Lucian Freud Portraits
February 9-May 27
See Lucian Freud portraits spanning seven decades of the artist’s life. The exhibition contains more than 100 works featuring characters ranging from benefits supervisor Sue Tilley to artists, performers, family members and The Queen.
Lucian Freud Portraits is the culmination of the 2012 Festival’s Cultural Olympiad.
National Portrait Gallery
St.Martin’s Place, WC2H 0H
Tube: Charing Cross, Leicester Square
£14
npg.org.uk
Shark Reef Encounter
Opens February half term 2012
SEA LIFE London Aquarium is launching Shark Reef Encounter; an attraction that aims to show sharks in a positive light. Walk across a glass platform as 16 sharks – of four different species – glide beneath your feet. There is also a gigantic 19.6m by 12m pacific reef display with a dramatic shipwreck scene, and a Shark Academy area to get educated on the amazing creatures.
SEA LIFE London Aquarium
County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7PB
Tube: Westminster/ Waterloo
£7.50
visitsealife.com
Tropical Extravaganza Festival
February 4-March 4
Celebrate all things bright, beautiful and tropical at the Tropical Extravaganza Festival, where exotic orchids, tropical flowers and foliage displays will dominate the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The theme for this year’s festival is Forces of Nature, and how plants and fungi interact with the four forces of nature – earth, fire, wind, and water.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Gardens
Richmond, TW9 3AB
Tube: Kew Gardens
£13.90
kew.org
Reptiles Undercover
February 11-12
London Wetland Centre puts on a weekend celebrating crocodiles, snakes, turtles, lizards and many more animals for you to meet up close to. Find out more about the scaled-up cousins of the reptiles that live.
WWT London Wetland Centre
Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, Barnes, SW13 9WT
Rail: Barnes
£10.99
wwt.org.uk
Imagine, Southbank Centre
February 11-26
Two weeks of children’s events (some of which are free) including concerts, plays, comedy and appearances by many of the UK’s finest children’s authors, this will be the biggest Imagine festival yet. This year, children take over the running of the festival for six days.
Themes include a celebration of Roald Dahl and an exploration of children in care in literature.
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
Tube: Waterloo / Charing Cross / Embankment
southbankcentre.co.uk
Chinese New Year, National Maritime Museum
February 18
The museum rings in the Year of the Dragon with a range of music, workshops and activities for all the family, ending with a breathtaking outdoor procession by the arts organisation, River Cultures.
The day of celebrations also includes a flag-making workshop, a workshop exploring Britain’s obsession with tea and a film screening of The Chinese Feast, a family comedy about a cooking contest.
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich
London SE10 9NF
Free
rmg.co.uk
David Shrigley: Brain Activity
February 1-May 20
The exhibit shows more than 175 works by British artist David Shrigley, best known for portraying wry, witty everyday musings through humorous drawings.
The show, which features new and never-before-seen works, includes drawings, paintings, photographs, animated films and sculptures in Shrigley’s classic tongue-in-cheek style.
Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX
Tube: Waterloo
£8 until 21 Feb, £10 after
southbankcentre.co.uk
Picasso and Modern British Art
February 15-July 15
This major new exhibition at Tate Britain is the first to explore Pablo Picasso’s extensive legacy and influence on British art, his role in the acceptance of modern art in Britain and the story of Picasso’s lifelong connections to the country.
More than 150 artworks, including 60 Picassos spanning all periods of his career, and work by the artist’s most brilliant British admirers, will be on display.
Tate Britain
Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
Tube: Pimlico
£14, free for Tate members
tate.org.uk
The Queen: Sixty Photographs for Sixty Years
February 4-January 2013
The Diamond Jubilee celebrations begin early this year with this exhibition of 60 photographs of The Queen on display at Windsor Castle.
The photos span Her Majesty’s 60 years on the throne and include both personal moments with family and official occasions.
Windsor Castle
Windsor SL4 1NJ
£17
windsor.gov.uk
The Big Egg Hunt
February 21-April 1
For 40 days and 40 nights, London will be transfixed by an a giant Easter egg hunt across the city. Participants must discover 200 two-and-a-half foot high ceramic eggs designed and decorated by artists, designers, architects and jewellers including Vivienne Westwood, Henry Holland and Polly Morgan.
At the end of the hunt the eggs will be auctioned off to raise money for Elephant Family and Action for Children.
