Nan Goldin at the Hayward, Amar Kanwar in Kensington Gardens and Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern.
Saunter See · 16 October 2026The shows below are demanding in different ways: a diarist of the Bowery in a brutalist gallery, a film artist working across seven screens, and a sculptor who made art from her own body and the earth.
All three suit being seen slowly, and none is the one everybody is queueing for.
Goldin's first major show at a UK institution since 2002 fills the Hayward's concrete galleries from 24 November. Artist and activist in equal measure, she has photographed friends, lovers and loss with unflinching tenderness, and the setting suits her.
Best for A weekday visit, before the crowds.
The Delhi artist, born in 1964, shows a trilogy on partition, land and memory. It includes Such a Morning (2017), The Peacock's Graveyard (2023) and the premiere of The Charcoal Man (2026), the latter two on seven screens. Allow time. The work is made to be walked into.
Best for Pairing with a walk through Kensington Gardens.
The first major UK survey in over a decade follows her earth-and-body work across more than 120 pieces, from the Silueta Series (1973 to 1980) to late sculptures such as Nile Born and La Jungla (Totem Grove). Restaged works include Nanigo Burial (1976), lit with ritual candles during the run, and a 1982 tree sculpture is shown outside the museum. It closes on 17 January, so book soon.
Best for Anyone who has seen only the photographs.
See · LondonThree things to book across the next month, from a live band under the Barbican stage to a 35mm print.
See · LondonA free-jazz orchestra in a Dalston room, English baroque in Marylebone and Handel under Wren's dome.
See · LondonA Victorian meat market turned museum, a reading room beside the Globe and a house lit only by candles.
Opinion · LondonSimpson's, Hawksmoor under the Midland Grand and Bonheur on the old Le Gavroche site all trade on rooms that already carry a history.
Opinion · LondonFrom the Eagle Bar at The Chancery Rosewood to Hawksmoor's Martini Bar at St Pancras, the hotel bar is still where London drinks best.
Lists · LondonFrom the American embassy on Grosvenor Square to the Whiteleys department store, a Bloomsbury terrace and the Victorian caterers' building at the Old Bailey.
London, edited down to what's worth your time.