Press release archive: 2025
2025 Press releases
The Southbank Centre today announces Classical Mixtape: A Live Takeover (Thu 5 Feb 2026), a multi-venue event bringing together more than 200 musicians from six orchestras for a night of classical music’s greatest hits. Presented as a series of live, looping performances, the evening allows audiences to shuffle and repeat their experience of the evening’s music, mixing their own mixtape, while encountering some of classical music’s most well-known works across the Southbank Centre site.
In an unprecedented first, the event will see all of the Southbank Centre’s Resident Orchestras – Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Sinfonietta, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Philharmonia Orchestra – perform across a single night at the multi-arts centre in its 75th anniversary year for a first-of-its-kind event curated for Under 30s audiences. Chineke! Orchestra will perform with players from Chineke! Junior Orchestra, while the London Sinfonietta will be joined by students from the Royal Academy of Music.
The 2026 Spring Literature & Spoken Word Season opens with an inspiring programme spotlighting the very best established and emerging literary talent. On the 75th anniversary of the pioneering Festival of Britain, the Southbank Centre continues to place the next generation of writers and thinkers at its heart with world-class cultural experiences available to all.
The 2026 Performance & Dance Spring/Summer season coincides with the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary. The original 1951 Festival of Britain embraced the future and the power of culture to shape it. In this spirit, the Southbank Centre’s anniversary programme considers what it is to be the arts centre of the future, representing the creative pulse of London with a programme as wide-reaching and boundary-pushing as the city around it.
The Performance & Dance season is at the heart of the anniversary’s celebratory line-up, platforming international choreographers and radical new works. The programme will spotlight creatives shaping the future of dance, from the next generation of trailblazing choreographers to large-scale and ambitious productions from award-winning artists.
The Southbank Centre in collaboration with Goalhanger today unveils the programme for Goalhanger: The Rest Is Fest – a major new festival bringing together some of the world’s most popular voices to explore the stories shaping our world – from history and politics to science, sport, and culture.
Taking place across the Southbank Centre’s iconic site, this landmark collaboration between Europe’s largest arts centre and one of the world’s largest independent podcast producers is a highlight of the centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations in 2026.
Following its acclaimed debut in 2025, the Southbank Centre and Montreux Jazz Festival announce the return of the Southbank Centre x Montreux Jazz Festival Residency, taking place Friday 13 – Sunday 15 March 2026 across the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room.
Entering its second year, the three-day residency investigates the question ‘What is Jazz Today?’, this time through the lens of Miles Davis – marking the centenary of his birth. As one of the genre’s greatest innovators, whose numerous performances on the Southbank Centre’s stages spanned two decades of the arts centre’s almost 75-year history, Davis’ restless reinvention provides a touchstone for this year’s programme, which brings together a diverse blend of artists who are reshaping the sound of jazz today.
London’s leading festival for families returns to the Southbank Centre in its 24th year, transforming the UK’s largest arts centre into a cultural playground. Running throughout the February half term (Wed 11 – Sat 21 Feb 2026), Imagine is the first festival of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations, bringing unbeatable cultural experiences for 0 – 11+ years and their families to enjoy together.
As a centrepiece of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary programme, the Hayward Gallery announces further details of its landmark exhibition from Anish Kapoor, marking his highly-anticipated return to the space after it was the first public gallery in the UK to host a major survey of his work in 1998. Curated by Ralph Rugoff, the show will span new and seminal works, offering a series of spectacular encounters with Kapoor’s sculptures and paintings across the entire gallery and its terraces.
In 2026, the Southbank Centre’s Classical Music Spring/Summer programme marks the 75th anniversary of the visionary Festival of Britain with a programme that celebrates the enduring power and evolving spirit of classical music. Building on 75 years as one of the UK’s foremost presenters of classical music, the programme unites the Centre’s six Resident Orchestras for the second year of Multitudes — a festival that places orchestral music at the heart of a multi-arts experience and drew in 59% of new bookers to the classical music programme during its 2025 debut.
Today, the Hayward Gallery launches Mother Tongue: a monumental public art commission by Spanish artist Teresa Solar Abboud supported by Byredo and the Hayward Gallery’s Commissioning Committee. The bubblegum pink sculpture of two tongues intertwining as one dancing figure is located on the walkway in front of the Gallery’s entrance, giving the iconic brutalist site a surreal new look this Autumn. The commission marks the first time that the artist’s ambitious outdoor sculptures have been presented by a UK public art gallery.
The Hayward Gallery, in partnership with the RC Foundation, Taiwan (R.O.C.), presents Val Lee: The Presence of Solitude. This is the first solo exhibition in the UK by Taiwanese artist Val Lee and the fourth exhibition in the RC Foundation Project Space Exhibition Series, which showcases the next generation of emerging international artists.
Val Lee: The Presence of Solitude takes place in the HENI Project Space in the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery – a space that offers the opportunity for audiences to see exhibitions from emerging international artists for free.
Bringing together film, photography and costume, the exhibition highlights Lee’s longstanding exploration of isolation and solitude. By creating disjointed and ambiguous narratives with unidentifiable figures, her work makes viewers feel as though time and meaning have been displaced. This feeling of alienation encourages us to think about how our personal experiences and collective memories are shaped by state and political systems.
The Hayward Gallery presents Gilbert & George: 21ST CENTURY PICTURES, a landmark exhibition of art by the pioneering London-based artists (7 Oct 2025 – 11 Jan 2026). The presentation highlights Gilbert & George’s evolution over the past 25 years, exploring how technology has made their reflections of today’s society bigger and bolder than ever before. Transforming the space with over 60 floor-to-ceiling installations, the artists debut new pictures alongside acclaimed pictures in a larger-than-life journey through the modern world as they see it.
Cultural leader Sukhy Johal MBE has been appointed as the inaugural Chair of a new organisation which will care for and share the Arts Council Collection once it has moved to Coventry.
Sukhy is an accomplished Chair, Director and Executive known for leading large-scale cultural organisations and transformative programmes across public, charitable, commercial, educational and independent sectors. He started his career volunteering across the third sector and was the founding co-chair of the New Art Exchange. Now, Sukhy is completing his term as Arts Council England Member of National Council and Chair of the Midlands Area to bring his expertise in working with local authorities and placemaking initiatives into his new role. Grounded in his working-class immigrant background, his civic-minded leadership champions equity and amplifies marginalised voices.
Violinist and TikTok star Esther Abrami joins judging panel to select 10 standout UK based creators for the Crescendo cohort
The Southbank Centre (@southbank.centre) and TikTok have today announced the launch of Crescendo, a pioneering new accelerator programme aimed at spotlighting emerging classical music content creators in the UK, bringing the genre to new, digital-first audiences.
Designed to support and elevate creators who are passionate about classical music, Crescendo is now open for applications from UK-based content creators who are already producing exciting work on TikTok. With nearly a million TikTok posts under the #ClassicalMusic hashtag, which has increased by 60% on TikTok over the past 12 months, the genre is stepping beyond the concert hall and finding powerful new life online. Whether they’re virtuoso performers, bedroom composers, remixing DJs, or superfans from non-traditional backgrounds, the programme is seeking fresh and diverse voices ready to unlock classical music for 21st century audiences.
Today, the Southbank Centre unveils its 2026 season, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Royal Festival Hall, the only permanent cultural building to come from the 1951 Festival of Britain, and the first chapter in the story of the Southbank Centre.
The Festival of Britain galvanised the nation, using art, science, technology and design to imagine a brighter future after the trauma of World War Two. Taking place from May to September 1951, the Festival kickstarted the regeneration of the South Bank, revitalising the area into a thriving cultural hub. Seventy-five years on, the Southbank Centre is now the UK’s fifth most visited attraction, welcoming over 3.7 million people through its doors in 2024.
The Southbank Centre has announced today that Ralph Rugoff OBE, Director of the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery, will step down in Spring 2026 after 20 years in post.
Ralph was appointed Director of the Hayward Gallery in May 2006. Throughout his tenure, he has driven a rich and inspiring programme featuring diverse artists from across the global diaspora, working in and around complex themes in captivating and engaging ways and making them accessible to a wider public.
The Southbank Centre today launches Indie Night – a brand-new quarterly series celebrating the bold and vital work of independent presses and the authors they publish. Each event will showcase a hand-picked, eclectic mix of four authors – a mix of fiction and non-fiction, established names and emerging voices – united by the same independent spirit as their publishers. This series aims to spotlight the vital power of these presses and the necessary work they do in bringing works that would otherwise struggle to find space in the mainstream arena. The inaugural event takes place on Wednesday 25 February 2026, hosted by Okechukwu Nzelu, writer of The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney and Eliza Clark, author of Boy Parts.
From 17 February – 3 May 2026, the Hayward Gallery will be transformed by two innovative and globally celebrated artists who use ordinary materials to create extraordinary works on a monumental scale: Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen.
Featuring new commissions and key existing pieces, these concurrent exhibitions explore the different ways both artists interweave textiles and found objects into deeply personal reflections on memory, identity and the human condition. Both presentations build on the Southbank Centre’s commitment to introducing international artists to new audiences and form part of its nationwide 75th anniversary celebrations, which run throughout 2026 and span events across London and the UK.
Today, Hayward Gallery Touring announces Ekow Eshun as curator of British Art Show 10. Opening in Coventry in September 2026, British Art Show 10 will tour to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead. The tenth edition marks the first time the exhibition will travel to five cities across the UK in its most extensive presentation to date.
British Art Show is the largest and most significant recurring exhibition of contemporary art in the UK. It is developed and produced by Hayward Gallery Touring, the UK’s leading contemporary art organisation producing touring exhibitions, which is part of the Southbank Centre.
British Art Show 10 is part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations, which will take place across 2026 both at the Southbank Centre in London and in art galleries, concert halls and arts centres in towns and cities across all four nations of the UK.
21 November 1940 – 28 July 2025
Southbank Centre is sad to hear the news of the death of Amelia Freedman, who was Head of Classical Music between 1995 and 2006.
Amelia was a pioneer in the classical music world in the UK and beyond. She formed the Nash Ensemble while still a student at the Royal Academy of Music in the 1960s. The Nash Ensemble has gone on to become one of the world’s top chamber groups, championing new work from composers as well as performing and recording the great classical chamber repertoire.
While at the Southbank Centre, Amelia led the classical programme with great ambition and flair, developing strong relationships with international artists such as Jessye Norman, Mariss Janssons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Alfred Brendel, the Takács and the Emerson string quartets.
Amelia commissioned many works from composers including Judith Weir, Thomas Ades, Mark Anthony Turnage, Harrison Birtwistle and Luciano Berio. She was involved in commissioning cross-genre works for the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall in 2007, including Thomas Adès’ In Seven Days and Heiner Goebbels’ Songs of Wars I Have Seen.
She also spearheaded major large-scale festivals, including the WorldVoice Festival, that featured choirs from global traditions, as well as festivals celebrating composers including Kurtág, Rachmaninov, Berio, Xenakis, Birtwistle and Turnage – involving partnerships with a number of British conservatoires.
Amelia’s work was characterised by passion, good taste, deep knowledge, curiosity and ambition for audiences and artists. Her love of music was equalled only by her love and knowledge of football, specifically Arsenal FC. She was one of a kind who will be much missed.
Highlights include:
- Mercury Prize-nominated artist Rebecca Lucy Taylor, a.k.a Self Esteem to curate a day of exclusive events (Sat 1 Nov). Rebecca will be joined by Dolly Alderton for the launch of her debut book, A Complicated Woman, followed by a night of music and poetry alongside multi-disciplinary artists Tom Rasmussen, Marged, Travis Alabanza, Seraphina Simone and Pam Ayres and more to be announced. Free events will take place across the Southbank Centre’s site.
- International women writers come to the fore as the festival celebrates new works from Sayaka Murata, Chris Kraus, Alexis Wright, Bora Chung and Olga Ravn.
- Launching the best new fiction and non-fiction from key cultural voices including Sebastian Faulks, Jimi Famurewa, Zadie Smith, Adam Buxton, Malala Yousafzai, Claire-Louise Bennett and Reese Witherspoon & Harlan Coben.
- Families and children can enjoy free and ticketed events throughout the festival: including exclusive events with the children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce and a run of Mog the Forgetful Cat.
- Poetry dominates the festival on Saturday 25 October with new works from Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, Out-Spoken, Rachael Boast and the National Poetry Library open day.
The Southbank Centre today launches KUNSTY – a brand new series platforming new work from independent British artists working at the boundaries of dance, live art and cabaret. Taking place from Wednesday 5 – Saturday 8 November 2025, the new series offers audiences a unique chance to explore radical new work. KUNSTY takes place across four days under one roof with special late night shows in the KUNSTY cabaret lounge (Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer).
Artists in the programme include Bullyache, Harry Clayton-Wright, Sung Im Her and an international guest performance from Justin Talplacido Shoulder. The series includes three shows in partnership with innovative London based creative team Metal & Water, who work across choreography, fashion, film, live music, nightlife and visual arts, on screen.
The major retrospective invites viewers to immerse themselves in the intriguing world of one of today’s most celebrated artists through four decades of work, including recent paintings and drawings, as well as sculptures and iconic portraits brought to life through richly layered colours. Expanding on the blockbuster exhibition from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, Yoshitomo Nara offers a window into the inner-workings of the artist, providing an insight into how Nara’s life experiences are intrinsically linked to his output through core themes and motifs.
Yoshitomo Nara is best-known for his striking images of child-like figures and animals with large heads and wide eyes that challenge viewers with their direct gaze and defiant stance. Both captivating and ominous, these characters exemplify Nara’s distinctive style that is recognised across the world. Although primarily a painter, he also works with a variety of materials across collage, sculpture, drawing, and installation to explore ideas of home, isolation, nature, peace, resistance and freedom.
Organised thematically, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Nara’s artistic evolution, illuminating his deep interest in humanity with works inspired by the people, emotions and places that he has encountered throughout his life.
This Summer, the Hayward Gallery, in partnership with the RC Foundation, Taiwan (R.O.C.), will present Freudian Typo: an exciting new collaboration between Iranian-Canadian artists Ghazaleh Avarzamani and Ali Ahadi. The exhibition will comprise new work which playfully critiques Britain’s imperial past and how it manifests today, tracing connections between historical sources and current events in politics and finance.
The Hayward Gallery will present Gilbert & George: 21ST CENTURY PICTURES, a landmark exhibition of art by the pioneering London-based artists (7 Oct 2025 – 11 Jan 2026). The presentation highlights Gilbert & George’s evolution over the past 25 years, exploring how technology has made their reflections of today’s society bigger and bolder than ever before.
Now open at Leeds Art Gallery, Hayward Gallery Touring presents To Improvise A Mountain, an exhibition curated by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, one of the foremost painters working today. For this exhibition, Yiadom-Boakye selects works that have been critical to her way of seeing and thinking, inviting audiences around the UK on a personal journey across different geographies and generations of artists.
On International Dance Day, the Southbank Centre unveils a programme that promises unforgettable experiences for everyone. An engine of creativity, the Southbank Centre’s programme brings together different artforms across the Summer, taking over the 11-acre site by the River Thames with Dance Your Way Home, followed by the UK Premiere of We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon.
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Fusing together dance, gigs, visual arts and poetry, Dance Your Way Home, co-curated by Emma Warren takes over the site with a seismic programme celebrating all the ways that dance connects us all (23 Jul – 25 Aug).
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Ensuring the Southbank Centre is a home for everyone, the programme includes dozens of free events on a brand new dancefloor on the Riverside Terrace including Grief Rave (3 Aug) and Heart n Soul’s Make Yourself! Be Yourself! (22 Aug).
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Rambert and Ballet national de Marseille, direction (LA)HORDE join forces to transform the entire Royal Festival Hall and wider site into a spectacular, large-scale 1 dance experience with the UK Premiere of We Should Have Never Walked On The Moon (3 – 6 Sep).
Southbank Centre’s popular Summer Pop-Ups are back on the Queen’s Walk from 24 April, offering an exciting selection of food and drink right by the Thames. With its unbeatable lineup, Southbank Centre continues to be the ultimate destination for pop-up dining in Central London. As the days grow longer and the evenings stretch into warm, sunny nights, it’s clear: summer in London is here.
The Southbank Centre and its family of six Resident Orchestras – Aurora Orchestra, Chineke! Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Orchestra – today announce the Classical Music Autumn/Winter 2025/26 programme.
The Southbank Centre has announced more artists performing at Little Simz’ Meltdown. Taking place this summer from Thursday 12 – Sunday 22 June, Little Simz has curated an electrifying programme of internationally acclaimed artists that celebrate fearless expression and defy musical genre.
The GRAMMY®-nominated R&B singer-songwriter Mahalia will play a simmering set in the Royal Festival Hall on the first Friday night of the festival (13 June), encapsulating self-confidence and embracing her new music era with her signature ‘luvergirl’ energy. The queen of afrobeats and MTV EMA-winning Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage will continue the party atmosphere on Saturday 14 June, with a set that will celebrate her legacy as one of Africa’s most influential artists in recent years.
BADBADNOTGOOD, the two-time GRAMMY®-winning Canadian instrumental band joins the bill with their seamless blend of jazz and hip-hop (16 June). Long term collaborators of Tyler the Creator, Daniel Caesar and Kendrick Lamar, the band’s rich, soulful grooves continue to push the parameters of jazz and hip-hop music.
The acclaimed Ivor Novello and Mercury Prize Award-winning James Blake will bring his untouchable musicianship to the Royal Festival Hall stage in a solo piano performance (20 June). Recently releasing his CMYK 002 – Let Her Know EP Blake has operated as the enigmatic engine behind some of the most influential albums of the 21st century including Beyoncé, Dave, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar and Rosalía.
A destination for landmark cultural moments, the Southbank Centre is proud to announce its Summer Literature & Spoken Word 2025 season from May to October 2025, offering unbeatable experiences to audiences across London and the UK.
The Southbank Centre has announced the lineup for a brand new cultural series showcasing East and Southeast Asia and the diaspora – ESEA Encounters.
Taking place from Thursday 17 – Sunday 20 July, ESEA Encounters will showcase a selection of some of the most exciting contemporary art and culture of East and Southeast Asia in an incredible lineup of performances, music, poetry, literature and art alongside a pop-up market. ESEA Encounters brings together leading artists from across the region and diaspora artists from the UK, continuing the Southbank Centre’s ongoing mission to reflect and support the breadth of creative communities represented in London and across the country.
The Southbank Centre has today announced that HRH The Duke of Edinburgh has become its new Patron. The Duke takes on the patronage previously held by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The Southbank Centre has announced the much-anticipated first wave of artists performing at Little Simz’ Meltdown. Taking place this summer from Thursday 12 – Sunday 22 June, Little Simz is assembling an outstanding line-up of artists that defy genre, forge new musical ideas and reflect the expanse of Little Simz’ captivating body of work.
Little Simz, the curator of the 30th edition of Meltdown, will play a unique, one-off special performance in the Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 22 June and perform alongside Southbank Centre Resident Orchestra Chineke! Orchestra. Reputed for her inimitable live performances, Simz will play hits from her stellar catalogue of music including material from her upcoming sixth studio album Lotus, set for release on 9 May via AWAL Recordings.
Kicking off this year’s Meltdown in the Royal Festival Hall will be the legendary Mike Skinner-led project The Streets, performing on Thursday 12 June. The Royal Festival Hall will also welcome 2025 BRIT Award nominee with the number one hit “Messy” Lola Young (17 June), MOBO Award-winning London-born rapper Ghetts (18 June), and the multi-GRAMMY® and Academy Award® winner Jon Batiste (21 June). In addition, the Queen Elizabeth Hall will host the British-Colombian singer-songwriter Sasha Keable with Flames Collective (14 June), and the vocalist and co-founder of Swedish group Little Dragon, Yukimi (18 June).
London’s youth clubs have birthed incredible talent such as Little Simz, and this tradition will be carried on at Meltdown as the Southbank Centre will build a unique one-off young producers project for the festival. Over the next three months in the lead up to Meltdown, a selection of young producers hailing from all corners of London will prepare to transform the site’s public spaces into a playground of curated activity, events and showcases that will run during the festival. The programme will spotlight young people at the heart of the events, and reflect Little Simz’ ongoing mission into supporting new talent.
The Southbank Centre is delighted to unveil its new destination bar, the Seventy5th Balcony Bar. Named in honour of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary in 2026 and the bar’s location on the fifth floor of the Grade I listed Royal Festival Hall, the elegant bar is centred around the balcony with panoramic views of the River Thames and the central London skyline.
Open Tuesday – Sunday from 10am – 11pm, the Seventy5th Balcony Bar is run by Company of Cooks. As well as being the ideal spot for pre and after show drinks, the Seventy5th Balcony Bar serves fantastic food all day accompanied with an extensive menu of cocktails, mocktails and wine.
Susan Johnston, Chief Operating Officer of the Southbank Centre, says:
“As we prepare to celebrate the Royal Festival Hall’s 75th anniversary, we’re thrilled to open the Seventy5th Balcony Bar making the spectacular balcony bar accessible for Southbank Centre audiences and visitors alike. It’s the perfect hidden gem to enjoy food and drink above the bustle of the city.”
The Southbank Centre has announced Little Simz as the curator of the 30th edition of its iconic contemporary music festival, Meltdown.
Joining an unparalleled list of previous curators, including some of the world’s most famous artists, Little Simz will curate a boundary-breaking line-up for the eleven day festival as well as performing herself. Alongside two weekends of free participatory programming, featuring grassroots collectives and local organisations, and one-of-a-kind performances that have come to characterise Meltdown, the Southbank Centre will be transformed into a spectacular festival open for all.
The Southbank Centre has announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Governors. The appointments of Leigh Tavaziva, Group Chief Operating Operator at the BBC and Sir Roly Keating, former Chief Executive of the British Library, were confirmed by the Secretary of State, Department of Culture, Media and Sport. They officially take up their posts on February 27 2025.
In addition, Libby Savill will also step into the role of Deputy Chair, Southbank Centre, from 1 April 2025, taking over from Luke Mayhew who will continue as a Governor on the Board. Misan Harriman, Chair of the Southbank Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome these two highly esteemed governors onto the Southbank Centre Board. Their exceptional expertise and experience in their respected fields will be vital as we deliver our strategic goals. I am hugely grateful for Luke Mayhew’s work and support in his time as Deputy Chair. He has been – and continues to be – a huge asset to the Board and I am so pleased he will remain with the Board as a Governor for the remainder of his tenure.”
The Hayward Gallery presents Mickalene Thomas: All About Love, the pioneering artist’s first solo presentation in a UK public art gallery from 11 February to 5 May 2025. Thomas is a trailblazer of portraiture and collage, widely renowned for her large-scale paintings of Black women posed against boldly patterned backgrounds embellished with rhinestones. As an artist who fearlessly transcends creative boundaries, her artworks have also adorned album covers (Solange’s EP True, 2013) and emblazoned fashion runways (Dior, 2023).
Thomas has redefined beauty and identity through her vibrant and dynamic compositions. Her work, characterised by a unique blend of colour, pattern, and subject matter, challenges societal norms and provides a powerful counter-narrative to mainstream depictions of beauty and identity.
The Hayward Gallery presents the first London retrospective of acclaimed British artist Linder from 11 February to 5 May 2025. Offering an illuminating overview of this iconic artist’s 50 year-long career, the exhibition includes a selection of Linder’s trailblazing photomontages and explores the full range of her artistic practice, underscoring the experimental and feminist impulses of her thought-provoking work.
Danger Came Smiling presents the full trajectory of Linder’s artistic production, from the early work that grew from her involvement in the punk scene of 1970s Manchester to new works that have never been shown before. Linder’s distinct visual language is characterised by a playful irreverence, which investigates the sexual commodification of the female body within magazine culture in order to examine our shifting attitudes to aspirational lifestyles, sex, food and fashion.
We’re delighted to announce an exciting partnership between the South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) and the Southbank Centre. Together, we’re using the power of the creative arts to improve health and wellbeing for communities in south east London, especially for children and young people.
On 19 December 2024, leaders from SEL ICB and the Southbank Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding to officially launch this collaboration. The partnership will focus on supporting the development of:
- The Southbank Children and Young People’s Creative Health Centre: A dedicated space for creative health programmes providing interventions that improve and support the mental health and wellbeing of local children and young people.
- Waiting Well Interventions: Supporting children on CAMHS waiting lists through creative activities.
- Creative Health Prevention Programmes: Using the arts to promote better mental health and prevent issues before they arise.
The Southbank Centre today announces the first names for South Asian Sounds 2025. Following the success of its inaugural edition in 2024, South Asian Sounds returns as a celebration of the rich, varied musical traditions of the wider Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi diaspora as well as ambitious UK-based artists and collectives working at the intersection of cultures and genres.
Running from Thursday 15 – Sunday 18 May across the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room, the series is presented in partnership with Asian Arts Agency, Baluji Music Foundation, Ragatip and Readipop. South Asian Sounds is part of the Southbank Centre’s ongoing mission to reflect and support the breadth of creative communities represented in London and across the UK.