Short answer: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham runs at Tate St Ives from 24 October 2026 to 3 May 2027, daily 10am to 5.20pm, with over 170 works including her glacier paintings. Tickets are £14, free for Tate Members. The Winter Festival, Changing Worlds: Future Dreaming, is on Sunday 29 November 2026, 10am to 4pm, for £1 plus gallery admission.
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham opens at Tate St Ives on Saturday 24 October 2026 and runs until 3 May 2027. It is billed as the largest survey of her work to date, with more than 170 paintings, drawings and archive items. Tate St Ives also holds its Winter Festival on Sunday 29 November.
Tate's exhibition page gives 24 October 2026 to 3 May 2027, open 10am to 5.20pm daily. (A 2025 press release gave an April end date, so go with the current Tate page.) Tickets are £14, and Tate Members get in free. The page does not list concessions or a local price. The gallery is on Porthmeor Beach, St Ives TR26 1TG, and has 4.2 from 3,462 Google reviews.
The show follows her eight-decade career, from early landscapes and studio interiors to her later abstract work. The centrepiece is the largest museum presentation of her glacier works, inspired by a 1949 visit to the Grindelwald Glacier in Switzerland. It ends with her Scorpio paintings. Tate describes her approach to landscape as "looking in / looking out".
The Winter Festival is called "Changing Worlds: Future Dreaming" and takes place on Sunday 29 November 2026, 10am to 4pm. It is inspired by the Barns-Graham show and includes performances, talks, workshops and gallery interventions for all ages. Artist Rebecca Moss contributes her participatory work Shapeshifter. The full programme was still to be announced.
It costs £1, or is free for Tate Members, but you also need a gallery admission ticket, a Tate Membership or a Local's Pass. Day admission is booked through Tate's shop website. For access, BSL interpretation, hearing support and large print are available, and three wheelchairs can be reserved free at least 24 hours ahead. Accessible parking must be booked by phone on 01736 796226.
From November 2026, some collection galleries at Tate St Ives will close in turn while displays are updated. The Barns-Graham exhibition is not affected, but check before you travel if you are coming for the collection.
St Ives is busy in school holidays. The park and ride is the best option, and our St Ives parking guide explains how it works. Dogs are covered in our dogs at Tate St Ives guide. For families, see child-friendly art galleries in St Ives and art galleries that suit children. The October half term crowd is covered in our St Ives half term guide.
Reviewers say the gallery is compact, takes about 90 minutes, and has a cafe on the upper floor with a sea view. After the visit, the best hot chocolate in St Ives and the pasty guide cover a winter lunch. See St Ives in winter for what stays open, and the St Ives Christmas lights guide for the festive evenings. The St Ives town page has more.
Reviewers describe the gallery as compact, with the main spaces over three floors, and say it takes about 90 minutes. A large survey like Barns-Graham, with over 170 works, deserves longer, so allow two hours if you want to read the labels and visit the Hepworth display and the cafe.
Yes, with a few limits, according to Tate's visit page. Lifts serve all floors, and the passenger lift takes wheelchairs up to 80cm wide and 140cm long. If your chair is larger, contact the gallery for an alternative route. Inside, most areas have level access.
The Barbara Hepworth Museum is separate. Tate says wheelchair and buggy access there is limited and needs assistance, so ask when you book.
Tate says the gallery has no car park, the streets are narrow and parking is limited, and it advises leaving the car behind. There is one blue badge bay in Barnoon car park for visitors with mobility needs. It is free with a gallery ticket and must be booked at least 24 hours ahead on 01736 796226 or at visiting.stives@tate.org.uk. The same arrangement was named for the Winter Festival.
For everyone else, the usual advice applies:
Our St Ives parking guide covers prices and the seasonal shuttle from Trenwith.
Tate's visit page lists standard gallery entry at £14 without a donation and £15.50 with one. Concessions are £13 without a donation and £14.50 with one, and cover students and disabled visitors, whose companion enters free. £5 tickets are available for people receiving Universal Credit or Pension Credit. Under-18s enter free with a ticket, and Members and Locals Pass holders go in without booking. The Barbara Hepworth Museum needs its own ticket, and the page does not give its price. Prices on the exhibition page and visit page may differ slightly, so check the booking page for the final figure.
Tate does not give a recommended visit length. Our estimate for a survey of this size is two hours.
For food, Sea View Restaurant & Bar is inside the gallery. Its Google listing shows 11.30am to 3.30pm daily, but only five Google reviews (4.2 average), so treat the rating as tentative. Reviewers mention a kids' menu and say booking ahead helps at lunchtime. See our hot chocolate guide for somewhere warm afterwards.
Saturday 24 October 2026, running until 3 May 2027, according to Tate's exhibition page.
The Barns-Graham exhibition page shows £14, free for Tate Members. It does not list concessions.
The exhibition page gives 10am to 5.20pm daily.
Sunday 29 November 2026, 10am to 4pm. It costs £1 or is free for Members, and you also need gallery admission, membership or a Local's Pass.
From November 2026 some collection galleries will close in turn while displays are updated. The Barns-Graham exhibition is not affected.
Lifts serve all floors and most areas have level access. The main entrance has a ramp from the Porthmeor side as well as steps.
Yes. Three are available free, booked at least 24 hours ahead.
One bay in Barnoon car park, free with a gallery ticket. Book at least 24 hours ahead on 01736 796226.
Concessions are listed at £13 without a donation. £5 tickets are available for Universal Credit and Pension Credit recipients, and under-18s enter free with a ticket.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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