The Warburg Institute

23/10/2026

OPEN DAY | The Warburg Institute | Thursday 12 November 2026

Curious about how art, images and ideas shape our understanding of the world?

Discover postgraduate study at The Warburg Institute, one of the world’s leading centres for the study of art and culture, where global cultural history and the role of images in society are at the heart of our work.

Join us in person on Thursday 12 November 2026 to explore our programmes, discover our world-renowned collections and meet the people who make the Institute such a distinctive place to study and research.

What to expect:

▪️ Find out more about our MA programmes in Art History, Curatorship and Renaissance Culture, and Cultural, Intellectual and Visual History.
▪️ Explore our PG Certificates in Cultural, Intellectual and Visual History, and Art History and Renaissance Culture.
▪️ Discover opportunities for MPhil and PhD research across the many areas supported by the Institute.
▪️ Tour our collections, meet our programme convenors and get a feel for life at the Warburg.

Whether you're considering your next academic step, exploring new research interests or looking to deepen your understanding of art and cultural history, we’d love to welcome you.

📅 Thursday 12 November 2026
📍 The Warburg Institute | In person

More information and booking here: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/warburg-open-day-autumn-2026

Library opening hours: Monday 10:00 - 18:00; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10:00 - 20:00; Friday 10:00 - 18:00; Saturday 10:00 - 17:00

21/10/2026

*Now open - 'Night Maps'*

Open today: 'Night Maps', a major exhibition exploring the visual and intellectual history and the real-world consequences of mapping the night sky.

The exhibition includes celestial maps drawn from The Sunderland Collection to trace the entangled histories of cosmic imagination and earthly power. From medieval courts and cathedrals to moon landings and satellite surveillance, the exhibition reveals how depictions of the heavens have been made to serve rival systems on earth – and how these mythical flights continue to shape the worlds we share.

Exhibition Location:
The Warburg Institute, Woburn Square
London, WC1H 0AB

Exhibition Dates and Location:
Start Date: 21 October 2026
End Date: 17 April 2027

Opening Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 11am – 6pm
Saturday: 11am – 5pm

Ticketing info: *Free*

Find out more about the exhibition ➡️ https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/night-maps

The exhibition is generously supported by mapping and location technology specialist TomTom.


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Image: Night Maps, installation view at the Warburg Institute, 2026. Photo: Stephen White & Co.

21/10/2026

The study of the interaction of cultures is central to what we do in the Warburg. In our new blog, Warburg Fellow Lipika Pelham explores what happens when uprooted migratory culture, memory and art move away from their original locus and thrive in a multicultural hub like London.

Learn more ➡️ https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/blogs/calcutta-studio-east-london-cellar-re-framing-mid-century-photographers-masterworks


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15/10/2026

Charles Holden designed the Warburg Institute building in Bloomsbury in the late 1950s as a central component of the University of London’s central campus. Haworth Tompkins worked with the Warburg Institute from 2018 to 2024 on the renovation and extension of the building. Named ‘the Warburg Renaissance,’ the project enhanced the Institute’s academic resources and created new facilities for collections, exhibitions and events. Warburg Institute Director Bill Sherman discusses the project with Graham Haworth in a new conversation piece in Drawing Matter.

Learn more ➡️ https://drawingmatter.org/warburgs-ellipse-and-holdens-grid/

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Images: the Reemstma Auditorium and the view from the courtyard in the Warburg Institute, London. Credit: ©Hufton+Crow.

14/10/2026

*Book now – last few tickets remaining*

We are mere days away from our international conference: “Civilizing” the World: Classicism, Neo-Classical Sculpture, and Plaster Casts in the Service of Imperial Powers and Post-Colonial Elites (1780-1945):

16 October 2026: Online presentations
21 October 2026: Public evening event, Senate House University of London & online: The Chancellor's Hall, First Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.
22-23 October 2026: International two-day conference, Warburg Institute & online

The conference will explore the uses of Greco-Roman and neo-classical sculpture and architecture by European colonial powers to express and consolidate their power, at home and abroad, and the continuation and adaptation of these strategies in elite nation-building in many former colonies, post-independence.

Organized by Dr Eckart Marchand (Warburg Institute), Prof. Katherine Harloe (Institute of Classical Studies, SAS) and Prof. Amy Smith (Dept. of Classics, Reading University).

Generously supported by: (the) Henry Moore Foundation, Institute of Classical Studies, John Coffin Memorial Trust, University of Reading Department of Classics and School of Humanities, University of Reading and British Museum Partnership Joint Development Fund, Dino and Raffaello Tomasso, UK, Classics Beyond Borders (University of Cambridge), the Leventis Foundation and University College London.

Find out more and book now - *places are limited* ➡️ https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/events/curatorial-perspectives-colonial-casts-2026



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Image: ‘A Brahmin and a Mohammedan in Earnest Converse for their Country’s Good’. Monument to Major-General Sir Barry Close, Bart, 1815. Credit: UCL Culture.

13/10/2026

The life and work of historian Carlo Ginzburg is part of the story of the Warburg Institute and in her new post on our blog, Frances Yates Fellow Cora Presezzi reveals fascinating details about his journey to Bloomsbury, his relationship with Delio Cantimori and more.

Learn more 👉 https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/blogs/ars-longa-carlo-ginzburg-warburg-institute


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Image: Carlo Ginzburg in the 1960s. Credit: Carlo Ginzburg / Luisa Ciammitti.

07/10/2026

Lisa Pon was a 2025 Short-term Frances Yates Fellow at the Warburg Institute and a spring 2026 Borchard Foundation Scholar-in-Residence at the Château de la Bretesche. In her new post on our blog, she explores E H Gombrich, Michael Baxandall's 'Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-century Italy' and the interconnection of both these Warburgians to her own research in the institute.

Learn more ➡️ https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/blogs/baxandalls-painting-perspective



Images: E H Gombrich, Michael Baxandall. Credits: Wikipedia Commons, the British Academy.

06/10/2026

Our research excellence is what makes the Warburg Institute such a unique crucible of creativity for scholars, artists, curators and those whose work transcends traditional academic structures.

We are delighted to announce our full cohort of fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year, supporting dynamic and interdisciplinary research across a wide array of academic disciplines, carrying the cultural conversation forward. The Fellows are:

Alex Tadel, Immacolata Iaccarino, Rebecca Yuste, Ilenia Russo, Nicola de Nisco, Maria Vittoria Comacchi, Nicolas Liney, Claire Litt, Sarah Carter, Houra Adel, Fabiola Alondra, Matheus Rocha Pitta and James Wilkes.

Warmest congratulations to all the Fellows.

Learn more ➡️ hhttps://warburg.sas.ac.uk/news-events/news/warburg-institute-announces-new-fellows-2026-2027-academic-year

01/10/2026

The beginning of is an opportune time to draw attention to the 'Image of the Black' archive part of our collection.

The archive was begun in 1960 by Franco-American art collectors and philanthropists Jean and Dominique de Ménil. Based originally in Paris and later expanded with an office in Houston, the research project was conceived as a response to the US Civil Rights movement.

Collected between 1960 and the 1990s, the photographs constituting the archive document a rich array of paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, decorative arts, and other objects depicting people of African heritage in ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman art, medieval and early modern European art, modern European and American art as well as in art created by Western artists in Africa and America, up to the mid-20th century. The reference collection of photographs and accompanying materials collected in Paris, including books, slides and negatives is now held in our Photographic Collection.

Explore the archive now ➡️ https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000007


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Image: Portrait of Absalom Jones, by Raphaelle Peale (1774–1825). Credit: Delaware Art Museum / Wikicommons.

30/09/2026

An intriguing new article from Artforum by Jan Tumlir and Jeffrey Stuker tracks the conceptual origins of the algorithm by generations of writers, thinkers, scientists and artists - including our founder Aby Warburg, through his famous and culture-mapping Bilderatlas Mnemosyne.

Learn more ➡️ https://www.artforum.com/features/algorithm-2-the-atlas-1234758938/


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