Check out The Art Newspaper's guide to London Gallery Weekend 2022 for recommendations on the best exhibitions to see during the three-day event, top trends and commentary
London’s mega museums are perennial favourites for families looking to distract kids at the weekend: free entry, lots to see, tailored activities and an extortionately priced lunchbox waiting in the café. Commercial galleries are less of an obvious choice for a family day out. But during London Gallery Weekend several are throwing open their doors and rolling out the welcome mat for visitors large and small.
Courtesy of HackelBury Fine Art
Until 4 June, HackelBury Fine Art, 4 Launceston Place, W8 5RL
No child can resist a treasure hunt. Throughout London Gallery Weekend, HackelBury Fine Art will challenge visitors to find hidden details in the works on display, with a prize for anyone who finds them all. Grown-ups can just enjoy an array of photographs from a single private collection, including shots by the likes of Berenice Abbott, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, Irving Penn and Sebastian Salgado.
Hans Hurtung's Composition 1 Courtesy Waddington Custot
Hans Hartung: Painter + Photographer
Until 1 July, Waddington Custot, 11 Cork Street, W1S 3LT
From rakes to sprayers, Hans Hartung used all kinds of tools to transfer paint onto his canvases. Now kids aged 3-7 can have a go at making their own gestural abstract forms in a series of hands-on workshops on Saturday 14 May at Waddington Custot. The playful programme of events has come from the ever-inventive mind of Liat Rosenthal, who runs Tate Modern’s popular Lates programme. Places are free but limited, so booking is required, via the gallery.
Hannah Lim's Shards of Fire (2021) Courtesy Berntson Bhattacharjee
The Red Room: Shannon Bono, Hannah Lim, Paula Turmina, and Georg Wilson
Until 15 May, Berntson Bhattacharjee, Wing Gallery, Cromwell Place, SW7 2JE
If your kid's favourite colour happens to be red, then this is the exhibition for them. It features four emerging UK artists for whom the richly symbolic shade is central to their practice. On Saturday 14 May, from 10.00 to 11.00, the gallery will host a play morning, with art supplies provided for kids to draw and create, inspired by the artworks. Fans of purple, pink or blue will need to look elsewhere.
Joanne Dugan's Instinct, #01 © the artist. Courtesy Black Box Projects
Joanne Dugan: Persistent Awakening
Until 15 May, Black Box Projects, Cromwell Place, SW7 2JE
If the cliched dismissal of contemporary art is "my kids could have done that"—well, now they actually can. New York-based artist Joanne Dugan is running a masterclass at Black Box Projects to teach the whole family how to create cyanotypes like the ones she uses in her work—a type of photographic image that doesn’t use a camera. The event is suitable for children over 5 and all materials are provided. The event is on Saturday 14 May, 10.00-11.00, and booking is essential at info@blackboxprojects.art.
Catherine Biocca, Kids’ room (2022)
Courtesy of the Artist & greengrassi, London
Until 4 June, greengrassi, 1a Kempsford Road (off Wincott Street), Kennington, SE11 4NU
Berlin-based artist Catherine Biocca’s exhibition, Kids’ room, isn't aimed at children per se but will be colourful, cartoonish space filled with sound, moving images and objects. Figures on the wall will interact with each other, occasionally interrupted by classic "fail" sounds taken from cartoons. If it is all a bit over stimulating, then there is a playground across the road from the gallery in which to calm down.
The Art Newspaper is an official media partner of London Gallery Weekend