Arts and culture
Discover free and low-cost ways to get creative, pick up a new skill, or discover new worlds at local exhibitions this summer.
Lancelot Ribeiro: A Retrospective Revisited exhibition
Exhibition exploring painter Lancelot Ribeiro’s (1933-2010) work shaped by migration, modernism and memory, nearly 40 years after a retrospective exhibition was held at Swiss Cottage Gallery. Free, drop in. Part of Love Camden’s South Asian Heritage Month programme
Dates: Until Sunday 6 August. Monday to Thursday, 10am to 8pm, and Friday and Saturday, 10am to 5pm
Location: Swiss Cottage Gallery, Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA
Find out more about Lancelot Ribeiro: A Retrospective Revisited exhibition
Spirit of South Asia: Bangladeshi community in Camden display
Artist Bablu Miah, from Trapped in Zone One, presents six new artworks at Swiss Cottage Gallery developed through creative collaboration with Camden residents of Bangladeshi heritage, exploring stories, culture and lived experiences, alongside a large-scale mural at Chadswell Healthy Living Centre. Free, drop in. Part of Love Camden’s South Asian Heritage Month programme
Dates: Until Sunday 6 August
Locations:
Display: Swiss Cottage Gallery atrium space, Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA
Mural: Chadswell Healthy Living Centre, 8 Harrison Street, WC1H 8JF
Find out more about Spirit of South Asia: Bangladeshi community in Camden display
Camden Schools Art Biennale
Free exhibition showcasing hundreds of artworks by pupils from every Camden school, spanning early years, primary, secondary, special education and A-level.
Dates: Tuesday 14 to Sunday 26 July
Location: Lethaby Gallery, 1 Granary Square, N1C 4AA, and across the King’s Cross estate.
Lunchtime concert at Lauderdale House
Free lunchtime classical music performed by resident pianist Stephen Hose. Booking recommended.
Date: Tuesday 14 July, 1.15 to 2pm
Location: Lauderdale House, Waterlow Park, Highgate Hill, N6 5HG
South Asian Flavours food talk at Camden People’s Theatre
Dr Alia Amir leads a journey through the history and significance of British South Asian communities’ rich culinary traditions. Pay what you can, booking needed. Part of Love Camden’s South Asian Heritage Month programme
Date: Saturday 25 July, 1.30 to 4pm
Location: Camden People’s Theatre, 58-60 Hampstead Road, NW1 2PY
Threading Organisms 3.0: Participatory textile upcycling and performance at Holborn Library
Artist and curator Tere Chad presents Threading Organisms 3.0, an art initiative inviting local communities to explore the relationships that shape both natural ecosystems and cultural collaborations across Bloomsbury.
Participants can take part in a creative residency or upcycling marathon combining guided tours, literature review sessions and hands-on workshops led by guest mentors from the sciences and humanities. Through this process, residents will create costumes and artworks from recycled textiles, which will be presented in a public performance and exhibition during the Bloomsbury Festival.
Dates: Monday 10 August to Saturday 5 September
Location: Mezzanine area, Holborn Library, WC1X 8PA
Find out more about Threading Organisms 3:0: Participatory textile upcycling and performance
Knitting groups for adults at Camden libraries
Both beginners and expert knitters welcome to knit in a friendly and relaxing environment. Free, drop in.
Dates: Mondays, 11am to 1pm
Location: West Hampstead Library, Dennington Park Road, NW6 1AU
Dates: Tuesdays 1 to 3pm
Location: Queens Crescent Library, 165 Queens Crescent, NW5 4HH
Dates: Tuesdays, 1 to 3pm
Location: Highgate Library, Chester Rd, N19 5DH
Crochet and knit class at Swiss Cottage Library
Learn to crochet and knit, teenagers and adults welcome. Free, drop in.
Dates: Saturdays, 12 noon to 1.30pm
Location: Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA
Museum of Youth Culture
The first museum dedicated to the lives of teenagers and young people opens this summer. Free, booking recommended
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday, 12 noon to 8pm
Location: Museum of Youth Culture, 51 St Pancras Way, NW1 0PZ
Shared reading for adults group at Camden Town Library
Connect with others and read together at this free group – no need to read or prepare, just drop in.
Dates: Mondays (except bank holidays), 11am to 12 noon
Location: Camden Town Library, 218 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BD
Adults’ book club at Camden Town Library
Read a book and talk about why you liked it or not. Free.
Dates: Last Wednesday of the month (29 July, 26 August), 11 to 11.30am
Location: Camden Town Library, 218 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BD
German conversation group for adults at Queens Crescent Library
Practice basic German language in a relaxing way. Free, drop in.
Dates: Fridays, 3 to 4pm
Location: Queens Crescent Library, 165 Queens Crescent NW5 4HH
Donald Locke: Resistant Forms exhibition at Camden Art Centre
London’s first comprehensive survey of Guyanese-British ceramicist, painter and sculptor Donald Locke (1930-2010). Free exhibition. Booking suggested
Dates: Until Sunday 30 August. Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm
Location: Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, NW3 6DG
Find out more about Donald Locke: Resistant Forms exhibition
The Camden Fringe
The Camden Fringe performing arts festival includes hundreds of shows across 33 venues spanning theatre, comedy, music, opera, improv, dance and gameshows. Many shows are £10 or less. Booking needed
Dates: Monday 3 August to Sunday 30 August
Location: Across Camden
Embroidery Traditions of Afghanistan exhibition at SOAS Gallery
Free exhibition revealing the rich diversity, skill and beauty of embroidery from across Afghanistan.
Dates: From Friday 10 July to Saturday 19 September. Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 5pm (Friday 8pm)
Location: SOAS Gallery, Thornhaugh Street, WC1H 0XG
Find out more about Embroidery Traditions of Afghanistan exhibition
Everyman on the Canal film screenings
Free outdoor cinema showing films from family favourites and cult classics to beloved blockbusters and recent releases. No booking needed – just arrive early to secure your spot.
Dates: Until Sunday 16 August
Location: Granary Square, N1C
Production design for film and TV workshop for young adults at the Roundhouse
Learn about the art of world-building for the big screen from an industry professional, including interpreting scripts, creating visual references and mastering the logistics of set dressing. For 18 to 25-year-olds. £10 – booking needed
Date: Thursday 27 August, 11am to 4pm
Location: Roundhouse Studios, Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8EH
Find out more about production design for film and TV workshop
Queer Britain
Visit the UK’s first LGBTQ+ museum. Special exhibitions include ‘Progressive Advertising with Diageo’ until Sunday 26 July, spotlighting the role of brands in driving meaningful cultural change, and ‘Trans is Human’ from Wednesday 5 August to Sunday 27 September, which celebrates the stories of transgender people from across the UK.
Entrance is by ‘Pay what you can’ donation.
Dates: Wednesday to Sunday, 12 noon to 6pm
Location: Queer Britain, 2 Granary Square, N1C 4BH
A Space for Us People’s Museum
Visit the community museum set up by local residents to celebrate radicals, reformers and rebels’ histories, to record the change now, and to preserve local working-class heritage.
Dates: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm
Location: A Space for Us People’s Museum, 52 Phoenix Road, NW1 1ES
Exhibitions at Burgh House
Free galleries on Hampstead artists, residents and history, with a current focus on women artists and migration stories. Spotlight temporary exhibitions on Constable in Hampstead, Hampstead-based painter Donald Chisholm Towner (1903-1985) and Hampstead Vanished and Imagined, which considers changes to the local area over time.
Dates: Wednesday to Friday, Sunday and most bank holidays, 10am to 4pm – check website for early closures
Free curator’s talks – booking needed:
Cloudscapes and Cottage: John Constable’s Hampstead on Thursday 30 July, 1.30 to 2pm
Amongst the Trees and Terraces: Donald Chisholm Towner on Wednesday 12 August, 1.30 to 2.15pm
Modernist Hampstead on Thursday 27 August, 1.30 to 2pm
Location: Burgh House, New End Square, NW3 1LT
Voice of the Fans display at the British Library
Free display exploring over 60 years of football fan-made media from the collections of the British Library and Leeds Libraries.
Dates: Until Sunday 23 August. Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 8pm, Friday 9.30am to 6pm, Saturday 9.30am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm.
Location: Entrance Hall, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB
Regent’s Park Estate Story Trail
Visit the free public art trail on the Regent’s Park Estate. Artworks include murals, sculptures and an AI-powered talking tree.
Location: Regent’s Park Estate, NW1 3QJ (the trail begins by Bucklebury House on Stanhope Street)
We Go Way Back exhibition at Francis Crick Institute
Free exhibition exploring how ancient DNA is revealing new insights into human evolution, migration and culture.
Dates: From Thursday 16 July
Location: The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, NW1 1AT
Find out more about We Go Way Back exhibition at Francis Crick Institute
The Coming of Age exhibition at Wellcome Collection
Free exhibition bringing together different perspective from art, science and popular science to explore experiences and perceptions of ageing, from adolescence to later life, and asks how societies can adapt for us all to age better.
Dates: Until Thursday 29 November. Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm
Location: Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE
Madelon Vriesendorp: Mind Games exhibition at Sir John Soane’s Museum
Free exhibition celebrating the surreal practice of artist Madelon Vriesendorp, featuring over 60 works that reveal the artist’s ability to transform everyday materials into unexpected sources of humour, beauty and inspiration.
Dates: Wednesday 15 July to Sunday 20 September. Open Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm.
Location: Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP
UCL Grant Museum of Zoology
Free museum home to 100,000 specimens from every continent and every animal group.
Dates: Tuesday to Friday, 1 to 5pm and Saturday, 11am to 5pm
Location: UCL Grant Museum of Zoology, Rockefeller Building, University College London, 21 University Street, WC1E 6DE
Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology
Free museum home to one of the world’s largest and most important collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology, telling the stories of people who lived in the Nile Valley in the past.
Dates: Reopens Friday 10 July following refurbishment. Tuesday to Friday, 1 to 5pm and Saturday, 11am to 5pm
Location: University College London, Malet Place, WC1E 6BT
Find out more about Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology
Treasures of the British Library Gallery
Free exhibition of some of the world’s most significant books, maps and manuscripts in the British Library’s permanent exhibition.
Dates: Open daily
Location: British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB
Find out more about Treasures of the British Library Gallery
Early Netherlandish drawings exhibition at British Museum
Free exhibition featuring around 120 works from the Low Countries (present-day Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) from the 1400s and 1500s.
Dates: Until Sunday 20 September. Daily, 10am to 5pm (Fridays 8.30pm)
Location: British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG
King’s Cross Story exhibition
Free exhibition about the history and transformation of King’s Cross over the last 2,000 years.
Dates: Daily, 9am to 8pm
Location: Coal Drops Yard (opposite 4 Stable Street), N1C 4DQ
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Physical activity and wellbeing
Try new ways to get active in Camden, from cycling training and kayaking to volunteering in parks and green spaces.
Community festivals and events
Come along to community festivals and events that bring people together with music, dance and more activities.
