The Midlands has a wealth of art galleries and museums hosting a range of fantastic exhibitions - both permanent and temporary. Here's a selection of what's showing across the region. 

NANCY CADOGAN: THE LOST TREES

The emotional and environmental significance of trees is the subject matter of this new exhibition by Nancy Cadogan, whose poetic and precise landscape paintings have been described as both serene and deeply stirring. Bringing together personal and shared stories, the exhibition celebrates trees not only as enduring links between people and the natural world, but also as witnesses to history and anchors of community.

Compton Verney, Warwickshire, Friday 2 October - Sunday 22 November

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BRITISH ART SHOW 10: A CHORUS OF STRANGERS

Painting, sculpture, photography, film and installation all feature in British Art Show 10, a Southbank Centre Hayward Gallery touring exhibition comprising works by more than 30 artists and launching across three Coventry venues at the start of this month. 

Providing an overview of the most exciting art produced in the UK across the past five years, the landmark exhibition explores ways in which people relate to one another - and to the planet - during a period of ‘profound social, cultural and environmental change’. 

Image: Alex Margo Arden, Accounts, 2025 © the artist. Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre London

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry & Coventry University, Friday 2 October - Sunday 10 January

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CHARMAINE WATKISS: THE THINGS WE HOLD SACRED

Charmaine Watkiss uses her artwork to investigate the botanical legacy of the Caribbean, tracing the lineage to Africa through the transatlantic slave trade. This brand-new exhibition of her work features major loans from private and museum collections, as well as newly commissioned sculptures. The display includes Charmaine’s most significant sculptural installation to date.

New Art Gallery, Walsall, Saturday 3 October - Sunday 11 April

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THREADS THROUGH THE CROSS - JACQUI PARKINSON

Acclaimed artist Jacqui Parkinson here uses textile art to tell the story of Jesus’s life, death, resurrection and ascension. The exhibition comprises 18 monumental panels, each nearly three metres in height and combining powerful imagery with exceptional craftsmanship.

Lichfield Cathedral, Saturday 10 October - Monday 23 November

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EMMY BRIDGWATER AND BIRMINGHAM SURREALISTS

“Emmy Bridgwater brought a new purity of outlook to British Surrealism,” said French writer & poet André Breton, a principal theorist and co-founder of surrealism, “returning to the early days of the movement, to its ‘automatic’ beginnings in France. The swirling lines, plant forms and vaguely suggestive forms seem to have been exorcised from the deep recesses of the mind.”

Breton made his assessment in the 1940s, and he was by no means a lone voice in the wilderness when it came to enthusing about Emmy Bridgwater’s talent and influence. Born in Birmingham - and living her final years in Solihull - she was a pivotal figure in both the British Surrealism movement and the Birmingham Surrealist Group... 

This brand-new exhibition brings together paintings, drawings, collages and poetry spanning more than six decades of her life, with her artworks being presented alongside work by contemporary creatives Laura Footes and Paloma Proudfoot. Their inclusion in the show offers fresh perspectives on Emmy’s pioneering legacy and the distinct role of women’s voices within surrealist expression.  

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, Saturday 24 October - Sunday 10 January

Credit: Emmy  Bridgwater, Brave Morning, c.1942, oil on canvas,  The Jeffrey Sherwin & Family Collection 

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SHROUD OF TURIN EXHIBITION

This full-size linen replica of the Shroud of Turin - the original is believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ - is available to view at St Leonard’s Church on a daily basis, from 11am to 4pm. The Shroud is accompanied by a series of information panels which draw on historical, forensic and theological research to explore what’s known, what remains uncertain, and why the image continues to hold such enormous significance for so many people.

St Leonard’s Church, Bridgnorth, South Shropshire, Monday 26 October - Thursday 12 November

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REFLECTIONS

Immerse yourself in the fluid beauty and immense power of water...
That’s the suggestion being made by Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum in its publicity for this brand-new exhibition. 

Featuring works from Worcester City’s own collection - presented alongside high-profile loans from national collections and numerous pieces by contemporary artists - Reflections aims to inspire the viewer’s imagination. It also serves as a vital reminder of the human responsibility to protect seas, rivers, streams and waterways, all of which are so important for the future.

Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, until Sunday 3 January

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BALRAJ KHANNA: LINES OF LIGHT

Ikon’s Lines Of Flight - the first-ever major survey exhibition of late British-Indian painter, writer & curator Balraj Khanna - brings together more than 40 paintings made across six decades of the artist’s career, exploring such themes as migration, Partition, identity and belonging.

The exhibition also celebrates Balraj’s deep connection to Birmingham through Astral Dance, his monumental painted safety curtain for Birmingham Hippodrome, which marks its 25th anniversary this year. 

Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, until Sunday 21 February

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TEREZA BUŠKOVA: MOTHERS WITHOUT HANDS

Prague-born and Birmingham-based artist Tereza Bušková is the driving force behind the international project Mothers Without Hands. 

The initiative, which aims to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, saw diverse communities in Folkestone, Prague, Brno, Erdington and Walsall engage in creative workshops and public processions. The exhibition includes photographic prints, a major video work, and a selection of costumes, headdresses and ceremonial crowns.  

New Art Gallery, Walsall, until Sunday 15 November

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SURREAL SOLIHULL

Art lovers are being invited ‘to see the familiar in unexpected ways’ in this brand-new exhibition. The display is a celebration of the legacy of Emmy Bridgwater, who was born in Edgbaston, spent her final years in Solihull, and whose bold, uncanny artwork made a significant impact on British surrealism. Art historian & author Ruth Millington is the curator of the show, which takes the theme ‘surreal’ and features work by 29 West Midlands-based artists.  

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, until Sunday 22 November

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PAULA REGO: VISIONS OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

Unseen preparatory sketches and etching plates are among the items on show in this exhibition of work by the late Paula Rego, who is widely considered to be one of the finest artists, printmakers and storytellers of modern times. 

The display features three series of graphic works by the Lisbon-born artist: Jane Eyre, Nursery Rhymes and Peter Pan. 

Each series is accompanied by a variety of Paula’s personal items, many of which have never before been displayed in public. 

Rugby Art Gallery & Museum, until Saturday 21 November

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RAQIB SHAW: NIGHT SONNETS

It’s been more than a decade since Raqib Shaw mounted an exhibition of new work in the UK, so his admirers will surely be eager to check out this brand-new offering. 

Night Sonnets brings together a cycle of nocturnal paintings and tapestry which has been informed by the 52-year-old artist’s lifelong interest in moonlight and the conditions of the night. 

The paintings act as vehicles via which Raqib contemplates difficult issues such as human consciousness, environmental loss and destruction of knowledge, exploring questions about the human condition and the complexities of modern-day existence.

The exhibition includes a number of works which have never before been exhibited in the UK. These include The Retrospective 2002-2022, an epic, highly detailed painting which functions as a visual inventory of the Calcutta-born artist’s impressive career.

Compton Verney, Warwickshire, until Sunday 21 February

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DIPPY IN COVENTRY: THE NATION'S FAVOURITE DINOSAUR

The Natural History Museum’s iconic Diplodocus cast - life-size, made of plaster-of-paris, and affectionately referred to as Dippy - has taken up residence in Coventry for an initial period of three years. 

Diplodocus carnegii, to give it its official name, lived during the Late Jurassic period, somewhere between 155 and 145 million years ago. Huge, plant-eating dinosaurs with long, whip-like tails, they grew to about 25 metres in length and are believed to have weighed around 15 tonnes, making them three tonnes heavier than a London double-decker bus. 

Dippy first arrived in London in 1905 and recently visited Birmingham as part of an eight-city tour that attracted a record-breaking two million visitors.

Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, until February 2027

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