SOAS Gallery

SOAS Gallery As part of SOAS a gallery and museum dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the art, cultu

The SOAS Gallery as part of SOAS for over 25 years has displayed exhibitions that reflect the many diverse subjects and regions studied by the School being dedicated to promoting a better understanding of the art, culture, history and contemporary contexts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East to a new and wider audience through its programme of changing exhibitions and use of the Schools Collection

s. The inaugural exhibition was held at the Galleries in May 1996 Empire of the Sultans, an exhibition of Ottoman art from the collection of Dr. Nasser D.Khalili subsequent exhibitions covering a wide range of subjects reflecting the Schools areas of study have included:
Chinese textiles; the European experience of Africa and the Middle East; Islamic art traditions; contemporary Israeli art; contemporary art and design from Africa, Asia and the Middle East; Persian paintings; Japanese art; Middle Eastern archaeology; historical Indian photography; Ethiopian 17th century art and architecture; history of the Arabian Peninsula; traditional crafts including Malay wood carving; Chinese ceramics; Egyptian textiles and tapestries; exploring the various medical, spiritual and dietary traditions for well-being from Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist customs; contemporary Middle Eastern art and Indian music traditions amongst many others. In January 2011 the Gallery reached a landmark with its 100th Exhibition Bridge of Knowledge: Western Appreciation of Arab and Islamic Civilisation in the Arcadian Library. Later that year it hosted the first ever major exhibition on the Golden Temple (Harimandir Sahib) of Amritsar and in 2013 the landmark exhibition The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination the first exhibition of its kind to provide a visual narrative of the history of Zoroastrianism. The launch exhibition of SOAS’s own collection Objects of Instruction: Treasures of the School of Oriental and African Studies held in 2007 led to the opening of the Foyle Special Collection Gallery within the Gallery where a selection of the School’s own collection is on rotating display or themed to relate to key temporary exhibitions. The exhibitions shown have provided the first opportunity for many artists, collections and exhibitions, including charity campaigns, to be shown in this country. Further details of these can be found here https://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/previous/

Now on view in 'Invisible Spectrums' at the SOAS Gallery: Ma Qiusha’s 'Pantheon' (2024–2025).Ma Qiusha works across vide...
23/05/2026

Now on view in 'Invisible Spectrums' at the SOAS Gallery: Ma Qiusha’s 'Pantheon' (2024–2025).

Ma Qiusha works across video, photography, painting and installation, developing a practice that is often biographical and context-specific. Her work is attentive to the conflicts and dilemmas embedded in everyday life, as well as the intergenerational gaps that shape personal experience.

Invisible Spectrums is open Tuesday–Saturday until 20th June.

How time flies, on this day in 1996 we welcomed visitors to and our first ever exhibition from the Collection of ...
23/05/2026

How time flies, on this day in 1996 we welcomed visitors to and our first ever exhibition from the Collection of , were you there?

Currently on view in Invisible Spectrums at the SOAS Gallery: Yi Lian’s Up and Down (2022).Through moving image and shif...
20/05/2026

Currently on view in Invisible Spectrums at the SOAS Gallery: Yi Lian’s Up and Down (2022).

Through moving image and shifting perspectives, Up and Down reflects on movement, instability, and the emotional rhythms of contemporary life. The work invites viewers to consider the tensions between ascent and descent, connection and disorientation, both physical and psychological.

This presentation is shown in memoriam of Yi Lian (8th November 1987 – 15th April 2026), honouring the artist’s contribution to contemporary art and moving image practice.

Visit the exhibition to experience this and more video art from across the Sinosphere.

Invisible Spectrums is open Tuesday–Saturday until 20th June.

Don’t miss Liang Yue’s Mind Rehearsal (2018), currently on display in the Roof Garden as part of Invisible Spectrums at ...
16/05/2026

Don’t miss Liang Yue’s Mind Rehearsal (2018), currently on display in the Roof Garden as part of Invisible Spectrums at the SOAS Gallery.

Set apart from the main gallery spaces, this contemplative installation invites viewers into a space of reflection, memory, and psychological rehearsal. Liang Yue’s work explores the tension between interior thought and external environment, encouraging moments of pause within the bustle of the city.

Make your way up to the Roof Garden to experience this unique installation alongside more contemporary artworks from across the Sinosphere.

Invisible Spectrums is open Tuesday–Saturday until 20th June.

Step into the immersive world of Siu Wai Hang’s Cage Bridges (2021), currently on view in Invisible Spectrums at the SOA...
13/05/2026

Step into the immersive world of Siu Wai Hang’s Cage Bridges (2021), currently on view in Invisible Spectrums at the SOAS Gallery.

Combining moving image, architecture, and memory, Cage Bridges reflects on Hong Kong’s densely built urban environment and the emotional experience of navigating spaces shaped by confinement, transition, and connection. Through layered video imagery and atmospheric sound, Siu Wai Hang invites viewers to consider the invisible structures that shape everyday life.

This work is located on the Ground Floor of the exhibition, alongside more video art exploring contemporary experiences across the Sinosphere.

Come and experience Invisible Spectrums before it closes on 20th June.
Open Tuesday–Saturday.

Join us for a series of engaging film screenings and panel discussions running alongside our current exhibition at SOAS ...
06/05/2026

Join us for a series of engaging film screenings and panel discussions running alongside our current exhibition at SOAS Gallery.

These events are free and open to all. Bring a friend and spend an evening exploring thought-provoking films, followed by insightful conversations with the artists and curators behind the work.

Our next screening:
Thursday 14th May 2026, 5pm – 6pm
‘Queer Video Art in Mainland China’
Khalili Lecture Theatre (KLT), SOAS
https://ow.ly/HHrA50YUUAK

Featuring artist Sheng Jinghao 沈靖皓, alongside Professor Hongwei Bao 包宏伟 and Paul Gladston. Sheng’s work presents a quasi-cinematic performance exploring q***r identity and its relationship to traditional Chinese folk culture. The discussion will be co-chaired by Professor Bao, a leading authority on q***r art and culture in China.

Upcoming events in the series:
Thursday 28th May 2026, 5pm – 6pm
‘Video Art, Photography and Performance by Artists from Hong Kong’

Thursday 18th June 2026, 5pm – 6pm
‘The Body and Classical Chinese Aesthetics’

Saturday 20th June 2026, 3pm – 4pm
Roundtable – ‘In-/Visible Spectrums: Toward the Interpretation of Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere’

All events are free. Book your ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/in-visible-spectrums-4827647?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=creatorshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=odclsxcollection&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

02/05/2026

Looking for a quiet corner on campus? Step into the SOAS Gallery and experience thought-provoking Chinese video art in an intimate, reflective setting. Take your time with the installations, then head down to the basement where comfortable bean bags invite you to pause, sit, and fully absorb the works on display.

On view until 20th June. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30am to 5pm, with late opening on Thursdays until 8pm.

We were pleased to welcome SOAS-Alphawood scholar Malar Win Maung to SOAS Gallery this week for a very popular Object in...
30/04/2026

We were pleased to welcome SOAS-Alphawood scholar Malar Win Maung to SOAS Gallery this week for a very popular Object in Focus workshop.

A current postgraduate student on the SOAS-Alphawood Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art, and a second-generation lacquer artisan from Bagan, Malar shared her extensive knowledge of Myanmar lacquerware traditions. Participants explored the distinctive techniques of bamboo and horsehair weaving, alongside detailed etching methods, while examining objects up close.

The session also considered lacquer as a living practice, highlighting its role in sustaining communities, supporting women’s empowerment, and preserving intergenerational knowledge in rural Myanmar.

We are very grateful to Malar for such an insightful and engaging workshop, and to the SOAS-Alphawood Programme and its Director Dr Malcolm McNeil for connecting us and suggesting this collaboration.

At SOAS, we are continually inspired by the depth of knowledge and experience our students bring. Malar’s work is a powerful reminder of how living traditions enrich both scholarship and practice.

📖 Download our free exhibition catalogue! Explore In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere beyo...
29/04/2026

📖 Download our free exhibition catalogue!

Explore In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere beyond the gallery. Our exhibition catalogue is now available to download for free, offering deeper insight into the artists, artworks and curatorial ideas behind the show. From critical essays to expanded context on the works, it is an opportunity to engage further with the themes of visibility, perception and the shifting cultural frameworks of the Sinosphere.

📖 Download:https://www.unsw.edu.au/content/dam/pdfs/ada/jncca/events/in--visible-spectrums/catalogue/in-visible-spectrums-catalogue.pdf
📍 Visit the exhibition at SOAS Gallery, Tuesday–Saturday, 10:30am–5pm (late opening Thursdays until 8pm)

Join us on Thursday 30th April for a special screening and panel exploring humour as a powerful mode of critique in cont...
27/04/2026

Join us on Thursday 30th April for a special screening and panel exploring humour as a powerful mode of critique in contemporary Chinese video art.

As part of our public programme accompanying In-/Visible Spectrums: Contemporary Video Art from the Sinosphere, this event brings together artist Zheng Que and Paul Gladston for an in-depth discussion, followed by audience Q&A.

The screening features Zheng Que’s striking video work, filmed along Beijing’s Chaobai River during the COVID-19 lockdown, where the river became a boundary dividing the city. Through site-specific performance and a distinctive use of humour, her work reflects on space, control and everyday urban experience.

This series highlights diverse moving image practices by Sinophone artists, addressing themes from institutional critique and patriarchy to q***r identity, resistance and climate anxiety, while offering a more narrative and socially engaged counterpoint to the exhibition on view.

📍 Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS University of London
🕕 Followed by Q&A
🎟️ Free to attend, please register on eventbrite: https://ow.ly/G6bj50YO66m

Come along for an evening of thought-provoking video art and conversation.

Image: 'Chaobai River: Bait the Willing!' (2024), single-channel video, colour, sound, 5’42’’ by Zheng Que

What does it mean to work behind the scenes in a museum?Through the Co-Creator Internship Programme, Xochitl Tai-Dawson ...
25/04/2026

What does it mean to work behind the scenes in a museum?

Through the Co-Creator Internship Programme, Xochitl Tai-Dawson gained hands-on experience in museum documentation and collections work at SOAS Gallery. From researching nineteenth- and early twentieth-century jewellery moulds from India to creating condition reports and contributing to our first handling box, her work has helped bring new insights into the collection.

Read more about Xochitl’s experience and discoveries on our website, and visit the gallery to see her selected objects on display: https://www.soas.ac.uk/about/blogs/how-my-internship-soas-gallery-strengthened-skills-beyond-curation

Address

SOAS Gallery, SOAS, Russell Square
London
WC1H0XG

Opening Hours

Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 10.30am - 5.00pm
Wednesday 10.30am - 5.00pm
Thursday 10.30am - 8.00pm
Friday 10.30am - 5.00pm
Saturday 10.30am - 5.00pm
Sunday CLOSED

Telephone

02078984046

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