Highlights include Lates, community get togethers, yoga brunches and drop-in workshops for visitors of all ages
Tate will be staging a wide and engaging selection of activities and events aimed at young people, children and families for a stimulating summer of creativity.
Curated exclusively by 18−25-year-olds from Tate Collective London, Late at Tate Britain offers a chance to explore the gallery afterhours for a relaxed evening of immersive sound and visuals, hands-on activities and topical discussions. The next in this popular series, Late at Tate: Kabocha (3 August), is inspired by Anthea Hamilton’s 2018 Tate Britain Commission The Squash and will explore the theme of storytelling. Visitors can take part in porcelain painting with illustrator Eliza Hopewell, try out stand-up comedy with Logan Murray, or join creative duo Black in the Day for a digital design and poetry workshop focusing on the Black British experience in the UK, as told through their curated archive of family photographs. Rarely seen Paula Rego prints and drawings based on storybooks will go on show, with the soundtrack for the night courtesy of Reprezent 107.3 FM.
Over at Tate Modern, next month’s Uniqlo Tate Late (31 August) will celebrate free DIY party culture, with a vibrant mix of art, music, film, drop-in workshops, pop-up talks and street food. Cinema highlights include a documentary exploring London’s subcultures and the influence of Caribbean migrants on the music scene, presented by Rapper Lava La Rue, as well as a screening of feature length documentary Negus, looking at the complex legacy of Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie I. DJs will play throughout the evening, including Nine8Collective’s mix of steel pans and rocksteady reggae.
Families looking for summer entertainment will find free activities across Tate Modern and Tate Britain. On 11 August Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall will be transformed into a mass Live Art play-in for all ages. Fierce Play offers children the chance to remote control their parents, invent their own Live Art sports or even stage a protest. Visitors looking to get hands-on can head over to the gallery’s Tate Exchange space to take part in 20 Days (8 August – 2 September) – a series of workshops ‘gamify-ing’ the everyday by deconstructing family life and roles. Highlights will include a Fabrication Station, where visitors can take apart household objects and reconstruct them with toys to make their own Frankenstein creations and a giant bed and breakfast cereal space offering a relaxing area to hang out. Also at Tate Modern, monthly 8-14s Studio workshops provide the chance to create a shared artwork using themes, ideas and materials inspired by an artist’s way of working. During August, families can pick up a free Sonic Trail (Wednesday – Saturday) from Tate Britain’s community garden project A Common Ground, offering an immersive audio journey through the garden and gallery, while imaginative workshop Playing Up (until 2 September) invites children to join a playful, hands-on introduction to live art every weekend.
Throughout the summer, food fans can enjoy a variety of free activities inspired by Tate Britain’s A Common Ground. Events such as Recipe Exchange (4 August) will offer an afternoon exploring heritage and contemporary food culture, featuring a recipe show and tell and garden inspired snacks, while Equal Parts (1 September) will celebrate Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice and sharing, inviting people from across London to break bread, share stories and eat together to mark the festival. Further highlights include weekly Jazz brunches in Tate Britain’s Rex Whistler restaurant, transporting guests to the 1920s and 30s with blues and ragtime tunes and classic cocktails, and Rise and Shine Yoga Brunch at Tate Modern (every Saturday morning until 18 August), offering hour-long energising yoga classes with a view. The Summer Terrace on the lawn outside Tate Modern will also host Wild Beer Co’s pop-up bar until 30 September, with ten taps of Wild craft beer and a foraged pizza menu.