When it comes to art exhibitions and museums in London Town, we’re more than spoiled for choice. In fact, we’d go as far to say that our dear city has some of the best museums in the world. But we’d also argue that we’re not doing too badly on the photography exhibitions front either. From portraits capturing the career of the legendary football Harry Kane, to photos capturing some of the rarest animals on the entire planet, here’s our rundown of 10 of the best photography exhibitions in London to explore for the remainder of 2022 and during 2023:
1. Chris Killip, retrospective
This retrospective exhibition of more than 140 works, serves as the most comprehensive survey from esteemed photographer Chris Killip. He’s best known for his black and white images of people and places – especially of Tyneside during the 1980’s. Set against a background of shipbuilding and coal mining, you’ll discover a real insight into the local communities that lived within the surrounding areas.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW.
🚇 Nearest station is Oxford Circus.
📅 Runs until February 19 2023.
🎟️ From £8.
2. Seeing Auschwitz
Images can often speak much louder than words, capturing moments to be frozen in time for centuries and, in the case of ‘Seeing Auschwitz’, providing unwavering photographic evidence of crimes committed during the Holocaust. Coming to South Kensington in October, this striking exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the event through a collection of over 100 photographs, drawings and testimonies – each one crucially shedding light on the people and scenes that occurred inside the fences of Auschwitz.
What at first glance may look like a group of friends smiling for the camera actually has much more chilling implications when you consider the uniform they are wearing and what would have been happening out of shot. The exhibition encourages us to look beyond the four edges of the photograph and through the veil of seemingly ordinary faces to confront the reality of what we are seeing. You can grab your tickets for it here.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at 79-85 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3LD.
🚇 Closest station is South Kensington.
📅 Runs until January 29 2023.
🎟️ Price from £10.
3. Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize is a leading international competition that celebrates and promotes the very best in contemporary photography from all around the globe.
Selected by a panel of judges from 4,462 entries, three portraits have been shortlisted as potential winner, and the winner will be announced on Tuesday October 25. Along with these three portraits, you’ll be able to view many other fascinating photographs at the exhibition, which runs from October 27 to December 18 at Cromwell Place.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at 4 Cromwell Place, South Kensington, London, SW7 2JE.
🚇 Nearest station is South Kensington.
📅 Runs until December 18.
🎟️ From £9.
4. Exposure: Lives at Sea
Exposure: Lives at Sea is a photography exhibition at Greenwich’s National Maritime Museum exploring what life is really like for those who work at sea today. Through a series of photographs taken by those actually working in the maritime industry, the exhibition shines a light on this often forgotten but integral work.
From the isolated wilderness of Antarctica to the kaleidoscopic coral reefs off Mexico – this London photography exhibition will bring different points of view from all around the world, so it’s definitely not one to miss!
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Romney Road, London, SE10 9NF.
🚇 Closest stations are Maze Hill and Greenwich.
📅 Runs until January 8 2023.
🎟️ Free.
5. Maurice Broomfield: Industrial Sublime
Maurice Broomfield’s dramatic photographs captured factories and their workers in Tyneside in an era of rapid transition following World War Two. This fantastic exhibition depicts the time period of following the Industrial Revolution all the way to 90’s and 00’s.
Over 30,000 images from the late Broomfield are in the V&A, and many of these will be on show at this exhibition which is free to enter.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at the V&A, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL.
🚇 Closest station is South Kensington.
📅 Runs until February 5 2023.
🎟️ Free.
6. A·kin: Aarati Akkapeddi
This intriguing photography exhibition begs the question of what do computers ‘see’ when looking at family albums? Taking the work of artist Aarati Akkapeddi, you’ll be able to delve deep into anthropological, historical and cultural notions about personal and collective identity, when photographs are considered as mere data points. The installation takes the shape of a Kolam, where patterns are traditionally drawn with rice flour by women on their home entrance to welcome all but the evil spirits.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at The Photographer’s Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London, W1F 7LW.
🚇 Nearest station is Oxford Circus.
📅 Runs until Feb 19 2023.
🎟️ From £8.
7. Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924
This fantastic exhibition explores almost a century of dreamlike furniture, interior design, fashion, photography and art. It is unique in its effort to bring the movement into the present day, displaying classic works from Surrealist icons like Salvador Dalí, Leonora Carrington and Yves Tanguy alongside contemporary artists and designers like Bjork, Schiaparelli and Dior. It also features work from celebrated photographer and photo journalist Lee Miller.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at the Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High St, London, W8 6AG.
🚇 Nearest station is High Street Kensington.
📅 Runs until Feb 19 2023.
🎟️ From £16.80.
8. Sony World Photography Awards
The Sony World Photography Awards are one of the world’s largest and most prestigious photography competitions, championing the best contemporary photography from across the globe and providing participating photographers with important international exposure and career-building opportunities.
New to the awards for 2023 will be the launch of a prize in support of the United Nations’ environmental Sustainable Development Goals, and a new solo presentation for the ‘Photographer of the Year‘. Also on display is a special presentation of over 20 works by this year’s recipient of the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Photography‘award, Rinko Kawauchi.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R 1LA.
🚇 Nearest station is Temple.
📅 Runs from April 14 2023 to May 1 2023.
🎟️ Free.
9. Wildlife Photographer of the Year
A yearly event which has been running since 1965, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year always deserves a spot on this roundup of the best photography exhibitions in London. Running from October 22 until July 2023 in a newly-designed exhibition space, it will showcase ‘100 remarkable photographs which illustrate the precious beauty of our planet‘.
Sneak-peak photographs for 2022 include an octopus hiding in a shell in Indonesia’s Lumbar Strait, a southern right whale off the coast of New Zealand – which were very nearly hunted to extinction – and a polar bear gazing out of an abandoned house in Kolyuchin in Russia’s Far East.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD.
🚇 Nearest station is South Kensington.
📅 Runs until July 2023.
🎟️ From £17.
10. The Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition at the London Film Museum
When it comes to photography exhibitions in London, this one is probably the one for all members of the family. Housing iconic production photographs from all the Harry Potter films, the Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition will give fans a behind-the-scenes, all-access look at some of the movie magic.
Key moments covered include Harry’s first day at Hogwarts in The Philosopher’s Stone all the way through to the Battle of Hogwarts in the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Perhaps best of all, you’ll be able to ride over London on your very own broomstick – via green screen of course – and can slurp on a lovely pint of butterbeer. Elsewhere in town, you can also join your very own Harry Potter photo tour – grab your tickets for that here.
📍 You’ll find the exhibition at the London Film Museum, 45 Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7BN.
🚇 Nearest station is Covent Garden.
📅 Runs indefinitely.
🎟️ From £20 per adult and £14 per child.
So there you have it – a roundup of the best photography exhibitions in London for the rest of 2022 and to look forward to in 2023. So what are you waiting for culture vultures? Get out and there and get inspired!