From the Ancient Egyptians to the Brazilian Modernists and a contemporary photographer from Leeds, 2025’s exhibitions run the gamut of history, culture and creative practice
If one of your new year’s resolutions is to enjoy more art – instead of realising you’ve missed the boat on another extraordinary exhibition – consider this your cue to start planning your cultural year ahead. From a deep dive into a very British love affair with swimming, to shows by two Black painters whose work rejects traditional art establishment expectations – as well as a journey back to Ancient Egypt there’s plenty to see in 2025.
The Face Magazine Culture Shift at The National Portrait Gallery, from 20 February to 18 May 2025
A magazine that shaped fashion and contemporary culture in a pre-internet world (from 1980 to 2004 before it was relaunched in 2019) – The Face was famed for its iconic images. Now, some 200 of the most striking photographs and portraits it ever published are shown in The Face Magazine: Culture Shift. From musicians to models, including a young Kate Moss, photographed by the likes of Corinne Day and Sheila Rock the exhibition shows how the magazine served as something of a bellwether when it came to style and cultural movements, championing newness, disruption and change. Many of the photographs in the show will never have been seen outside of the pages of The Face: seeing them as standalone pieces is a revival and a treat.
Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism at The Royal Academy, from 28 January to 21 April 2025
This vivid show tells the story of how modernism was created and cultivated in Brazil, from 1910 to 1970. Visitors to Brasil! Brasil! will discover how Brazilian artists were influenced by international trends and embraced these in order to develop their own take on modernism, which heavily referenced the culture, tradition and landscape of their homeland. A recurring theme in many of the paintings is day-to-day life, where quotidian rituals, chores or vistas are immortalised on canvas. This slice of art history has perhaps not had the attention it deserves from European audiences but with the ten artists – including Tarsila do Amaral and Anita Malfatti, self-taught artists Alfredo Volpi and Djanira and Rubem Valentim – in the RA show this will undoubtedly change.
Noah Davis at The Barbican, from 6 February to 11 May 2025
Noah Davis died of a rare form of cancer in 2015 aged just 32 but he left behind a prolific body of work; largely paintings that depict everyday scenes from Black everyday life but shot through with an uncanny, eerie quality. Not always comfortable with what the established – mostly white – art world might want from a Black painter, Davis’ work was both political and personal. Some 40 of these pieces comprise his debut retrospective at The Barbican, a show that will be presented chronologically from 2007 and give viewers the opportunity to discover the humour and humanity of a brilliant artist.
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Mickalene Thomas: All About Love at Hayward Gallery, from 11 February to 15 May 2025
The Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery is set to be totally transformed by Mickalene Thomas’ large-scale, jewel encrusted, intricately patterned portraits, all with a 1970s aesthetic that speaks to the American artist’s childhood in New Jersey. The work interrogates notions of what it means to be beautiful, powerful and loved: the title of this show is in honour of the late feminist writer bell hooks. Thomas’ paintings use elements of collage while elements nod to the techniques and composition choices of European artists including Picasso and Monet. However, Thomas subverts historical western painting tradition because her muses are glamourous Black women whose figures and faces fill the canvases.
Making Egypt at Young V&A, from 15 February 2025
Ancient Egypt is endlessly, enduringly influential as far as contemporary art, fashion and culture are concerned. Making Egypt takes us right back to the pyramids, hieroglyphs and mummies of the past that so captured our imagination as children (in fact, this is the ideal show for anyone needing to entertain a young family). From here, we are lead through the centuries, seeing how the Ancient Egyptians and the visual motifs and rich narratives that surrounded them have contributed to contemporary culture. Particular standouts are the Lego version of the Great Pyramid of Giza as well as a set of nine photographic prints by Chant Avedissian depicting various costumes he had once produced ‘modelled’ by stencilled women emulating the poses found in Ancient Egyptian renderings.
Peter Mitchell: Nothing Lasts Forever at The Photographers’ Gallery, from 7 March to 15 July 2025
Serving as something of a masterclass in social history and colour photography, Nothing Lasts Forever celebrates the work of Peter Mitchell, most of which focuses on his home city, Leeds. The photographs in this show span 40 years of Mitchell’s career – his early shots were taken in the 70s when he was working as a delivery driver – and platform him as a visual narrator concerned with showing the social and economic change in Leeds. His love for the city is evident; the images capture both beauty and bleakness with tenderness and heart. As well as photographs, Nothing Lasts Forever includes a collection of documents and other artifacts that give further context to the stories Mitchell tells.
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style at The Design Museum, from 28 March to 17 August 2025
Showcasing how Britain’s lidos and coastlines influenced fashion and architecture, Splash! is something of a love letter to swimming by way of design, curated by dress historian Amber Butchart. Visitors go back to the 1920s when beach holidays mushroomed in popularity and swimwear began to move from functional to fashionable. This was also when lidos first started popping up all over the country, becoming a staple of many people’s lives in the decades since and enjoying a resurgence in popularity in recent years. With beautiful photographs and intelligent commentary, audiences can dive headfirst into the aesthetic history of British swimming.
Cartier at The V&A, from 12 April 2025
An iconic scroll tiara worn to the coronation of Elizabeth II and again by Rihanna on the cover of W magazine in 2016 is just one of 350 exquisite pieces in the forthcoming Cartier showcase at V&A. Visitors can get up close to these historic treasures – and the world-class craftsmanship which underpins them – to get a true sense of how the French jeweller became one of the world’s most celebrated heritage brands of all time. Whether you’re an utter magpie, easily seduced by all that glitters, or someone who wouldn’t know a cushion cut from a carriage clock, this exhibition is set to be an unmissable spectacle.
The Genesis Exhibition at Tate Modern, from 1 May to 19 October 2025
Korean-born, London-based artist Do Ho Suh questions the concept of home and how it impacts our sense of self and feeling of belonging in this major exhibition of three decades worth of immersive installations – part sculpture, part monument – and works on paper, among other pieces, some of which are never-seen-before site specific works. Visitors to The Genesis Exhibition will find themselves meandering through and beneath fabric structures and exploring life-sized reproductions of the places the artist has called home including a replica of his first New York apartment.
