Modern Art Oxford

28/08/2026

Join us as art historian & comedian Verity Babbs leads us through some of art history’s funniest bits: artists stabbing, sh****ng, and slagging each other off included.

Sharing stories from her recent book The History of Art in One Sentence, Verity takes us on a journey of 500 years of artists behaving badly, jaw-dropping artworks, and manifestos that’ll make you say “oh my!”. Come and celebrate the power of laughing at art, and leave seeing some of your favourite artists in a whole new light.

Verity was named one of BBC HistoryExtra’s ’30 Under 30′ in 2024 and has appeared on BBC 2 & BBC Radio 4 as an arts expert. She has worked on filmed projects for Tate, British Museum, and London Art Fair, and has written for the Guardian, RA Magazine, and Artnet News.

Thursday 24 September
7-8pm
£10
Tickets at the link in our bio!

12/08/2026

Pen*ses kept in birds’ nests. Witches riding goats. Cats and toads as magical familiars… yes, really.

The stories and imagery surrounding witchcraft in the late medieval and early modern period could be fantastical, bizarre and sometimes almost absurd.

In this reel, artist Olivia Plender tells us one particularly strange story from the Malleus Maleficarum, the notorious 15th-century witch-hunting manual. Witches were accused of making men’s pen*ses disappear and keeping them in birds’ nests, where they moved as though alive and were fed oats and corn. Olivia explains why this story resonated with her and how it connects to Little Fennel’s Complaint.

These ideas also found their way into the art and visual culture of the period – sometimes with a satirical edge. Around 1500, Albrecht Dürer depicted a witch riding backwards on a goat, while Hans Baldung’s Witches’ Sabbath (1510) mocked the macabre and s*xualised image of witches found in texts like the Malleus, filling the scene with frogs, a cat and a witch flying through the air on a goat.

It might sound ridiculous now, but the ideas behind these stories had very real consequences. Fantastical accusations about witchcraft were bound up with anxieties around s*x, gender and power, and used in the persecution of women.

See Little Fennel’s Complaint at Modern Art Oxford until 16 August. Friends go free!

05/08/2026

“Entering the gallery feels like stepping into a room of shadows where figures quietly emerge and dissolve.” - David Hancock,

The faces in Unspeak the Chorus shift between portrait and memory, revealing different expressions as you move around the work. It’s hard to capture their scale, texture and changing presence on screen this is an exhibition that really needs to be experienced in person and it’s your last chance to see it!

Visit Kira Freije: Unspeak the Chorus before it closes on 16 August.

26/07/2026

Can you spot us from the top of

Look out across Oxford’s skyline and you’ll see the top of Modern Art Oxford amongst the dreaming spires.

To find us head down to the Turn Again exit (next to Sainsbury’s), onto Pennyfarthing Place, and you’ll spot our colourful flags leading the way to Pembroke Street.

It’s just a 2-minute walk to the gallery from the roof of the westgate! You’ll also find , , down Pembroke Street.

13/07/2026

We were delighted to host St Clare's, Oxford - what a fantastic session!

09/07/2026

“I feel excited by a strangeness or an unknowness” - Kira Freije.

There are moments in the exhibition that are easy to miss: light settling across a surface, a fingerprint mark, a shadow changing the relationship between to figures. So here’s a look closer at Unspeak the Chorus.

Unspeak the Chorus is on show now until 16 August. Pay-what-you-can: £6/£9/£12 or join as a friend for unlimited access to our Upper Gallery exhibitions.

Co-commissioned by

04/07/2026

Pembroke street this week…

Mini murals, flags, secret alleyways! It’s Alice’s Day today, once you’ve stopped by make sure to drop by Modern Art Oxford for free creative activities.

Come and find us!

01/07/2026

A rare opportunity to work with a turner prize nominated artist.

Share this with any 16-18 year olds you know! Tomorrow, artist Kira Freije is running a workshop as part of our Young Creatives Socials.

Learn alginate and plaster casting techniques used in her figurative sculptures. Create casts of your own hands while gaining insight into the materials, processes and ideas behind the exhibition.

Book a free spot here: https://shorturl.at/0KyD5

24/06/2026

Need somewhere cool to spend an hour?

- Air-conditioned gallery spaces
- Free iced water in the Ground Floor Gallery and Café
- Three exhibitions to explore

The rest building stays surprisingly cool too!

Drop in and escape the heat.

24/06/2026

We're delighted to be teaming up with St Clare's, Oxford and can't wait to welcome students to the gallery for a packed summer programme!

We're delighted to announce a new relationship with Modern Art Oxford, bringing fresh energy and real-world insight to several of our Summer Courses this year! 🎨

Interactive English & English for Life students will visit Modern Art Oxford to engage with the Turner Prize nominated exhibition Kira Freije: Unspeak the Chorus. Supporting this, our English Language teachers will take part in a CPD session led by the Modern Art Oxford education team, designed to help students get the most out of the experience through active speaking and critical thinking.

Art & Digital Design students will go further still, with curator-led tours of the exhibition and direct conversations with the team behind it, followed by expert feedback from a member of Modern Art Oxford on the Art and Digital Design course's judging panel during their final exhibition!

It's an exciting addition to our Summer Courses, giving students direct exposure to professional practice in the arts. 🖌️