Discover South Kensington brings together the leading cultural and educational organisations in South Kensington – home of science, arts and inspiration.
This is one of the world’s most popular cultural destinations and home to an extraordinary cluster of world-leading organisations pioneering innovation and learning in science and the arts. Here we generate and share knowledge and inspire the engineers, designers, scientists, musicians and artists of the future and together we welcome over 20 million visitors each year.
Discover South Kensington is an initiative of the Exhibition Road Cultural Group. The Group's mission is to provide a strong, unified voice for the district, using our combined strength to address shared challenges and achieve change.
Exhibition Road Cultural Group is a registered charity and our members are the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Imperial College London, Goethe-Institut, Institut franÒ«ais, the Ismaili Centre, Kensington Palace, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Royal College of Music, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Serpentine Galleries, Westminster City Council, The Royal College of Art, The Royal Society of Sculptors, South Kensington Estates, The Royal Parks, the Design Museum, Cromwell Place and Japan House London. Discovery is at the core of what happens here and there is so much to explore every day.
Our objectives
The members of Exhibition Road Cultural Group work together to:
- Accelerate South Kensington as an exemplar zero-emission, nature positive urban neighbourhood. Working together to play a role in tackling the planetary emergency and using our collective voice and reach to inspire change far beyond South Kensington.
- Create a welcoming, vibrant destination, providing an excellent experience for people who visit, work, study and live here. Improving welcome, ease of visit and access to great amenities, pleasant surrounds and safe environments.
- Promote this cultural district to diverse audiences and build local engagement. Helping to rebuild visitor numbers, using our combined reach and profile to promote what’s on offer here.
Working Together
As an organisation, the Exhibition Road Cultural Group, brings together educational and cultural collaborations across the arts and sciences in South Kensington and examples of our collaborations include:
- LauncherOne Replica Rocket on Exhibition Road - in partnership with the UK Space Agency, Virgin Orbit, Spaceport Cornwall, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Imperial College London, Discover South Kensington hosted a 72ft (22m) life-size replica of LauncherOne - the first satellite launch from the UK in 2022, on Exhibition Road (15-16th October).
- Kaleidoscopic Minds - Local artist, Azarra Amoy, celebrates neurodiverse people and their contribution to the arts and sciences in South Kensington, through a series of colourful kaleidoscopic artworks on Exhibition Road. Azarra uses a kaleidoscopic spectrum of colours to represent the uniqueness of an individual’s neurodiversity.
- South Ken Outdoor Trail - In the Summer of 2021, South Kensington came back to life with surprising green spaces and three green interventions on Exhibition Road creating a habitat to support biodiversity and the recovery of London’s arts and science district. A new trail connected pop-up nature hubs and art installations across the district.
- The Great Exhibition Road Festival - over one weekend in June, South Kensington’s Exhibition Road hosts a celebration of curiosity and discovery, with a new, free festival of art, science and culture.
- Day of Design Festival (2018 & 2019) - a collaboration between multiple partners along Exhibition Road, to celebrate the final day of London Design Festival and the V&A’s Digital Design Weekend
- Creative Quarter – a day of free events for 13-19 year olds providing career advice from leading designers, scientists and artists (2005 – 2019)
- Exhibition Road Commission - bringing together leading international artists with scientists, researchers and creative thinkers around Exhibition Road (2016 – 2017)
- Tim Peake Launch Event - Exhibition Road hosted a day of celebrations as Tim Peake, the first British ESA astronaut, blasted into space on his mission to the International Space Station (2015)
- Music Day – a musical festival with a wide range of music genres all celebrating the diversity of international cultures in an accessible and creative way (2006 – 2012)
- Supersonix - an international celebration of the art and science (2012)
Exhibition Road Events
We coordinate an annual programme of free public events in Exhibition Road that bring innovation and inspiration in the arts and science sector for the public realm. We welcome external partners for these events. Our strategy for events in Exhibition Road can be downloaded here.
Trustees:
- Maggie Dallman, Imperial College London (Co-Chair)
- Dr Julia Knights, Science Museum (Co-Chair)
- Tim Reeve, Victoria and Albert Museum
- Dr Alex Burch, Natural History Museum
- Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
- James Ainscough, Royal Albert Hall
- Cllr Jessica Toale, Westminster City Council
- John Lavery, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
- Katharina Von Ruckteschell-Katte, Goethe-Institut
- Soraya Shamji , Ismaili Centre
- Officers: Peter Dickinson, Science Museum
- Finance Officer – Nasim Jetha
- Company Secretary – Susan Gent
Our team:
- Freya Stannard - Director
- Sarah Berresford – Head of Marketing & Communication
- Tiva Montalbano - South Ken ZEN+ Programme Manager
- Bea Tozer - Marketing Assistant
Contact us at info@exhibitionroad.com or 0207 942 5320.
Venue Hire
If you are looking to hire somewhere in South Kensington, London, whether it is for a conference, private party, meeting room, film location or wedding, there are some unique venues to consider. Click here for a full list.
Charity Number:1123758 Company Number:05983125
