Underlining its reputation as one of London’s top cultural destinations High Street Kensington’s impressive selection of venues, which includes The Design Museum, Japan House London, Leighton House and Kensington Palace, have a stella autumn line-up. All within an easy stroll from the tube station, highlights include:
Culture on show at Japan House London with flamboyant fashion, dance workshops and sumo screenings
Glittering parasols, fur-trimmed hand fans and gravity-defying hairstyles are just some of the sights awaiting visitors to Japan House London’s major new exhibition for autumn. Tradition/Rebellion: Coming-of-Age Style in Kitakyushu, Japan (11th November 2026 to 18th April 2027) celebrates the industrial city of Kitakyushu’s flamboyant Coming-of-Age celebrations. Taking place every January, Coming-of-Age Day is a national holiday marking the occasion as each community’s cohort of 20-year-olds crosses into adulthood. Ceremonies are hosted throughout Japan where typically women wear brightly coloured long-sleeved kimono and the men dress in suits or haori hakama (a type of formal kimono ensemble). However, in Kitakyushu, the fashion culture of this annual ceremony has evolved into something far more theatrical, with eccentric and bold costumes demonstrating each young person’s individuality.
Another cultural tradition which will be celebrated at Japan House this autumn is Bon Dancing. Part of the Obon Festivals (a time when the spirits of the deceased are believed to return to visit their loved ones), two workshops on 23rd August and 20th September (2-3pm), will offer the chance to learn Tankō Bushi, a dance which originated in the coal-mining communities. Participants can then put their new moves into practice with a group performance at Japan Matsuri in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 4th October. Tickets are £5 per workshop session or £10 for all three including the performance.
Following last year’s successful sumo event, fans seeking to catch up on the action of September’s NHK WORLD-JAPAN’s GRAND SUMO competition can enjoy a special 30-minute highlights screening of the event from 11th to 27thSeptember. Broadcast in English in the Japan House Hall or Shop from 5.30-6pm, the programme will feature play-by-play commentary on the day’s action and background information on this sport which originated in Japan and boasts a history of more than 1500 years.
Other free screenings include the Wasurena-gusa Project, a living history series capturing the personal stories of Japanese immigrants who came to the UK and decided to remain. For more information visit: www.japanhouselondon.uk
Exciting retrospectives and new design explored at the Design Museum’s seasonally evolving offer
The Design Museum’s new autumn line-up launches in October with Es Devlin: Other Worlds (2nd October to 4thApril 2027), in the first retrospective in Europe to celebrate the British artist’s 30-year creative practice across sculpture, stage design, music, language and light.
Central to the exhibition is the ’30-Year Desk’, a large-scale circular display specially designed for the gallery space. It references works including Devlin’s set design for The Lehman Trilogy play (2018), her work on the London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, the 2022 Super Bowl halftime show, and ambitious stage sculptures created for concert tours by some of the world’s most celebrated musicians.
Ending the year, The Nue Black Aesthetic (6 November to 8 August 2027) takes centre stage with a powerful celebration of contemporary Black designers across furniture, architecture, fashion and installation – exploring how their work is reshaping the design landscape.
The exhibition programme will be complimented with a series of talks, workshops and design sessions including plenty of opportunities to get hands-on with design. Highlights include a couple of two-day workshops: Introduction to Woodwork on 26-27th September and Develop your sketchbook practice on 14-15th November (from £149pp). While for younger designers, the popular Design Camps return for ages 7-14yrs on 28th and 29th October, with sessions including stage design and creating with clay, offering children and young people the chance to explore various mediums and get creative with design (from £73pp for day-long session).
For more information and to book www.designmuseum.org
Leighton House continues to celebrate 100 years as a public museum
Throughout 2026 and into 2027, Leighton House, the former home of Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton, will continue to celebrate 100 years since its opening as a public museum. Concluding the anniversary programme, Magic and Mess: The Artist’s Studio Revealed (31st October to 21st March 2027) will explore the 19th-century artist’s studio as a place for artmaking, a source of inspiration and a subject matter in itself, with works from the Katrin Bellinger Collection by the likes of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Henri Matisse and Paul Cezanne.
While as part of an ongoing exhibition dedicated to Leighton House’s iconic Arab Hall, on display until 4th October From Water, Every Living Thing is a new site-specific video installation by London-born artist Soraya Syed, which transforms the Arab Hall’s historic fountain into a living canvas where moving calligraphy, projection, water and sound interact with one of Britain’s most extraordinary interiors (included with admission)
Alongside the exhibitions there will also be a vibrant events programme running throughout autumn with artist-led workshops, talks, film night and family activities. These include, inspired by the peacocks of Leighton House, an Illuminated Peacock Border workshop (12th September £120), regular life drawing sessions in Leighton’s grand studio (20th September/other dates £30pp) and family-focused creativity with Dream Home Diorama – a fun and hands-on workshop in which children can design and build a diorama of their own dream home (26th September £6pp) For the full programme and more information: www.rbkc.gov.uk/museums
Behind the scenes tours and costumed fun at Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace’s autumn programme is perfect for history buffs wanting more of a personal peak into the historic venue’s past. On weekends until 22 November, Power, Perfume and Scandal brings the palace’s Georgian heyday to life through lively costumed performances filled with court intrigue, gossip and ambition, all included with palace admission. History enthusiasts can also book one of the exclusive guided Duke Tours offering rare access to rooms not usually open to visitors, including where Victoria became queen, the room occupied by Princess Margaret’s Housekeeper and Queen Anne’s Dressing Room (£49pp including entry to the museum, every Saturday from 5thSeptember to 19th December). While the Palace in the Parkguided walking tour explores more than 300 years of royal history across the palace grounds, gardens and Sunken Garden (£15pp every Wednesday and Sunday until 20thDecember). It’s also the last chance to catch The Last Princesses of Punjab, the acclaimed exhibition marking the 150th anniversary of suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, before it closes on 8 November. Palace admission from £19 adults, £9.50 for children and under 5yrs free, with advance booking recommended for tours and tickets. For more information: https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/
