Press room
Inside Summer 2026: Barbican Centre’s artistic leads share this season’s highlights
The Barbican’s artistic leadership team today spotlight the must-see events of this Summer, a bold season of groundbreaking exhibitions, performances, experiential work and cross-arts programming.
Spanning music, theatre, cinema, visual arts, dance, learning and public space, the summer programme reflects the Barbican’s continued commitment to ambitious international work, creative collaboration and experiences that entertain us, inspire us and bring us together.
Opening the season on 15 May is Delcy Morelos: origo, a monumental free public installation in the Sculpture Court by the acclaimed Colombian artist. Constructed from soil, clay and fragrant spices, the work marks the return of major public art to the space for the first time in a decade.
Project a Black Planet: A Season is a landmark, centre-wide celebration of the enduring influence of Pan-Africanism on contemporary art and culture. Anchored by a major gallery exhibition, it features concerts, films, performances, workshops and talks spanning the African continent and its global diasporas. Other highlights include In Other Worlds, the first UK solo exhibition by visionary artist and filmmaker Liam Young; this summer's glorious dose of Golden Age musical theatre escapism High Society and the much-anticipated premiere of Death Note: The Musical, the legendary manga reimagined for our stage.
The beloved Outdoor Cinema season returns with classics chosen especially to be enjoyed under the city lights while Queer 60s explores LGBTQ+ Cinema in the decade before Stonewall.
In the Hall, our Summer Jazz Series features giants Roberto Fonseca, Emeli Sandé, Al Di Meola and Pat Metheny and Barbican’s Resident Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra brings Wagner's transcendent tale Tristan and Isolde under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano.
Karena Johnson, Head of Creative Collaboration and Learning, said: “Project a Black Planet brings together artists, thinkers and communities in welcoming and thought-provoking spaces for discussion, celebration and exchange.”
Luke Kemp & Patrick Moran, Heads of Barbican Immersive, said: “It is hugely exciting to present Liam Young’s first solo UK exhibition. In Other Worlds invites audiences to imagine radically hopeful futures through spectacular environments, films and stories.”
Rebecca Fons, Head of Barbican Cinema, said: “This year's line-up is an eclectic mix that includes but is not limited to beloved coming of age stories, cult classics, and one three-headed monster - all of which will look spectacular against the backdrop of the Barbican. Summer can't come soon enough!”.”
Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts: “Morelos’ work spectacularly reflects the Barbican’s founding purpose - bringing exceptional art into everyday life so it can be accessed by all.”
Toni Racklin, Head of Theatre and Dance, said: “This summer’s theatre programme combines scale, spectacle and originality - from the glamour and wit of High Society to the global phenomenon of Death Note: The Musical.”
Helen Wallace, Head of Music, said: “Music has always been at the heart of the Barbican, and this summer our audiences can experience it at its most potent, inclusive and transformative.”
The team are supported by Dr Philippa Simpson, Chief Operating Officer. Simpson previously worked as a curator and public programmer at Tate and Royal Museums Greenwich, and most recently was Director of Public Programme, Design and Estate at the V&A where she oversaw the delivery of major exhibitions, gallery development and large-scale public programmes.
Simpson says: “There is so much to be excited about this summer, it’s a testament to the ambition and innovation of the incredible team here, alongside our exceptional artistic partners and collaborators.
“This is a pivotal moment for the Centre as we launch a programme of transformative works to our iconic building and move towards our 50th birthday in 2032. Our eyes are on the future, planning extraordinary creative experiences across our venues and civic spaces, and beyond our concrete walls, across the capital and out into the world.”
The Barbican’s summer season runs from 15 May to 16 September 2026. Please see the full list of summer highlights below:
CROSS ARTS
Project a Black Planet: A Season
Barbican Centre
June – September 2026
This summer, the Barbican presents Project a Black Planet, a major season celebrating the rich influence of Pan-Africanism on contemporary arts and culture. From June to September 2026, more than thirty events across art, cinema, music, performance, talks, and more unfold throughout the Centre, bringing together artists, thinkers, and communities from across the African continent and its global diasporas.
VISUAL ARTS
Delcy Morelos: Origo
Sculpture Court
15 May – 31 July 2026
Colombian artist Delcy Morelos explores our relationship with the earth in a monumental, site-specific installation made of soil, clay and fragrant spices. This major commission, Morelos’ first in the UK, marks the return of public artwork to the Sculpture Court for the first time in a decade. Measuring 24 metres by 18 metres in diameter, and reaching over three metres in height, this is Morelos’ most ambitious outdoor work to date.
Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica
Barbican Art Gallery
11 June – 6 September 2026
This summer, Barbican Art Gallery presents Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica, a major international exhibition examining the influence of Pan-Africanism on artistic and cultural production from the 1920s to the present, through over 300 works – from paintings and installations to posters, journals, and film.
More info here
IMMERSIVE
Barbican Centre
21 May – 6 September 2026
Taking place across the Centre this summer, In Other Worlds – the first UK solo exhibition of artist, director and BAFTA-nominated producer Liam Young – is a new immersive exhibition inviting visitors to step into the future. In a time where we are made to reckon with the challenges and opportunities presented by the complexities of our modern world, Young harnesses an array of bold and wondrous films, costumes, props, movie miniature models, comics, tapestries and soundscapes to galvanise ideas about what the future could be, in a way that is radically hopeful.
More info here
CINEMA
Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade before Stonewall
Barbican Cinemas
9 Jun – 7 Jul 2026
Barbican Cinema presents a major season that looks back at a decade of seismic social change, which culminated in the 1969 Stonewall riots. Following the Barbican’s Queer 80s season in 2024 and Queer 70s in 2025, Queers 60s is the third instalment in a series of bold films which coincide with Pride Month and celebrates LGBTQ+ representation in cinema.
More info here
Sculpture Court
19 – 30 August
The Barbican’s Outdoor Cinema returns in August with a specially curated programme of films to enjoy under the City lights. Set in the dramatic setting of the Sculpture Court – complete with a selection of food stalls and bars – this year’s programme features an original line-up of some of the best visual storytellers of our time that demand to be seen on the big screen.
THEATRE
High Society
Barbican Theatre
19 May – 11 July 2026
From the producers of the smash hit sold-out musical sensations Anything Goes, Fiddler on the Roof and Kiss Me, Kate, the razor-sharp wit of Cole Porter returns to the Barbican this summer in a lavish and much-anticipated new production of Porter’s musical masterpiece High Society.
More info here
Barbican Theatre
30 July – 12 September 2026
The worldwide phenomenon Death Note: The Musical, comes to Barbican Theatre this summer in a world premiere of a brand-new production, featuring a revised script and newly written songs alongside the original acclaimed score.
MUSIC
Project a Black Planet: Music
Barbican Centre
5 June – 25 July 2026
A powerful programme of concerts and events exploring the enduring influence of Pan-Africanism across music, activism and resistance. This celebratory music season includes Meshell Ndegeocello’s ode to James Baldwin, an improvised jazz performance by Pulitzer-prize winning composer and drummer Tyshawn Sorey who joins forces with pianist Pat Thomas, a London showcase for Liverpool’s Africa Oyé festival, plus a week-long immersive installation and celebration around the work of late Jamaican music pioneer Lee “Scratch” Perry and more.
More info here
Summer Jazz Series
Barbican Hall
13 May – 19 July 2026
A summer series of live performances from jazz giants and distinctive voices, bringing together a rare lineup of world class artists, including Roberto Fonseca, Emeli Sandé and Al Di Meola. Closing the series, Pat Metheny returns for three performances with Side-Eye III+, joined by a new generation of players in a project that keeps evolving every time it hits the stage.
London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Antonio Pappano | Wagner's Tristan and Isolde
Barbican Hall
1 & 12 July 2026
Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in Wagner’s transcendent tale of love and longing. From the famous Prelude to the opera’s rapturous conclusion, Tristan and Isolde unfolds in music of extraordinary sensuality and emotional intensity. Performed by the LSO and an outstanding cast of soloists, this concert staging promises an unforgettable operatic experience.
CREATIVE COLLABORATION
Project a Black Planet: Events & Gatherings
Barbican Centre
From 12 June 2026
Running throughout the summer, listening sessions, workshops, talks, a concert and a performance series respond to ideas in the Project a Black Planet season through four themes: Rituals, Nationhood, Technology and Archive. Co-curated by the Barbican with Tobi Kyeremateng and Jason ‘Scully’ Kavuma, this series of events and gatherings brings together artists, thinkers and communities from across Black diasporas.
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