Three must-see exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery

As part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th birthday celebrations, one of the world's most influential contemporary artists responsible for well-known public works like Chicago’s Cloud Gate (aka ‘The Bean’) and London’s Queen Elizabeth Park sculpture, the ArcelorMittal Orbit, has arrived at the Hayward Gallery for a summer of wild imagination and uncanny perceptions. 

The Anish Kapoor exhibition, which runs until October 18, is full of immersive works that press up against the gallery walls or descend from the ceiling, creating a visceral, full-body encounter with the art. Many of Kapoor’s most iconic and quintessential works are included – mirror sculptures to warp perception, objects coated in Vantablack (super-black paint that absorbs 99% of light) – while new works, most notably two large installations in Kapoor’s arresting, oft-used red, also appear. 

Indeed, Kapoor’s works must be seen to be believed: find them at the Hayward Gallery before the exhibition ends in just under a month. Catch it while you still can! 

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Nan Goldin, otherwise known as one of the most influential artists of her generation in contemporary photography, comes to the Southbank Centre later this year for her first institutional UK show since 2002. You Never Did Anything Wrong is a new major solo exhibition highlighting four of Goldin’s recent films: Memory Lost (2019–2021), Stendhal Syndrome (2024), You Never Did Anything Wrong, Part I (2024), and the public debut of You Never Did Anything Wrong, Part II (2026). 

The first two films centre around some of Goldin’s longtime preoccupations – the human fragility of personal relationships, queer subcultures and the complexities of addiction – while the second pair focus on animal and environmental consciousness and the world around us. The show is Goldin’s first major exhibition in London and the UK, rounded out by an extensive selection of photographs and stills from her archive and marking this as a culturally significant exhibition by one of the world’s great photographers.

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In Spring 2027, the Hayward Gallery will play host to the largest UK solo exhibition to date by famed Chinese multimedia artist Cao Fei, who leads the charge of cutting-edge tech within the world of contemporary art. The show will mark the UK debut of The Birth alongside her most seminal works including Whose Utopia, RMB City and Asia One. Using film, photography and digital media, Fei draws on technology, video games, science fiction, pop culture, cinema and historical references to reflect our rapidly changing society. Distinctively experiential, her exhibition will transform the space into an immersive, surreal environment that invites you to walk the line between the real and the virtual. Why not sign-up to the Visual Arts newsletter to be among the first to find out when tickets go on sale, and perhaps even bag an early-bird discount?

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See all three shows with free access to the Hayward Gallery with a Southbank Centre Membership. If you choose Member Plus, you can bring a guest along too