8 unmissable London photography exhibitions - Winter 2024/25

As a photographer, you view life through your own personal lens. Perfecting your work and discovering your style as you explore life through your camera is crucial to reaching your full potential and becoming the professional photographer you want to be. However, taking the time to explore the work of others will allow you to see different perspectives and styles that you might wish to employ or emulate yourself. But where do you go to explore said work? 

Attending a photography exhibition in London is an excellent way to broaden your horizons, discover new work and see how others utilise composition, concepts and lighting. There are plenty of photography exhibitions in London to explore this winter. In this guide, we’ll take a look at 8 unmissable photography exhibitions in London that are happening now or right around the corner: 

1. Zanele Muholi
2. Anastasia Samoylova: Adaption
3. The 80s: Photographing Britain
4. Ragnar Axelsson: At the Edge of the World
5. Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection
6. Energy: Sparks from the Collection
7. Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos
8. Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage

If you’re ready to explore new themes, lives, and experiences, let’s take a closer look at the stunning photography exhibitions in London listed above. 

1. Zanele Muholi

• Dates: Now until 26 January 2025
• Price: Free for members
• Location: The Tate Modern, Natalie Bell Building, Level 3Bankside, London SE1 9TG
• Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/zanele-muholi

Zanele Muholi presents a striking exploration of identity, activism, and resilience through the lens of one of South Africa's most celebrated visual artists. Renowned for their bold and evocative photography, Muholi's work centers on the lives of Black LGBTQIA+ individuals, celebrating their beauty, dignity, and strength in the face of systemic discrimination.

This exhibition features intimate self-portraits and vivid documentation of marginalised communities, blending artistry with powerful social commentary. Muholi’s images challenge societal norms and provide a platform for underrepresented voices, offering a deeply personal and universal meditation on love, courage, and the fight for equality.

2. Anastasia Samoylova: Adaption

• Dates: 5 November 2024 - 20 January 2025
• Price: Starting from £6, a ticket will grant access to all three Winter Exhibitions. Free for members.
• Location: Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Rd, London SW3 4RY
• Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.saatchigallery.com/exhibition/anastasia-samoylova-adaptation

As part of the Saatchi's Winter Exhibitions, Anastasia Samoylova: Adaptation explores the intricate relationship between humanity and the environment through photography.

Known for her layered and vibrant compositions, Samoylova captures the tension between urban development and ecological vulnerability. This exhibition presents a series of works that juxtapose natural landscapes with man-made structures, reflecting on themes of resilience, transformation, and survival in the face of climate change.

With a blend of documentary and conceptual photography, Adaptation invites viewers to "consider the ways in which we are encroaching on the environment and alerted to the danger of denial".

Other shows in this year's Saatchi Winter Exhibitions:

• As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic (ends 20 January)
• Aneesa Dawoojee: March of the Hummingbirds (ends 5 January)

3. The 80s: Photographing Britain

• Dates: Now until 5 May 2025

• Price: £20 / £5 for Tate Collective / Free for Members
• Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
• Learn More: You can find more information and purchase your tickets at https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/the-80s-photographing-britain

From political unrest and economic upheaval to local subcultures and personal moments, The 80s: Photographing Britain presents a tapestry of British life in the 1980s, presented through the lenses of photographers who captured its social, political, and cultural essence, documenting the everyday experience of those navigating pivotal events in history including race uprisings, strikes, the AIDS crisis and gentrification.

Featuring iconic works by artists like Martin Parr and Vanley Burke, this exhibition explores themes of identity, community, and resilience. Documenting everything from punk and new wave scenes to the Thatcher era’s impact on everyday life, these powerful images reflect a nation in flux.

4. Ragnar Axelsson: At the Edge of the World

• Dates: 22 November 2024 - 26 January 2025
• Price: Free to attend
• Location: Print Sales Gallery, The Photographer's Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW
• Learn More: You can learn more about this exhibit and book tickets at https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/ragnar-axelsson-edge-world

This solo exhibition presents the work of Icelandic photographer Ragnar Axelsson, capturing the raw beauty and fragility of life in the Arctic. Known as "Rax," Axelsson documents the lives of people, animals, and landscapes shaped by extreme environments and a rapidly changing climate.

At the Edge of the World highlights Axelsson's decades-long dedication to photographing remote communities and their connection to the natural world, offering a poignant narrative on resilience and loss. Through hauntingly beautiful black-and-white images, Axelsson invites viewers to reflect on humanity’s role in preserving the fragile ecosystems at the edge of the world.

5. Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection

• Dates: Now until 05 January 2025
• Price: £22
• Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
• Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibition and plan your visit at https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/fragile-beauty-photographs-from-the-sir-elton-john-and-david-furnish-collection

Spanning from the 1950s to today, this exhibition will display photographs from Elton John and David Furnish's private collection, curated by Duncan Forbes, the V&A's head of photography, Newell Harbin, director of The Sir Elton John Photography Collection, and Lydia Caston, the V&A's exhibition project curator.

Featuring portraits of jazz musicians Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and actress Marilyn Monroe, more than 300 prints from over 140 photographers will be showcased to the public, making up the V&A's largest temporary photography exhibition to date. Images will be curated into eight themes, including fashion, reportage, celebrity, and the male body.

6. Energy: Sparks from the Collection

• Dates: Now until 18 May 2025
• Price: Free to attend
• Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
• Learn More: You can learn more about the exhibit and book your tickets at https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/energy-sparks-from-the-collection

From hidden technologies to photographic subjects, this exhibition draws attention to "the diverse kinds of energy in photography".

In this way, Energy: Sparks from the Collection will explore the ways that light and energy are memorialised within a still image. Whether it's sunlight passing through a lens, the flash of an artificial lightbulb, or the travelling glow of long-exposure city lights, every photograph needs some kind of energy to bring itself to life.

7. Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos

• Dates: Now until 29 March 2025
• Price: Free to attend 
• Location: Autograph Gallery, Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA, UK
• Learn More: You can learn more about the event at https://autograph.org.uk/exhibitions/abi-morocco-photos-spirit-of-lagos

Curated by Lagos Studio Archives and Bindi Vora, this exhibition captures the rich style and spirit of Lagos during the 1970s through the lens of Abi Morocco Photos, a highly-regarded photographic studio in Lagos that offered versatile portraiture to Lagosians from the 1970s to 2006.

Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos is part of the Lagos Studio Archives project, an ongoing cultural preservation project by Karl Ohiri and Riikka Kassinen, which is seeking to preserve the culture and legacy of Nigerian photography.

8. Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage

• Dates: 09 October 2024 - 23 February 2025
• Price: £10 (£7 concession). Advance: £8.50 (£6 concession). Members go free. Book advance tickets online for 15% off the full admission price. Admission is free on Fridays after 5pm. Your ticket covers all exhibitions on the day of your visit.
• Location: The Photographer's Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW
• Learn More: You can learn more about the event at https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/whats-on/deborah-turbeville-photocollage

Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage celebrates the groundbreaking work of the late American fashion photographer known for her "signature dreamlike and melancholic style". This exhibition focuses on Turbeville's lesser-known photo-collages, showcasing her innovative approach to photography as an art form.

Turbeville's experimental techniques challenged conventional fashion photography, creating a visual language uniquely her own. By layering fragments of images with textures, text, and painterly effects, Turbeville blurred the boundaries between photography and fine art. Her hauntingly beautiful compositions play on themes of memory, femininity, and decay.

Wrapping up

No matter what type of photographer you want to become, visiting photography exhibitions is an outstanding way to discover new styles, learn how to improve your own art, and find inspiration. And with new collections and photography competitions popping up every month, there's no shortage of exciting works to discover.

Weekdays are generally quieter for most exhibitions, but you can book timeslots in advance online for all of them to guarantee admission. Why not make a day of it with a friend and visit a few in succession, stopping by at some local independent pubs to discuss your thoughts on each exhibition. All in the name of research, of course.

But what do you do when you’re ready to put your skills to the test? Who do you turn to for photoshoot locations? Tutti makes it easy for artists to find the right spaces for their work by connecting them directly with space owners to streamline the search and rental process. If you’ve been looking up, “photography studio London” to no avail, start here with Tutti!