Serpentine Galleries

The Serpentine is a major contemporary art institution in London, comprising two galleries located in Kensington Gardens, Westminster: Serpentine South and Serpentine North. The organisation, recently rebranded from Serpentine Galleries to simply Serpentine, draws its name from the nearby Serpentine Lake, which connects the two sites via a bridge. Together, the galleries attract up to 1.2 million visitors annually, with free admission to both. Under CEO Bettina Korek and artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, the Serpentine has established itself as a significant force in contemporary art through exhibitions, architecture, education, and public programmes.

The original gallery, now Serpentine South, was founded in 1970 by the Arts Council of Great Britain. Julia Peyton-Jones served as director from 1986 to 2016, during which time she developed an entirely new exhibition concept. Hans Ulrich Obrist joined as co-director of exhibitions and programmes in 2003 and became artistic director in 2016, a role he continues to hold. Yana Peel succeeded Peyton-Jones as executive director in 2016 but stepped down in June 2019. The institution expanded significantly in 2013 with the opening of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, later renamed Serpentine North, in a former gunpowder store. The name change to Serpentine North occurred in 2021, part of a broader rebranding of the organisation to Serpentine.

The Serpentine presents modern and contemporary art across its two sites, with a particular emphasis on temporary exhibitions rather than a permanent collection. Its programming encompasses exhibitions by established and emerging artists, alongside architecture, education, and public programmes. The annual summer pavilion commission, initiated in 2000, represents a distinctive element of its architectural programming, inviting architects who have not previously completed a building in England to design a temporary structure. The pavilions serve as venues for cultural and educational events including symposia, performances, concerts, and cafes, making architecture accessible through direct physical experience rather than models or drawings.

While the Serpentine does not maintain a traditional permanent collection, its exhibition history includes major presentations by Man Ray, Henry Moore, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Paula Rego, Sondra Perry, Bridget Riley, Allan McCollum, Anish Kapoor, Christian Boltanski, Philippe Parreno, Richard Prince, Wolfgang Tillmans, Gerhard Richter, Gustav Metzger, Damien Hirst, Maria Lassnig, Adrian Berg, Jeff Koons, and Marina Abramović. At the entrance to Serpentine South lies a permanent work by Ian Hamilton Finlay in collaboration with Peter Coates, dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, the gallery's former patron. Notable recent exhibitions include Helen Marten: Dark Brown House in 2016 and Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Mastaba in 2018. The 2016 programme also featured four additional summer houses by architects Kunlé Adeyemi, Barkow Leibinger, Asif Khan, and Yona Friedman.

Serpentine South occupies a Grade II listed former tea pavilion built in 1933-34 by architect James Grey West. Serpentine North, opened in 2013, repurposes The Magazine, a Grade II* listed former gunpowder store constructed in 1805, with a modern extension designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in collaboration with Patrik Schumacher. This second site comprises 900 square metres of gallery space alongside a restaurant, shop, and social areas. The two buildings are approximately five minutes' walk from each other, linked by the bridge over the Serpentine Lake. The annual pavilion programme has featured designs by Zaha Hadid (2000, 2007 pre-pavilion), Daniel Libeskind (2001), Toyo Ito (2002), Oscar Niemeyer (2003), Álvaro Siza and Eduardo Souto de Moura (2005), Rem Koolhaas (2006), Olafur Eliasson and Kjetil Thorsen (2007), Frank Gehry (2008), SANAA (2009), Jean Nouvel (2010), Peter Zumthor with Piet Oudolf (2011), Ai Weiwei and Herzog & de Meuron (2012), Sou Fujimoto (2013), Smiljan Radić (2014), Selgas Cano (2015), Bjarke Ingels (2016), Diébédo Francis Kéré (2017), Frida Escobedo (2018), Junya Ishigami (2019), Sumayya Vally of Counterspace (2021), Theaster Gates (2022), Lina Ghotmeh (2023), Minsuk Cho and Mass Studies (2024), and Marina Tabassum (2025).

The Serpentine galleries are located in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London, within the City of Westminster. Admission to both Serpentine South and Serpentine North is free. The galleries are financed by the British government and private patrons. The Dr. Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation provided funding for the Serpentine North project. The institution was originally open only during summer months in its early years, but now operates year-round with its extensive programmes. The galleries' combined annual attendance exceeds 750,000 visitors according to earlier figures, with more recent estimates reaching up to 1.2 million visitors per year. The organisation maintains its website at www.serpentinegalleries.org.