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Special exhibitions
We host exhibitions at some of the most iconic buildings and outdoor spaces in our care. From showcasing contemporary artwork and sharing our collections, to exploring our histories and celebrating connections with people, discover exhibitions near you.
Exhibitions in the East
Artists of East Anglia at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire
Explore the work of East Anglian artists from Gainsborough and Constable to Squirrell and Seago. These works collected by Lord Fairhaven were used to root himself, his title, and his estate into the wider cultural and social backdrop of the time, using art to express this public identity.
Open until 31 October 2024
Ickworth – A Design Masterpiece at Ickworth Estate, Suffolk
Ickworth is well known for its distinctive architecture and Italianate design. This exhibition showcases the rarely seen drawings of Italian scenes by French artist and architect Louis-François Cassas, which inspired the Earl Bishop’s plans for Ickworth. It takes visitors on a chronological journey from the 18th century and the early beginnings of Ickworth to 20th century improvements to the living and working conditions for its servants.
Open until 31 October 2024
Exhibitions in London and the South East
Vita: Discover a story of love and life at Knole, Kent
Follow a new multimedia tour that reveals the story of Vita Sackville-West at Knole. The tour includes contemporary art displays, personal mementos and the rare chance to see the original manuscript of ‘Orlando’, by Virginia Woolf. A copy of Chatterton, the first work that Vita Sackville-West published, is also on display.
Open until 13 October 2024
John Burningham's Bedtime Stories at Mottisfont, Hampshire
This family-friendly exhibition and activity trail celebrates the award-winning children's author and illustrator, John Burningham. Find comfy reading areas and colourful life-size scenes, as well as Burningham's sketches and personal items which show the evolution of his stories.
Open until 29 September 2024
The Last Tree & the Art of Nature at Polesden Lacey, Surrey
The team at Polesen Lacey have collaborated with best-selling author and celebrated nature artist, Luke Adam Hawker, to create an exhibition which highlights the beauty of nature. Follow the story of a young girl who lives in a world without trees as you explore drawings, prints and illustrations from Hawker's book, The Last Tree.
Open until 25 October 2024
Changed Priorities Ahead at Scotney Castle, Kent
Discover the work of wildlife artist, Nessie Ramm, who celebrates native wild flowers by creating large-scale designs on metal road signs. The mini-exhibition includes paintings designed especially for Scotney Castle, featuring flowers such as toadflax, viper's bugloss and ox-eye daisies which are often found in the area.
Open until 20 October 2024
For Your Tomorrow at Stowe Gardens
Stowe Gardens is the UK’s official host for the British D-Day 80 exhibition, For Your Tomorrow, a memorial installation to soldiers killed in the Second World War D-Day landings. The large-scale art installation consists of 1,475 silhouettes of military personnel, representing the number of fatalities under British command on 6 June 1944.
Open 1 October-11 November 2024
Exhibitions in the Midlands
Moving Stories at Birmingham Back to Backs
The Birmingham Back to Backs tell the story of working-class people and housing in Birmingham until the late 1960s, when the houses were deemed unfit for people to live in. This exhibition explores the next chapter of the story, focusing on the lives of people who were rehomed to the tower blocks at Druids Heath in south Birmingham.
Exhibition ongoing
Pages from Nature at Croome, Worcestershire
Two hundred years ago, Croome's botanic gardener, William Dean, documented more than 6,000 plant varieties from the gardens in his book, Hortus Croomensis. Learn more about the book, the people who influenced the gardens at the time and how their legacy can still be seen at Croome today.
Open until 2 March 2025
Woven Worlds at Hardwick, Derbyshire
Elizabeth Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury, built Hardwick Hall and filled it with treasures to display of her wealth and social position. You can still see her extensive textile collection at Hardwick today, including the Gideon Tapestries – the largest tapestry set to survive in Britain.
Exhibition ongoing
Exhibitions in the North
The Botanical World of Mary Delaney at Beningbrough, Yorkshire
With just paper, paint and scissors, Mary Delany transformed ordinary materials into extraordinary, inspirational artworks. Discover the pioneering technique of this 18th century artist, whose ‘paper mosaiks’ were celebrated as scientifically accurate botanical specimens. This new photographic display, presented in partnership with the British Museum, also includes objects by historic women artists from across the National Trust's collections, new works by contemporary artists and an interactive origami room.
Open until 23 March 2025
Embodied Cacophony at Lindisfarne Castle, Northumberland
Contemporary artist and composer Liz Gre explores the spirit of Lindisfarne Castle through this sound and sculptural installation. The sculpture is inspired by the voices of Holy Island and made from weathered raw materials, such as salt, glass, sand and wind.
Exhibition ongoing
For the love of cotton at Quarry Bank, Cheshire
Explore the past, present and future of the cotton textile industry in the North West and the world. This exhibition looks at how the Industrial Revolution changed clothing, the human drive for fashion and ‘faster, easier, cheaper’ clothes, and the global, environmental and societal impacts that continue today.
Open until 3 November 2024
Earth Photo 2024 exhibition at Wallington Hall, Northumberland
Earth Photo 2024 is a beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition of contemporary environmental photography from an annual competition run by Forestry England, the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Parker Harris. Created in 2018, Earth Photo is a world-leading programme engaging with still and moving image makers to showcase the issues affecting the climate and life on our planet. The main objective is to reveal the narratives behind the pictures, encouraging conversations about our world, its peoples, environments, and the changing climate.
This touring exhibition is also at Coleton Fishacre in Devon until 27 October 2024.
Open until 3 November 2024
Exhibitions in the South West
Earth Photo 2024 exhibition at Coleton Fishacre, Devon
Earth Photo 2024 is a stunning exhibition of some of the most powerful contemporary environmental photography brought together from Forestry England, the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Parker Harris.
This world-leading international programme celebrates photographic and film work that conveys the world around us and makes us think differently, encouraging conversations about our world, its inhabitants, environments, and the changing climate.
This touring exhibition is also at Wallington in Northumberland until 3 November 2024.
Open until 27 October 2024
The World of William Blathwayt at Dyrham Park, Bath
Featuring short videos and interactive displays of collection items, the exhibition sets the scene in the 1690s when leading civil servant William Blathwayt set about rebuilding Dyrham Park. It introduces the transforming local, national and global climate of the period and links historic events and contemporary figures that shaped Blathwayt's world and influenced the place he called home.
Exhibition ongoing
Nature's Tapestry: Botanical Embroidery at Hidcote, Gloucestershire
Botanical and embroidery artist Olga Prinku combines dried and preserved flowers and other natural materials with tulle fabric, to create motifs inspired by nature. Discover artworks created from the garden at Hidcote in this exhibition.
Open until 30 September 2024
Playing by the Rules: Childhood, Dress and Imagination at Killerton, Devon
Killerton House is home to the largest fashion collection in our care, with more than 20,000 items of historic clothing and accessories. In this exhibition, see the evolution of children's clothing throughout the 19th and 20th centuries – from formal clothes and school uniforms, to fancy dress outfits and play clothes.
Open until 3 November 2024
International Photography Exhibition at Lacock, Wiltshire
See a curated selection of contemporary photoworks from the last three years of the Royal Photographic Society's International Photography Exhibition, the world's longest running photography exhibition. The artworks exhibit a wide range of themes, techniques and aesthetics from 37 different photographers, reflecting how people see and think about things.
Open until 27 April 2025
Making a House a Home: 300 Years of Women’s History at Stourhead, Wiltshire
This exhibition tells Stourhead's 300-year-old story through the eyes of the women who played a part in turning this grand country house into a home. You'll find personal mementos, diary passages and replica dresses that have been carefully recreated, representing how women from Jane Benson, the first lady to live in the house, to Alda, Lady Hoare, who gifted Stourhead to the National Trust in 1946, have influenced the house and collection as we know it today.
Open until 3 November 2024
Exhibitions in Wales
Castle of Culture: Dinefwr and the Spirit of the Sixties at Dinefwr, Wales
For three years in the 1960s, Dinefwr was a vibrant centre for modern art, music, film and theatre, hosting an incredible roster of musicians, composers and artists of the period. Discover how the youthful 9th Lord Dynevor, Richard Rhys, brought the spirit of the sixties to the west Wales countryside.
Open until 3 November 2024
A State Bed restored at Erddig, Wales
Visit the Print Room to see a display of the original 18th century bed hangings from Erddig's State Bedroom, now back after an eight-year restoration. These delicate white silk textiles, embroidered with Chinese figures, pagodas, birds and flowers, were saved by Louisa Yorke after the First World War; her journal will form part of the display alongside fragments of material, including patches of flowers and butterflies found in her workbook.
Exhibition ongoing
A Tiger in the Castle at Powis Castle, Wales
Discover this exhibition by award-winning Welsh artist Daniel Trivedy. Responding to the castle's and Clive Museum's connections to India, the exhibition features a series of photographic images, a video performance and a filmed interview with the artist. You'll also see a writer's poetic response by Lauren Craig which unpacks deeper meanings behind Daniel's performance.
Open until 3 November 2024
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Trust New Art exhibitions and events
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Art and collections
The art and heritage collections we care for rival the world’s greatest museums. Learn more about the collection of paintings, decorative art, costume, books, household and other objects at historic places.
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Celebrating 125 treasures in our collections
Discover the stories behind some of the greatest artworks and artefacts looked after by the National Trust, as told in a dedicated book, 125 Treasures from the Collections of the National Trust.