Exhibitions are a major bonus for travellers looking to mix their holidays with something out of the ordinary. So why not catch these unique events this autumn before they close:
Paris, France
Rafael Pavarotti, Photographe
Dates: October 2, 2026 - February 14, 2027
Location: Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Details: Discover bold, vibrant works by the Afro-Indigenous Brazilian fashion photographer in this first major retrospective in France. The exhibition showcases over 200 prints, juxtaposed with photographs from the museum’s collection, from the iconic fashion magazine covers to portraits of international pop culture stars such as Rihanna and Beyoncé, as well as campaigns he has created for major fashion houses.
Design Miami/Paris
Dates: October 22-26, 2026
Location: L'hôtel de Maisons
Details: Over 40 international leading galleries, designers, collectors, and cultural figures, featuring 20th- and 21st-century collectible furniture, lighting, and art, come together for its fourth edition. The fair will present exceptional examples of historic and contemporary collectible design through gallery exhibitions, Design at Large installations, presentations, and talks.
Mary Cassatt: Being Independent
Dates: October 6, 2026-January 31, 2027
Location: Musée d'Orsay
Details: A major retrospective marking the centenary of Cassatt’s death with 80 paintings, pastels, and prints exploring her pivotal role in Impressionism. Covering the artist’s entire career, the event offers new perspectives on her work, drawing on unpublished letters. Rarely shown works from public and private European collections will be presented, along with paintings and pastels from American collections seldom exhibited outside the US.
London, England
The 90s: Curated by Edward Enninful
Dates: October 1, 2026 - February 14, 2027
Location: Tate Britain
Details: Curated by fashion industry game-changer Edward Enninful OBE, the exhibition examines a defining period in which a groundswell of creativity changed the face of British culture as a new dawn of optimism, freedom, and rebellion was ushered in. It brings together photography, fashion, art and design, including iconic images by photographers including Juergen Teller and Corinne Day. These will be alongside the work of artists such as Steve McQueen, Damien Hirst, and Sarah Lucas, and fashion film and music culture, including collections by designers Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and John Galliano.
The Bayeux Tapestry
Dates: September 10, 2026 – July 11, 2027
Location: British Museum
Details: The Bayeux Tapestry brings the 11th-century embroidery back to England for the first time since it was made nearly 1,000 years ago. Displayed flat in one continuous run, the 70-metre work is shown alongside manuscripts, charters and coins that illuminate the Norman Conquest and its immediate aftermath.
Tokyo, Japan
Mariko Mori: All That Shines
Dates: October 31, 2026 - March 28, 2027
Location: Mori Art Museum
Details: This retrospective of multidisciplinary artist Mariko Mori highlights her distinctive fusion of art, science and metaphysics. The Museum will present works spanning three decades of her practice, including the celebrated Wave UFO, a work that offers a glimpse into an undulating, holographic vision of the future. It also features signature works in which she appears as a human-cyborg hybrid, bringing technology together with traditional Japanese art forms, as well as spotlighting complex, science-driven works such as “Tom Na H-iu” (2006).
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok Art Biennale
Dates: Starting October 29, 2026.
Location: Various venues
Details: Contemporary art will take over Bangkok as the Bangkok Art Biennale returns for its fifth edition. The event’s title, BAB 2026: Angels and Mara, draws from two contrasting figures: angels, understood across cultures as divine messengers and guardians; and Mara, the Buddhist figure associated with death, temptation, desire, and fear. It will bring more than 40 artists to temples, museums, heritage sites, and public spaces throughout the Thai capital. The event will unfold across 10 of the city’s most recognisable cultural landmarks, such as Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Wat Prayoon, Museum Siam, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, and One Bangkok.
Singapore
After The Monsoon: Art & War In Southeast Asia
Dates: Till October 18, 2026
Location: National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
Details: A major thematic blockbuster exhibition exploring contemporary and historical responses to World War II and the Vietnam War by prominent regional and international artists like Affandi, Robert Zhao, Sim Chiyin, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen.
Crosscurrents: Masterpieces of Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman Art from Musée du Louvre
Dates: June 19, 2026 – January 24, 2027
Location: Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), Singapore
Details: A landmark exhibition examining the interconnected artistic and cultural achievements of three great 16th- to 18th-century Islamic empires.
Seoul, South Korea
We Are Martin Parr
Dates: Until October 18, 2026
Location: Photography Seoul Museum of Art
Details: North Korea’s streets are a long way from the kitschy British seaside resorts that made Parr’s name. But the images he shot there during a 1997 trip to Pyongyang have many of the same qualities: ordinary people in everyday situations captured with wit and humour, and bursts of highly saturated colour. He later travelled to South Korea between 1998 and 2007, picturing the country’s rapid economic growth in images including a child in a shopping trolley, piled high with brightly coloured international brands. This exhibition is the first major survey of Parr’s work held since his death last year, with more than 500 photographs and all 89 of his photobooks.
Koo Jeong A: Ousssmos
Dates: September 5-December 27, 2026
Location: Leeum Museum of Art
Details: What does Korea smell like? Koo Jeong A’s work for the South Korean pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale aimed to find out, canvassing hundreds of people for their olfactory memories of the peninsula and transforming them into scents. This exhibition will be just as difficult to pin down, with works seeping out of the contemporary art galleries and revealing themselves in unexpected places: lurking in the lobby or in hidden corners. It covers three decades of Koo’s practice, which connects art, science, daily life, superstition and cosmology. The title refers to ‘OUSSS’, a term coined by the artist that can refer to “energy, matter, substance or even the universe itself”, according to an exhibition statement. The centrepiece will be a newly commissioned work, MOBIOUSSS, a monumental structure resembling a crashed spacecraft, its luminous form evoking both the symbol of infinity and a skatepark.
California, USA
Princess Diana: Love Life Legacy – A Life of Giving
Dates: From November 7, 2026
Location: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley
Details: This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute (RRPFI) and the Princess Diana Museum. The museum was founded by Renae Plant, a longtime admirer of the princess who, over the years, amassed numerous items that belonged to her, including Lady Diana’s dresses, jewellery and personal belongings, which until now could only be viewed through digital tours. Presenting the princess’s life through more than 700 original items, the aim is to present a collection accessible to the public. Among the most significant exhibits is the “Travolta” dress, which Diana wore while dancing with John Travolta at a White House gala dinner in 1985 and which is on loan to the exhibition from the Historic Royal Palaces collection. There is also the “Final Goodbye” dress, Diana’s final collaboration with designer Jacques Azagury, who created some of her most famous pieces.
Andy Probert is a British-born, Cyprus-based journalist who covers aviation, hotels, travel, and various topics for publications worldwide.
