What’s on in London this week: 24 February - 2 March 2025
Discover our pick of events in London this week: 24 February - 2 March 2025.
Collect Art Fair 2025
Collect Art Fair returns for its 21st edition at Somerset House this week, showcasing over 400 living artists from 40 international galleries. New participants from regions like Taiwan, Switzerland, and Cyprus join the fair, presenting contemporary craft and design that pushes the boundaries of traditional mediums. The fair will feature exquisite works in ceramics, glass, furniture, art jewellery, and more, with pieces priced from £500 to over £50,000.
Click here to discover our interview with some of the artists taking part in Collect Open 2025 - a platform dedicated to groundbreaking craft installations by individual artists.
Date: 28 February - 2 March 2025. Location: Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA. Price: from £23. Book now.
Collect Art Fair returns for its 21st edition at Somerset House from 28 February - 2 March 2025.
Flavour&Some X Control Room A
Flavour&Some x Control Room A offers a five-course tasting menu crafted by award-winning chef Adam Thomason, served alongside world-class dance performances set to an original score at Battersea Power Station. Tickets, starting from £145, include the full experience, with each course paired with four drinks, blending taste, movement, and culture in a truly unique atmosphere.
Date: 28 February - 2 March 2025. Location: Battersea Power Station, Circus Rd W, Nine Elms, London SW11 8DD. Price: from £145. Book now.
Highsnobiety’s Not In London
Monday is the last chance to experience Highsnobiety’s Not In London event, celebrating cultural icons and exploring “Brit-ish”ness through exclusive collaborations with Barbour, Cedric Grolet, Barbican, Nicholas Daley, and Chiltern Firehouse. The event offers a pop-up at the Official LFW Hub with a Travel Lounge, an installation, and complimentary coffee and pastries.
Click here to discover more London Fashion Week events happening on this final day.
Highsnobiety’s “Not In” city series, a pop-up experience celebrating local cultures in creative capitals, is returning to the capital city on February 21.© Highsnobiety.
Paavo Järvi Conducts Stravinsky’s The Firebird
The Philharmonia Orchestra, led by Paavo Järvi, presents Stravinsky’s Petrushka and The Firebird, alongside the UK premiere of Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Cello Concerto No.2, performed by Nicolas Altstaedt. A night of thrilling orchestration and evocative storytelling.
Date: 27 February 2025. Time: 7:30 pm. Location: Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £10 (excluding booking fee). Book now.
Young Barbican Takeover Festival 2025
The Young Barbican Takeover Festival returns for a one-day celebration featuring live music, workshops, film screenings, and more, all curated for and by London’s emerging creatives. Highlights include makers workshops by Artizine and Material Grrrlz, live music from So Young Magazine, performances and talks by Travis Alabanza, James Massiah, and Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, as well as film screenings curated by Young Film Programmers alumni.
Date: 2 March 2025. Location: Silk St, City of London, London EC2Y 8DS. Price: £10. Book now.
Darcey Fleming. (Cred. No.32) Winter Sculpture Park 2023.
Winter Sculpture Park
The 4th edition of London’s Winter Sculpture Park opens on 2 March 2025 at the former Thamesmead golf course, showcasing 40 artworks by 34 artists. Highlights include pieces by Claye Bowler, Ellie Harrison, and Joseph Ijoyemi. The launch event on 1 March features performances, workshops, and music by SET Music. Click here to book tickets. Click here to book tickets to attend.
Date: 2 March - 26 April 2025. Location: Outside the former Thamesmead Golf Centre, near Fairway Drive.
IL TROVATORE
Adele Thomas’s acclaimed production of Il trovatore returns to The Royal Opera’s Main Stage on Wednesday. Verdi’s opera of obsession and rivalry is brought to life with a visually striking design inspired by early renaissance storytelling and Hieronymus Bosch’s surreal imagery. Conductors Giacomo Sagripanti and Carlo Rizzi lead stellar casts, including Michael Fabiano, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, and Aleksei Isaev.
Date: 26 February – 22 March 2025. Location: Royal Ballet and Opera, Bow St, London WC2E 9DD. Price: £13–£270. Book now.
Il Trovatore ©2023 Camilla Greenwell.
The Score
The Score, following a successful run at the Theatre Royal Bath, returns to London this week. Starring Brian Cox (Succession) as Johann Sebastian Bach, the play is set in 1747 Prussia, where Bach is summoned by Europe’s most tyrannical ruler. Their encounter profoundly transforms both of their lives. With rave reviews from its sold-out Bath run, The Score is being hailed as one of the season’s must-see productions.
Date: 24 February - 26 April 2025. Location: Theatre Royal Haymarket, London SW1Y 4HT. Price: from £25. Book now.
The Seagull
Cate Blanchett and Tom Burke star in Thomas Ostermeier’s new The Seagull. Blanchett plays Arkadina, a celebrated actress whose dominance stifles her son Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), while her lover Trigorin (Burke) entangles with Nina (Emma Corrin). This gripping tale of vanity, power, and artistic sacrifice runs for six weeks.
At every performance, a limited number of great seats priced at just £35 will be released via a weekly Lottery in partnership with TodayTix. Find out more.
Date: 26 February - 5 April 2025. Location: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £20 + BF. Book now.
Cate Blancett. Image by Richard Lakos (Creative Director Oliver Rosser and Art Direction and Design by Feast Creative).
Last chance
Kew Orchid Festival 2025
This weekend is your last chance to experience Kew Gardens’ Orchid Festival, celebrating the vibrant flora and fauna of Peru. The Princess of Wales Conservatory features stunning displays of orchids, alpacas, flamingos, and more. Highlights include photography by Mariano Vivanco, murals by Gisella Stapleton, and an orchid-aviary.
Date: 1 February - 2 March 2025. Location: Princess of Wales Conservatory Kew, Richmond, London, TW9 3AE. Price: from £20. Book now.
Cinema
I'm Still Here
I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles, tells the true story of Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), who rebuilds her life after her family suffers under Brazil’s military dictatorship in 1971. Based on Marcelo Rubens Paiva’s biographical book, the film sheds light on a dark chapter of Brazilian history. It has been nominated for Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, with Torres earning a historic Best Actress nomination.
Date: 21 - 27 February 2025. Location: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS.Price: £13 +BF. Book now.
I'm Still Here, starring Selton Mello and Fernanda Torres, has been nominated for a best picture Oscar. Alile Onawale/Sony Pictures Classics
Arts & Culture
Opening this week
Leigh Bowery!
Tate will open an exhibition celebrating the groundbreaking career of Leigh Bowery (1961–1994), a fearless and original artist who redefined art, fashion, and popular culture. Showcasing his bold and dazzling costumes alongside painting, photography, and video, the exhibition traces Bowery’s journey from a young boy in Australia to a globally influential cultural icon. It offers a vivid portrait of his outrageous, complex, and creative legacy.
Date: 27 February – 31 August 2025. Location: Tate Modern, Natalie Bell Building, Level 3 Bankside, London SE1 9TG. Price: £18 / Free for members. Book now.
Click here for more fashion exhibitions to see in London in 2025.
What Is It Like?
What Is It Like? at Arebyte Gallery, curated by Helen Starr, will showcase works that examine subjective reality, consciousness, and the limitations of AI. Inspired by Thomas Nagel’s What Is It Like to Be a Bat?, the exhibition will feature artists including Anna Bunting-Branch, Damara Inglês, Choy Ka Fai, Katarzyna Krakowiak Balka, Lawrence Lek, and Kira Xonorika. The artists will explore the boundaries between human experience and AI, focusing on the emotional and embodied aspects of consciousness that AI cannot replicate.
Date: 27 February – 4 May 2025. Location: arebyte Gallery, Java House, 7 Botanic Square, London City Island, E14 0LG. Price: Free arebyte.com.
Fergus Greer, Leigh Bowery Session I Look 2 1988 © Fergus Greer. Courtesy Michael Hoppen Gallery.
Claudia Pagès Rabal
Claudia Pagès Rabal’s exhibition at Chisenhale Gallery delves into resistance and colonial history through a new moving-image work. Centred on five defence towers built during the Hispanic March, Pagès uses dance, light, and sound to trace the rhythms of self-defence and reveal how colonial erasure persists. The work also reflects on the lasting impacts of colonialism and the ongoing struggle for autonomy.
Date: 28 February – 11 May 2025. Location: Chisenhale Gallery, 64 Chisenhale Road, London, E3 5QZ. Price: Free. More info.
Ella Kruglyanskaya: Shadows
Ella Kruglyanskaya’s upcoming exhibition Shadows at Thomas Dane Gallery will feature new paintings and drawings inspired by artists such as Josef Albers, Édouard Manet, and René Magritte. The works combine portraiture, still life, and humor, with a focus on female figures and technology. Kruglyanskaya’s use of satirical titles challenges contemporary views on art. The exhibition coincides with the release of her monograph, Too Much.
Date: 28 February–3 May 2025. Location: Thomas Dane Gallery, 11 Duke Street, St James’s, London SW1 Y6BN.
Kruglyanskaya, Lemondrama (After Manet), 2024 oil on panel 50.2 × 64.8 cm. 19 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. © Ella Kruglyanskaya. Courtesy the artist, Thomas Dane Gallery and Bortolami Gallery, New York. Image credit: Mark Woods.
Dada Khanyisa
Sadie Coles HQ presents new works by Dada Khanyisa, whose sculptural paintings explore social dynamics and community. Inspired by South African culture, modernist shapes, and social media, Khanyisa’s works celebrate identity and the power of shared histories.
Date: 26 February – 12 April 2025. Location: Sadie Coles HQ, Davies Street, London, W1K 3DB. More info.
Noah Davis Installation view Barbican Art Gallery 2025 c Jemima Yong Barbican Art Gallery.
Artist Talk
When Artists Curate: Noah Davis and the Artist-Curator
Join artists Alvaro Barrington and Allison Katz for a panel discussion, moderated by art historian Dorothy Price, inspired by Noah Davis’s work. The panel will explore the concept of the artist-curator, reflecting on Davis’s legacy as co-founder of the Underground Museum in Los Angeles, where he curated 18 exhibitions in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art. The discussion will examine the role of artists as curators in light of Davis’s curatorial contributions. The Noah Davis exhibition is on view at the Barbican Art Gallery from 6 February to 11 May 2025.
Date: 26 February 2025. Time: 7pm. Location: Level 4, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS. Price: £25 +BF. Book now.
#FLOFavourites: Pick of the Week
Free location of the week
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum. © MTotoe.
Sir John Soane’s Museum is one of London’s most fascinating historic attractions, offering a glimpse into the home and collection of the renowned 19th-century architect. Packed with antiquities, artworks, and curiosities, this beautifully preserved house in Lincoln’s Inn Fields provides a fascinating insight into Soane’s life and creative vision. From ancient sculptures to Hogarth paintings, every room is a treasure trove of history, making it a must-visit for architecture and art lovers alike.
Location: 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3BP. Price: Free. Website: soane.org. Instagram: @soanemuseum
Click here for small historic homes to visit in London.
Interview of the week
In conversation with David Ottone Artistic Director of TRASH!
David Ottone.
We spoke with David Ottone, co-director of TRASH! and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Spanish theatre company Yllana, to gain insights into the creative process behind this vibrant, family-friendly production currently showing at Sadler’s Wells until 1 March 2025.
Click here for the full interview.
Food of the week
KURO Bagels in Notting Hill
KURO Bagels in Notting Hill.
Kuro London, known for their exceptional pastries, has opened a bagel shop in Notting Hill. They offer a selection of classic, sweet, and savoury bagels, including vegetarian and vegan options. The menu features the Everyday and Onion Bagels with fillings like The Italian (mortadella, salami, provolone, vinaigrette) and Smoked Salmon (cream cheese, red onion, capers, lemon, dill). We tried the Veg Option and The KURO Special, both packed with fresh ingredients and bold flavours. It’s definitely a great addition to the Notting Hill neighbourhood.
Location: 5 Hillgate Street, London W8 7SP. Opening hours: Daily, 8am - 5pm. Website: kuro-london.com Instagram: @kuro_london
Cause of the week
The Arts Society
The Arts Society.
The Arts Society is an organisation dedicated to fostering an appreciation of the arts and heritage through local Societies across the UK. It offers a range of volunteering opportunities, from supporting the operation of local Societies to engaging in community projects that promote arts and heritage. Volunteering with The Arts Society provides a chance to contribute to meaningful cultural initiatives and make a positive impact in your local community.
For more information on how to get involved, visit their website or contact volunteering@theartssociety.org.