CALENDAR 2026
Throughout the year Asian Art in London is proud to promote a wide range of art events across the UK. These include symposia, performances, gallery talks, openings, lectures, short courses and much more. London’s eclectic resources make it a hub for art-world professionals and enthusiasts. This page is regularly updated. Please note the calendar for Asian Art in London 2026 will be fully updated in September 2026.
Asian Art in London 2026
Current and upcoming Events
British Museum – Sufi life and art
This display at the British Museum will explore Sufi life and art through a selection of objects that represent Sufi communities in the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa, and northern India. This mystical movement, which first appeared in the Islamic world during the eighth century AD, has been defined as a pathway to a […]
V&A South Kensington- Dimensions: Contemporary Chinese Studio Crafts
In the 1980s, Chinese artists began to reimagine craft as a medium for artistic expression. This display explores the dimensions of studio craft practice in China today, and the innovations which have grown from China’s longstanding craft tradition ‘Dimensions: Contemporary Chinese Studio Crafts’ is the fruit of a four-year research and acquisition project generously funded […]
V&A South Kensington – Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer
Urushi (lacquer) has been used in Japan for over 7,000 years. For centuries, lacquer-making techniques developed locally while reflecting cross-cultural influences from Asia. This display highlights the diversity of 21st-century artistic expression. The exhibition is curated by Masami Yamada and is presented for the 40th Anniversary of the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art.
Leighton House – The Arab Hall: Past and Present
Leighton House presents the first major exploration of its extraordinary Arab Hall, one of London’s most iconic interiors, through a specially commissioned short film, three site-specific art installations and an exhibition and new publication containing extensive new research. This collaborative and interdisciplinary project examines the space’s remarkable history and its continued relevance today. The exhibition […]
Japan House – Kyotographie, Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai
Japan House are delighted to present – Kyotographie – the first ever photography show at Japan House London. This has been organised in partnership with Kyotographie International Photography Festival. One of the most celebrated Japanese photographers working today, Kawada has been active for eight decades and is particularly known for his continuous innovation. The exhibition […]
The Photographers’ Gallery – Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now
At The Photographers’ Gallery, there will be a major exhibition reframing the history of Japanese photography through the voices and lens of 27 women working from the 1950s to today. This landmark exhibition rewrites the story of Japanese photography through the eyes of women. Japanese Women Photographers spotlights the work of 27 groundbreaking artists, from the 1950s […]
British Museum – Korea
During Asian Art in London 2026, the British Museum will host a beautiful exhibition focusing on the story of Korea’s distinctive and vibrant arts – from 300 BC to today. This expansive show draws exclusively from the 23,000 works donated by the late Samsung group Chairman Lee Kun-Hee to the National Museum of Korea (NMK) […]
The Courtauld – Salman Toor: Someone Like You
The exhibition at The Courtauld focuses on Salman Toor’s exploration of human interactions and the desire and struggle to experience a sense of belonging, both culturally and emotionally. The exhibition will bring together around 20 of the artist’s most iconic, thought-provoking and yet humorous paintings that represent people in shared moments of friendship and love, […]
Dulwich Picture Gallery – Hokusai: Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji from the Iuchi Collection
‘Hokusai: Thirty-six views of Mt. Fuji from the Iuchi Collection’ at Dulwich Picture Gallery brings one of the world’s most iconic print series to London. The exhibition presents, for the first time in the UK, the complete set of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (c. 1830–33) by Katsushika Hokusai, Japan’s most celebrated printmaker. The exhibition is made […]
Talk: Rediscovery of Eighteenth-Century Chinese Painting Albums in Oxford, Dr Mamtimyn Sunuodula
Dr Mamtimyn Sunuodula, Head of the East Asian Section at the Bodleian Libraries, introduces newly rediscovered Chinese painting albums and woodblock illustrations bequeathed to the Bodleian in 1834 by the antiquarian Francis Douce. Unstudied for over two centuries, they recently came to light through archival research. The talk traces their provenance and the network of […]
Alice Williamson Asian Art – Exhibition Tour and Handling Session
Please join Alice Williamson Asian Art for the ceramics and works of art handling session with an exhibition tour of Ceramics and works of art from China and Korea. Alice Williamson deals in Asian art with a particular focus on early Chinese and Korean ceramics. This exhibition includes a special highlight of Song ceramics from […]
Simon Pilling – Talk : Touching Shadows
The curator introduces Touching Shadows, an exhibition of Japanese lacquer (urushi) and ceramics from the 12th to the 21st century. The works reflect the aesthetic values of iki and wabi-sabi: the transience of life and the importance of continuity.
Anrad Gallery – Talk on Traditional Arts
Please come and join the curator’s talk on “Traditional Arts”, featuring India’s rich embroidery, weaving and Kalamkari communities. It focuses on the diverse visual languages of Indian and textile arts and their artistic expression of their reverence for the natural world.
Alice Williamson Asian Art – Exhibition Tour And Handling Session
Please join Alice Williamson Asian Art for the ceramics and works of art handling session with an exhibition tour of Ceramics and works of art from China and Korea. Alice Williamson deals in Asian art with a particular focus on early Chinese and Korean ceramics. This exhibition includes a special highlight of Song ceramics from […]
Bonhams Bond Street – Talk: Tang Ying and the Art of Collaboration, Dr Edward Luper
Dr Edward Luper explores Tang Ying, the Qing official who oversaw the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, and the collaborations behind porcelain made for the court. Tang Ying (1682–1756) is often regarded as the most celebrated supervisor of the kilns, partly thanks to his illustrated treatise on porcelain production, Taoye tushuo (1743). His career spanned the Kangxi, Yongzheng […]
Christie’s – Foreign Colours: The Nesbitt Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain 1800-1850 – Book Launch
Please join Christie’s to celebrate the launch of the publication ‘Foreign Colours: The Nesbitt Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain 1800-1850‘ including a talk from author Becky MacGuire. The reception will be from 5.30pm. The talk will take place at 6pm to 7pm. Please RSVP using this link.
Talk: Frederic Leighton’s Arab Hall, Dr Melanie Gibson
Frederic Leighton was celebrated as one of the most successful artists of his day. He travelled to Granada, Istanbul, Cairo and Damascus, gathering architectural elements for the domed, tiled Arab Hall at his London home. Art historian Dr Melanie Gibson, the first to study Leighton as a traveller and collector of Islamic art, explains how […]
Sotheby’s – Re-evaluating the “Interregnum” – Textual, Archaeological, and Stylistic Evidence for Mid-15th Century Imperial Porcelains – Speaker: Dr. Chen Jie
Please join Sotheby’s and The Oriental Ceramic Society (OCS) for The Oriental Ceramic Society Lecture: Re-evaluating the “Interregnum” – Textual, Archaeological, and Stylistic Evidence for Mid-15th Century Imperial Porcelains. Sponsored by a Private OCS Member in Association with Sotheby’s The lecture will be given by Dr. Chen Jie, Curator, Ceramics Department, Shanghai Museum on Monday […]
Bonhams Bond Street – Michael Goedhuis Memorial Lecture, Joe Earle
This lecture honours the life and legacy of Michael Goedhuis, one of Europe’s most influential dealers in Asian art. Trained as an economist, he studied art history at the Courtauld Institute and took an MBA at INSEAD. He began his career in investment banking before joining Colnaghi, where he specialised in Persian, Mughal and Islamic […]
Exhibition and a Book Launch for 1935 The International Exhibition of Chinese Art
Eskenazi marks the launch of 1935 The International Exhibition of Chinese Art, a new publication on one of the landmark exhibitions of the twentieth century. Held at the Royal Academy of Arts from November 1935 to March 1936, the exhibition brought treasures from China’s Palace Museum collection to Europe for the first time, alongside loans from […]
Talk: Inside Korea’s 2,000 Years of Creativity, Sang-ah Kim
The British Museum’s Korea: 2,000 Years of Creativity brings the Lee Kun-hee Collection – one of the most significant collections of Korean art – to Europe for the first time. It draws on more than 23,000 works donated to Korea’s national museums in 2021 by the family of the late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-Hee (1942–2020) and the […]
AstaGuru UK – Panel Discussion: Indian Art Today
Join a panel of distinguished speakers for a discussion on the current landscape of Indian art, preceded by a drinks reception and held alongside AstaGuru’s solo exhibition of Tom Vattakuzhy.
V&A South Kensington – Lunchtime Lecture: Urushi Now: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer, Masami Yamada
Masami Yamada, Curator for Japan in the V&A’s Asian Department, introduces Urushi Now, the museum’s display of 21st-century Japanese lacquer. Lacquer has been used in Japan for over 7,000 years, and its techniques developed locally while absorbing influences from across Asia. Drawing on her research into contemporary urushi makers, she explores how today’s artists are reinterpreting this ancient […]
V&A South Kensington – Book Launch: Contemporary Chinese Studio Crafts, Xiaoxin Li
Xiaoxin Li, Curator of Chinese collections in the V&A’s Asia Department, launches her new book on the museum’s collection of contemporary Chinese studio crafts. Over five years of research, including repeated trips across China to meet artists, Li traced how Chinese studio craft has developed since the 1980s. That work brought more than 40 works […]
