Tate has pulled out all the stops for 2026, announcing a blockbuster lineup across its galleries that promises something for everyone. The year will see Tate Modern championing powerhouse women artists, Tate Britain diving into British cultural revolutions, and Tate St Ives spotlighting overlooked modern masters.
The Bankside powerhouse starts with Tracey Emin: 40 Years – a no-holds-barred retrospective featuring unseen archival material alongside those infamous neon confessions and the legendary “My Bed”. Top Photo
Come summer, prepare for sensory overload with Argentine op-art pioneer Julio Le Parc’s interactive light installations, followed by the most comprehensive UK Frida Kahlo show in decades, pairing her iconic self-portraits with ephemera that reveal the woman behind the myth.
The season continues with Ana Mendieta’s first major UK survey, including never-before-seen installations from the Cuban-American artist who blurred the lines between body and earth. Autumn brings Light and Magic, a globetrotting celebration of photography’s early rebels who transformed the camera into a brush.
Spring belongs to Hurvin Anderson’s lush Caribbean-British landscapes and Whistler’s first European retrospective in 30 years – expect everything from his teenage sketches to the controversial “Peacock Room”.
Then comes one of the main events: The 90s, curated by Edward Enninful, is set to be the cultural time capsule we’ve been waiting for. Imagine Juergen Teller’s raw photography alongside Hirst’s formaldehyde animals, McQueen’s bumster trousers, and Gillian Wearing’s candid video portraits – a complete sensory immersion in Britpop-era rebellion.
The year closes with Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant reconstructing the Bloomsbury set’s Charleston studio, complete with painted furniture and intimate portraits that capture their radical domesticity.
Tate St Ives gives Wilhelmina Barns-Graham her long-overdue moment, tracing the St Ives modernist’s 80-year career through 170 works. Earlier, Aleksandra Kasuba’s organic architectural fantasies will transform the gallery into a surrealist playground.
While its waterfront home undergoes a glow-up (set to reopen in 2027 with knockout Mersey views), Tate Liverpool continues its programme at RIBA North – because even construction can’t stop the North’s art juggernaut.
Maria Balshaw, Tate Director, sums it up: “This isn’t just a year of exhibitions – it’s a series of cultural earthquakes. From Emin’s raw intimacy to the 90s’ creative explosion, we’re bringing together artworks that don’t just reflect history, but rewrote it.”
£5 tickets for under-25s via Tate Collective – Members get free entry to all shows
Three annual Turbine Hall commissions are still to be announced