Let’s go on an artistic adventure with Hens with Pens

We’re taking a guess that whilst your lockdown months may have been full of DIY and self-care, they were quite … well..boring..!?

Well why not take an adventure in the remaining months of the almighty 2020 and experience some art to spice things up! Here are our top suggestions:

September

The Design Museum- opens the first major exhibition devoted to Prada – find out how a family business became one of the most successful and dynamic fashion houses in the world.

Tate St Ives- Kosovan artist Petrit Halilaj presents his first UK solo exhibition, exploring identity and memory – it includes giant performative moth sculptures and installations of bird-like ‘creatures’.

The Lightbox- addresses the continuing under-representation of women artists with a show drawn from the Ingram Collection – one of the UK’s most significant collections of modern British art. Women at Work places contemporary artists alongside key modern figures including Barbara Hepworth and Sylvia Gosse.

October

The National Gallery- kicks off October with a major exhibition spanning Raphael’s entire career, to mark the 500th anniversary of his death (above). Sculptor Auguste Rodin’s experimental side will be brought to the fore at Tate Modern’s landmark exhibition, with displays evoking the informal atmosphere of the studio . The V&A - explore 5,000 years of culture in Epic Iran, revealing the immense artistic achievements of one of the greatest historic civilisations. The National Heritage Centre - for Horseracing and Sporting Art celebrates the 70th birthday of the world’s longest running drama serial, BBC Radio 4’s muchloved The Archers.

The ninth edition of the British Art Show – the biggest touring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK – opens across Manchester before touring to three other cities.

And the Hepworth Wakefield celebrates two decades of Hannah Starkey’s mesmerising photographs, which engage with the representation of women in contemporary culture.

November & December

V&A Dundee- celebrating the world’s most influential nightclubs in Night Fever, tracing their design and evolution since the 1960s. Tate Britain - Turner’s Modern World at examines how, unlike many of his contemporaries, JMW Turner embraced his era’s changing industrial landscapes in his paintings.

Challenging Convention in Newcastle- throws light on a time of great change as well as struggle for women in Britain through the work of four important 20thcentury artists.

Tate Modern - presents a retrospective of Slovak artist Maria Bartuszová’s beautifully delicate plaster sculptures, created while living in socialist Czechoslovakia.

Royal Academy -Tracey Emin’s career-long fascination with Edvard Munch is given full rein. Works by both artists reveal a shared preoccupation with the complexity of the human psyche.

And finally, Bridget Riley’s blockbuster retrospective arrives at the Lightbox with enough bright and bedazzling ‘optical’ paintings to light up your festive season through to 2021.

As we are not able to gather all the appropriate up to date information and new information is rolling out daily, we recommend you contact the venues directly for information on their approach to the pandemic.

Which one looks best for you?