Seven current and upcoming architecture and design exhibitions in London (2024)

We've selected seven current and upcoming London design and architecture exhibitions listed on Dezeen Events Guide, including Tomorrow's Tigers,Parables for Happiness and The Gingerbread City.

Also included are Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today and The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art And Fashion.

Parables for Happiness
15 September 2022 to 25 June 2023, the Design Museum

Designer and artist Yinka Ilori hosts his Parables for Happiness exhibition at the Design Museum.

Parables for Happiness explores vibrant colours and prints often used within Ilori's work, which represent joy and his multicultural upbringing in London.

The exhibition presents Ilori's own work and objects that influence him, such as Nigerian fabrics that inform the geometric shapes routinely seen in his designs. This includes 100 objects, such as chairs, textiles, artwork, billboard installations, photographs and books.

Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today
14 October 2022 to 19 February 2023, the Design Museum

Objects of Desire: Surrealism and Design 1924 – Today, curated by the Rhein-based gallery the Vitra Design Museum, also takes place at the Design Museum.

The exhibition explores the surrealism movement from its origins with work from surrealist artists and designers, including Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, Dora Maar, Lee Miller and Leonora Carrington, as well as displaying contemporary work from designers such as Schiaparelli and Dior and the musician Björk.

On show are a range of unconventional and playful objects, including fashion, furniture, artwork, photography and interior design pieces.

Tomorrow's Tigers
24 November 2022 to 29 November 2022, Sotheby's

Auction house Sotheby's presents the Tomorrow's Tigers exhibition in partnership with the wildlife charity WWF.

The six-day event displays tiger-themed rugs to raise awareness around the endangered species.

The 10 rugs are designed by world-renowned artists and designers, including Anish Kapoor, Francesco Clemente, Rose Wylie, Kiki Smith, Peter Doig and Ai Weiwei, in addition to rug designer, Christopher Farr.

Following the exhibition, Sotheby's will auction the rugs to raise funds for the charity's tiger conservation programme.

Supermodels
25 November 2022 to 11 December 2022, Jahn Court

Supermodels is an exhibition hosted by London-based design and architecture studio .

The exhibition presents eight animated models that move around an empty building site in King's Cross.

The studio has created the models to represent a building it has designed and encourages visitors to engage with them as they would other small moving models, such as cuckoo clocks, doll's houses and model railways.

The exhibition also uses projection mapping, sound, light and scent to utilise both physical and digital technology.

Designed in Hackney
26 November 2022 to 4 December 2022, One Hundred Shoreditch

Dezeen launches the Designed in Hackney exhibition 20 years after its original initiative that showcased the diverse design community in the London borough of Hackney.

The exhibition, hosted in collaboration with One Hundred Shoreditch and curated by Dezeen, displays the projects of five up and coming designers.

The designers include furniture and product designer, Amechi Mandi; ceramic designer, Bisila Noha; artist and designer, Coco Lom; animator, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley; and fashion designer, Marie Lueder.

Each designer was nominated by an established Hackney-based designer, including Lee Broom, Pearson Lloyd, Camille Walala, Nelly Ben Hayoun and Roksanda Ilincic.

The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion
28 October 2022 to 22 January 2023, the Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery hosts the The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion, an exhibition exploring representation in the fashion industry.

The work of 15 black photographers showcases creativity and diversity within fashion and photography from New York City, Johannesburg, Lagos, London and more.

The exhibition was curated by writer and critic Antwaun Sargent and addresses how stylists, models, makeup artists and creative directors all helped produce the final images.

The photographers include Campbell Addy, Quil Lemons, Daniel Obasi, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Namsa Leuba, Ruth Ossai, Micaiah Carter, Renell Medrano, Adrienne Raquel, Awol Erizku, Tyler Mitchell, Dana Scruggs, Nadine Ijewere, Jamal Nxedlana and Stephen Tayo.

The Gingerbread City
3 December 2022 to 2 January 2023, the Museum of Architecture

The Gingerbread City is a festive exhibition taking place at the UK's Museum of Architecture, and returns for its sixth edition.

More than 100 architects, designers and engineers are creating model cities from gingerbread houses to display in the exhibition.

The Museum of Architecture has briefed the participating architects to set the cities within the polar, continental, temperate, dry and tropical climate zones to showcase how design changes around the world.

The models convey how resources, building methods and environment impact architecture and what consumers are prioritising post-Covid, such as convenience, sustainability and affordability.

About Dezeen Events Guide

Dezeen Events Guideis our guide to the best architecture and design events taking place across the world each year.

The guide is updated weekly and includes virtual events, conferences, trade fairs, major exhibitions and design weeks, as well as up-to-date information about what events have been cancelled or postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Inclusion in the guide is free for basic listings, with events selected at Dezeen's discretion. Organisers can get enhanced or premium listings for their events, including images, additional text and links, by paying a modest fee.

In addition, events can ensure inclusion by partnering with Dezeen. For more details on inclusion in Dezeen Events Guide and media partnerships with Dezeen, email[emailprotected].