a time of significant transformation.

In The Curve, Netherlands-based multidisciplinary artist Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum’s first solo show at a major UK institution, It Will End in Tears, guides visitors through an interconnected map of film sets, blurring the line between what’s real and what’s constructed in times of shifting narratives.

Theatre

The London premiere of Hanif Kureshi’s iconic novel The Buddha of Suburbia, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, lauded film director Amos Gitai’s House and National Changgeuk Company’s Lear explore the edge of adaptation and interpretation.

Talks

Our public talks and literary series include hosting the Black British Book Festival and an evening with writer/thinker Dr. Gabor Maté, whose work, including The Myth of Normal, explores legacies of individual and collective trauma and how we can move forward into new ways of sense-making. Comma Press’s Voices of Resilience, is an evening of readings from the diaries of Nahil Mohana, Sondos Sabra, Ala'a Obeid and Atef Abu Saif, reflecting on the current experience of Palestinians in Gaza.

Music

Our music programme features Gorges Ocloo’s The Golden Stool, which captures a moment of rebellion against colonial rule in Ghana, while Rolf Hind’s new opera Sky in a Small Cage is inspired by the life of Rumi.

An ensemble of indigenous female singers will present Spinifex Gum in collaboration with members of Melbourne-based band The Cat Empire for the first time outside of Australia, singing about the polarities of disenfranchisement and industrialisation in their home communities of Pilbara.

Our treasured resident, the London Symphony Orchestra, begin a new era with Sir Antonio Pappano, and legendary visiting artists include Yo-Yo Ma, Yuja Wang and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Two unmissable festivals share music from across the world: the annual festival of Indian music, Darbar, showcases an extraordinary array of musicians evolving new traditions from ancient musical roots, while the EFG London Jazz Festival shines a spotlight on the genre’s global influence.

Cinema

Cinema continues to bring the best of contemporary international film and speakers to the Barbican, including 2024 Palme D’Or winning writer/director Sean Baker’s Anora, Screening the Sahara, a film programme looking at the regions’ storytellers, and the London Palestine Film Festival.

Plus, we have a broad range of exciting programmes for young creatives, families and community partners.