Tate has announced a groundbreaking exhibition line-up for 2025, with major shows set to take place at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and Tate St Ives. Highlights include the UK’s first major museum shows for Emily Kam Kngwarray, Ithell Colquhoun, Leigh Bowery, Liliane Lijn, and Ed Atkins, a landmark survey of Nigerian Modernism, and a diverse array of works spanning paintings, sculptures, photographs, digital installations, and live performances.
Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, said: “These exhibitions show Tate at our most ambitious and distinctive. They are truly international in scope while celebrating the power of individual communities, and they present a new vision of an expansive and diverse artistic canon. Our visitors have a year of unforgettable experiences to look forward to in 2025.”
Tate Members will enjoy free access to all these exhibitions, and 16-25-year-olds can secure £5 tickets through the Tate Collective.
Tate Modern
The year at Tate Modern begins with a tribute to the eclectic and boundary-pushing artist Leigh Bowery. The exhibition will trace Bowery’s rise from the 1980s London club scene to his influential performances, which continue to inspire fashion icons like Alexander McQueen and Lady Gaga. Following this, The Tanks will host the UK premiere of “Hagay Dreaming,” an avant-garde performance by Shu Lea Cheang and shaman Dondon Hounwn, merging dance, ritual, laser projections, and motion-capture technology.
Summer sees “The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh,” a deep dive into the Korean-born, London-based artist’s immersive fabric installations and intricate explorations of belonging and architecture. Concurrently, Tate Modern will present the first major European exhibition of Emily Kam Kngwarray, showcasing the monumental canvases that reflect her deep connection to her homeland and spiritual practices.
In autumn, a landmark exhibition on Nigerian Modernism will highlight the artists who transformed Nigerian art around the time of the country’s independence, blending African and European traditions across multiple disciplines. This will be paired with an exhibition focusing on Picasso’s “The Three Dancers,” marking its centenary by exploring Picasso’s themes of dance, sex, and death. The year will conclude with a major photography exhibition on Global Pictorialism, showcasing how photographers worldwide used innovative techniques to elevate photography to an art form.
Tate Britain
Tate Britain starts 2025 with a comprehensive exhibition on Ed Atkins, featuring his pioneering videos and animations alongside paintings, embroideries, and drawings. Following this, solo exhibitions of Edward Burra and Ithell Colquhoun will offer insights into their unique surrealist journeys.
In the autumn, “Turner & Constable” will celebrate the 250th anniversary of these iconic British landscape painters, showcasing their rivalrous yet revolutionary contributions. Simultaneously, a major retrospective on Lee Miller will display 250 of her powerful images, including many never seen before.
Tate Britain’s Art Now series, celebrating its 30th anniversary, will spotlight emerging talents such as Hylozoic/Desires and Onyeka Igwe. Additionally, a grand exhibition of Jacob Epstein’s sculptures will juxtapose his monumental works with expressive portrait busts.
Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives continues its Małgorzata Mirga-Tas exhibition into early 2025, highlighting her vibrant textile collages. The spring will see a major retrospective of Ithell Colquhoun, exploring her surrealist works and fascination with the occult. Liliane Lijn’s career-spanning exhibition will feature her innovative kinetic sculptures and experimental materials in the summer. Autumn will bring an exhibition of Emilija Škarnulytė’s immersive films, which explore deep time and the remnants of human culture.
Tate Liverpool
While Tate Liverpool undergoes a major transformation, the gallery will operate from RIBA North, offering collection displays and public events. It will also participate in the Liverpool Biennial, the UK’s largest free contemporary visual art festival. The revamped Tate Liverpool, reopening in 2026, promises to blend state-of-the-art facilities with the historic charm of its Grade I listed building.
As Tate looks ahead to 2025, it promises a year filled with innovative, diverse, and enriching experiences across all its galleries, reaffirming its commitment to celebrating global and local artistic excellence.
Exhibition listings
Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Tate St Ives, 19 Oct 2024 – 5 Jan 2025)
Ithell Colquhoun (Tate St Ives, 1 Feb – 5 May 2025)
In partnership with Lockton. With additional support from the Ithell Colquhoun Exhibition Supporters Circle and Tate Members
Leigh Bowery (Tate Modern, 27 Feb – 2 Sep 2025)
Organised by Tate Modern in collaboration with Nicola Rainbird, Director and Owner of the Estate of Leigh Bowery
Shu Lea Cheang: Hagay Dreaming (Tate Modern, 13-15 Mar 2025)
Presented by Tate & Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
Ed Atkins (Tate Britain, 2 Apr – 25 Aug 2025)
The Infinities Commission (Tate Modern, 22 Apr – 20 Jul 2025)
Made possible through philanthropic support to Tate
The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh (Tate Modern, 1 May – 26 Oct 2025)
In partnership with Genesis The creation and repurposing of artworks in the exhibition has been made possible with the generous support of Genesis.
Liliane Lijn (Tate St Ives, May – Oct 2025)
Organised by Haus der Kunst Munchen and mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, in collaboration with Tate St Ives
Liverpool Biennial (Tate Liverpool, 7 Jun – 14 Sep 2025)
Edward Burra (Tate Britain, 13 Jun – 19 Oct 2025)
In partnership with Lockton. With additional support from Tate Members
Ithell Colquhoun (Tate Britain, 13 Jun – 19 Oct 2025)
In partnership with Lockton. With additional support from the Ithell Colquhoun Exhibition Supporters Circle and Tate Members
Emily Kam Kngwarray (Tate Modern, 10 Jul 2025 – 13 Jan 2026)
Presented in The Eyal Ofer Galleries. Organised in collaboration with the National Gallery of Australia
UNIQLO Tate Play summer commission (Tate Modern, 19 Jul – 25 Aug 2025)
In partnership with UNIQLO
Picasso: The Three Dancers (Tate Modern, 25 Sep 2025 – Spring 2026)
Presented in the George Economou Gallery. Supported by the Picasso: Three Dancers Supporters Circle, Tate Americas Foundation and Tate Members
Lee Miller (Tate Britain, 2 Oct 2025 – 15 Feb 2026)
Nigerian Modernism (Tate Modern, 8 Oct 2025 – Spring 2026)
Hyundai Commission (Tate Modern, 14 Oct 2025 – 16 Mar 2026)
In partnership with Hyundai Motor
Emilija Škarnulytė (Tate St Ives, Oct 2025 – Jan 2026)
Turner & Constable (Tate Britain, 27 Nov 2025 – 12 Apr 2026)
Global Pictorialism (Tate Modern, 4 Dec 2025 – 25 May 2026
Art Now (Tate Britain, throughout the year)
Supported by the Art Now Supporters Circle and Tate Americas Foundation