Barbican announces retrospective of Noah Davis and new exhibition by Citra Sasmita
Noah Davis retrospective and Citra Sasmita's UK debut highlight Barbican's 2025 programme.

Noah Davis at work, Los Angeles, 2009 Photo: Patrick O’Brien-Smith.
The Barbican Art Gallery will host the largest institutional survey to date of the late American artist Noah Davis from 6 February - 11 May 2025. Spanning over 50 works, this exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Davis' remarkable career, showcasing his prowess in painting and his contributions to curating and community-building through co-founding The Underground Museum. Davis, primarily based in Los Angeles, depicted diverse aspects of Black life, drawing inspiration from various sources including anonymous photography, literature, and personal archives. His figurative paintings capture scenes both realistic and dreamlike, reflecting a deep empathy for humanity and everyday experiences. The retrospective, organised chronologically, offers insight into Davis' relentless curiosity and his profound impact on art and community engagement.

Noah Davis, Pueblo del Rio: Arabesque, 2014 © The Estate of Noah Davis
Courtesy The Estate of Noah Davis and David Zwirner.
Indonesian artist Citra Sasmita will debut her first solo exhibition in the UK at The Curve from 30 January- 20 April 2025. Sasmita's multidisciplinary practice, encompassing painting, sculpture, embroidery, and scent, invites visitors on a symbolic, multi-sensory journey through the 90-metre-long gallery. Through her exploration of ancestral memory, ritual, and migration, Sasmita challenges gender hierarchies and reinterprets Balinese mythologies, reclaiming the traditional Kamasan painting technique. Her powerful narratives feature strong female protagonists in a post-patriarchal world, confronting misconceptions of Balinese culture and its colonial history. Sasmita's exhibition promises to be a captivating exploration of identity and cultural resilience.
Installation view of Citra Sasmita, Timur Merah Project XII: Rivers With No End, as part of After Rain, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, 2024 Courtesy of the Diriyah Biennale Foundation Photo: Marco Cappelletti.
With these two groundbreaking exhibitions, the Barbican continues its commitment to showcasing diverse artistic voices and providing enriching experiences for audiences.
Collect Art Fair · The Market at Elephant Park announces ‘Latino Weekends: Flavours and Finds’ · Flavour&Some X Control Room A · Highsnobiety’s Not In London · Paavo Järvi Conducts Stravinsky’s The Firebird · Young Barbican Takeover Festival 2025 · Winter Sculpture Park · Leigh Bowery! · Claudia Pagès Rabal · Ella Kruglyanskaya · Dada Khanyisa · The Arts Society…
The timing of this exhibition could not be better. At the end of a long winter, and egging on London’s reluctant spring, the Saatchi Gallery brings us FLOWERS in full bloom…
The Moka pot is a fantastic item to think about if you enjoy coffee and want to make a potent, rich cup at home. The Moka pot is a typical Italian coffee brewing appliance that dates back to the 1930s…
Embracing natural light in our living spaces has become essential in contemporary interior design. This enhances the aesthetic appeal of a home and promotes well-being and sustainability…
When it comes to improving sound quality in a room, one often overlooks the importance of interior design elements. However, wood acoustic panels provide an excellent combination of both functionality and aesthetic appeal…
Trisha Brown Dance Company & Noé Soulier – Working Title & In the Fall · (LA)HORDE / Ballet National de Marseille – Age of Content · Lyon Opera Ballet – Merce Cunningham Forever (BIPED and Beach Birds) · Neither Drums Nor Trumpets – Pam Tanowitz · Robyn Orlin – We Wear Our Wheels with Pride
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style · Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo · Arpita Singh: Remembering · 2025 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize · The Craft of Carpentry: Drawing Life from Japan’s Forests · Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur · Edvard Munch: Portraits · Ficre Ghebreyesus · Textiles: The Art of Mankind · Eunjo Lee…
Highsnobiety: Not In London · LFW Pop-Up Shop · 1664 Blanc Activation · Alo Wellness Activations · Dylon Detergent Pop-Up: Rethink New Laundrette · Morocco - Kingdom of Light at LFW · Pandora x Priya Ahluwalia Collection · Rixo Exclusive Event · Grow Hackney · Meanwhile…In Shoreditch · DREST · LFW Solana X HAPE Social X Never Fade Factory · London College of Fashion, UAL · Margaret Howell · Nosakhari: Able-Graphy Exhibition · Nosakhari · NET-A-PORTER…
Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival · Arpita Singh: Remembering · Romeo and Juliet · Silent Disco at the Painted Hall · Winter Sculpture Park · Czech Philharmonic/Semyon Bychkov: Shostakovich 5 with Sheku Kanneh-Mason · Robyn Orlin: We Wear Our Wheels with Pride · Jasmin Vardimon NOW…
We are offering you the chance to win five pairs of tickets to the 21st edition of Collect Art Fair, the leading international art fair for contemporary craft and design.
Mickalene Thomas brings with her dazzling, vibrant, rhinestone-adorned portraits of Black women, collages, photographs, installations and sets in which she photographed her muses to London. Her selection of female subjects comes from family members, her circle of friends and ex-partners ensuring we see through the gaze of her sitters the love between them…
Little Simz, one of the UK’s most innovative and celebrated artists, has been announced as the curator for the 30th edition of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival, set to take place in June 2025…
London has one of the premier hotel landscapes globally, and with a series of recent inaugurations, our comprehensive list encompasses budget-friendly choices and extravagant establishments for lavish indulgence…
David Ottone is a Founding Member of Award-winning Spanish theatre company Yllana and has been the Artistic Director of the company since 1991. David has created and directed many theatrical productions which have been seen by more than two million spectators across 44 countries…
Sometimes, clever tweaks to your branding, like using personalised sticker sheet printing, can transform how customers see you. Let’s explore practical, wallet-friendly strategies to polish your brand’s identity…
A home should be a sanctuary—an inviting space that reflects personal style and provides comfort. One of the best enhancements a homeowner can make is incorporating sophisticated heating solutions…
Darren Appiagyei is a London-based woodturner whose practice embraces the intrinsic beauty of wood, including its knots, cracks, bark, and grain. Highly inspired by Ghanaian wood carving, Darren explores raw textures and new woods in his work…
Huimin Zhang is an artist specialising in 22K gold, known for her innovative craftsmanship. She combines various cultural techniques, including filigree, engraving, and European gold and silver thread embroidery, to create unique works…
Photo London returns to Somerset House from 15-18 May 2025 to celebrate its tenth anniversary with a special edition that honours both London and its long-standing photographic traditions…
SOIL is an exhibition with earnest intentions but also a forward-thinking approach. Soil underpins all life on Earth, and while scientists have studied it for centuries, our understanding is still in its infancy…
babirye bukilwa’s debut play is an unflinching expose of psychosis and manic depression, and the impact it can have on our relationships, love and identity…
Outspoken Southbank · Much Ado About · Late at Tate: 80s Valentine’s Special · Sketches of Spain · blackbird hour · Linder: Danger Came Smiling · Goya to Impressionism· The Face Magazine: Culture Shift · Donald Rodney: Visceral Canker · Mickalene Thomas: All About Love · Derrick Adams: Situation Comedy · Flowers – Flora in Contemporary · Hardeep Pandhal: Inner World · Southwark Music: Orchestral Playing Day · Randall & Aubin · Vauxhall City Farm
Late at Tate: 80s Valentine’s Special · Valentine’s Day at the Natural History Museum · A Royal Valentine at the Queen’s House · St Valentine’s Day at the National Gallery · Twilight Tour at Sir John Soane’s Museum · Saatchi Lates: FLOWERS – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture
Since its launch in Morocco, 1-54 has not only contributed to the growing prominence of African contemporary art but has also played a pivotal role in cementing Marrakech as a major cultural destination. This year, the fair took place across two prestigious venues: the luxurious La Mamounia Hotel and DaDa, a multidisciplinary art space in the heart of the Medina…
Embarking on a road trip offers an unparalleled sense of freedom and adventure, allowing travellers to explore diverse landscapes and cultures at their own pace. It can also be hard to choose a road trip…
Getting engaged to your partner is one of those moments that you will both cherish for life. It is an incredibly exciting moment in your lives, and you are sure to be looking forward to the wedding and spending the rest of your lives together, but there are some delicate and potentially difficult conversations that need to be had…
Brits love coffee and we have done so for over 800 years. This energy booster has woven itself into the fabric of British life becoming a staple in our mornings, a lynchpin in socialising and the cornerstone of office life…
Art of London’s Art After Dark is set to light up London’s West End from 6th to 8th March 2025, bringing a free, immersive cosmic art experience by award-winning eco-feminist artist and experience designer, Dr. Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian.
Akinola Davies Jr. is a BAFTA-nominated British-Nigerian filmmaker, artist, and storyteller whose work explores identity, community, and cultural heritage. Straddling both West Africa and the UK, his films examine the impact of colonial history while championing indigenous narratives. As part of the global diaspora, he seeks to highlight the often overlooked stories of Black life across these two worlds.
Kahani, located in the heart of Sloane Square, offers a contemporary twist on traditional Indian cuisine. The restaurant combines elegant decor with a relaxed yet refined atmosphere…