Tate Dropped Its 2026 Exhibition Line-Up … And It’s Stacked!

Tate just revealed its 2026 programme, and honestly? It’s stacked. From Tracey Emin baring her soul to Frida-mania reimagined, the year ahead is serving iconic energy across the board. Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and Tate St Ives will each get their moment with bold retrospectives, nostalgic deep-dives, and first-ever UK showings.

Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate, said “2026 will be a particularly exciting year for Tate. From three extraordinary women artists spanning the year at Tate Modern to the glorious immersive work of Julio Le Parc, and from the celebration of leading figures of modern British art like Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, and Wilhemina Barns-Graham to new commissions and contemporary artists, the programme reflects our commitment offering our visitors once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to see great art brought together in Tate’s galleries.”

Tate Modern is going full powerhouse mode, opening with a landmark Tracey Emin retrospective that charts four decades of heartbreak, honesty, and unflinching femininity. Summer takes a surreal turn with Julio Le Parc’s playful, immersive installations, sculptures and paintings lighting up the gallery, followed by a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s global icon status. Think: her most iconic self-portraits, personal relics, and a spotlight on artists influenced by her legacy. The season concludes with an exhibition dedicated to Ana Mendieta, showcasing many of her iconic films and photographs alongside installations never before seen in the UK, reaffirming her status as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. In the autumn, the group exhibition Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography explores the global movement that first elevated photography to an art form, tracing how photographers from Shanghai to Sydney and New York to Cape Town used experimental techniques to create striking, atmospheric images from the 1880s to the 1960s.

Also on the roster: Tate’s signature large-scale commissions, from Turbine Hall’s must-see installation to UNIQLO Play’s participatory summer commission.

Tate Britain is all about vision and reinvention. Spring opens with Hurvin Anderson’s vibrant reflections on memory, migration, and Caribbean-British identity. Alongside that, a long-overdue European comeback for James McNeill Whistler, showcasing the artist’s world-famous paintings alongside rarely and never seen works, including exquisite portraits, drawings, prints and designs. Autumn turns up the volume with The 90s, guest-curated by Edward Enninful OBE. Imagine iconic photography by Juergen Teller and Corrine Day alongside work by artists like Damien Hirst and Yinka Shonibare, and fashion by era-defining designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Expect fashion, art, photography, nostalgia. Next comes a celebration of the remarkable 50-year creative partnership between modern British artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, featuring over 250 works and a special recreation of Grant’s Sussex studio within the gallery. In the Duveen Galleries, Zineb Sedira’s will be the next artist to undertake the Tate Britain commission.

Also on the roster: there will also be new exhibitions of contemporary art throughout the year as part of Art Now, Tate Britain’s ongoing series of free shows spotlighting the freshest new talent making waves today.

Tate St Ives delivers dream-like clarity. In May, visionary Lithuanian-American artist Aleksandra Kasuba gets her flowers with a six decades-spanning show full of organic forms, biomorphic beauty, and nature-as-muse energy, from her early paintings and mosaics to her later sculptures and architectural designs. Come autumn, the ground breaking survey of one of Britain’s most significant 20th century artists, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham takes centre stage. Tracing her eight-decade evolution featuring over 170 paintings, drawings, prints and archive materials.

Tate Liverpool is still under major renovation, but the first phase is done and dusted, with new views over the Mersey that have never been open to the public before. While the gallery gets its glow-up, it’s taken up residence at RIBA North, and will continue its programme of collection displays, family activities and public events. The full reimagined Tate Liverpool reopens in 2027, bigger, brighter, and bolder.

Tate Members will be able to visit all these exhibitions for free and all 16-25-year-olds can get £5 tickets by joining Tate Collective.