Rainy Day Art: The Best Immersive Exhibitions to Visit Across the UK This Summer

There’s no such thing as bad weather, or so the saying goes. The British summer is, of course, predictably unpredictable, throwing you a raincloud at just a moment’s notice. In which case, head indoors with a trip to your nearest gallery or museum. ArtRabbit’s selection of immersive exhibitions and installations each provide a fun and engrossing escape. Read on to discover what’s happening near you.

In Plymouth, Forbidden Territories at The Box offers a deep dive into 100 years of surrealism, where familiar landscapes twist into dreamlike scenes by Dalí, Magritte and Moore - an excellent antidote to steely skies. In Salford, LOWRY 360 brings a hometown classic to life, turning Lowry’s Going to the Match into an immersive experience that captures the spirit of match day - no raincoat required. At Tate St Ives, Emma Critchley’s Soundings plunges you into the ocean’s depths through haunting video and sound. Over in London, the Barbican’s galleries and subterranean spaces are transformed by a series of playful sound installations. If you’re up in Liverpool, Amartey Golding’s striking chainmail sculpture at FACT invites quiet contemplation, away from the Merseyside mizzle. Whatever the forecast over the coming months, ducking into your nearest gallery or museum might just be the recess and reset you need.

Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surreal Landscapes at The Box, Plymouth

‘Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surreal Landscapes’ invites viewers to lose themselves in the world of surrealism - one of the most influential artistic, intellectual and literary movements of the 20th century, and one which continues to inspire artists working today. This major exhibition marks 100 years since its origins in 1924, when poet and critic André Breton first published the ‘Surrealist Manifesto’. It features a stunning range of 2D and 3D works by a wide array of British and international artists, including Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Max Ernst and Henry Moore. Discover the exhibition until 7 September 2025.

Step inside LOWRY 360, a new free immersive gallery experience at The Lowry, Salford

This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of LS Lowry’s iconic work, Going to the Match, in the UK’s first free permanent immersive experience. Created in collaboration with Barcelona’s renowned immersive studio, Layers of Reality, visitors will be surrounded by a creative exploration, in super-high resolution, of a painting that celebrates the excitement, anticipation, and ritual of going to a football match on a Saturday afternoon. Enjoy the experience until 31 August 2025.

Emma Critchley: Soundings at Tate St Ives

Soundings is an immersive three-screen video and sound installation by Emma Critchley that explores the depths of the ocean. Blending a wide range of footage relating to the deep sea and its pervading narratives with soundscapes and dance, this work connects audiences to a space few will ever experience first-hand. From an intimate encounter between a dancer and a deep sea creature to the voices of Pacific activists, Soundings offers a kaleidoscopic portrayal of the deep ocean and proposes a new way of being that is sensitive to nature’s needs. Until 21 September.

Feel the Sound at Barbican Centre, London

The Barbican’s bold, new, multi-sensory exhibition Feel the Sound invites visitors to awaken their senses, embrace the sonic world and discover personal frequencies in a series of unique installations across the Barbican Centre: from the Curve gallery to the Lakeside, the foyers, and, for the first time, the underground world of the Barbican’s car parks. Until 31 August 2025.

Amartey Golding at FACT Liverpool

Amartey Golding’s solo exhibition features a large, intricate chainmail sculpture, created with groups of imprisoned men at HMP Altcourse (Liverpool, UK), over the course of two years. Spotlit in FACT’s signature exhibition style, with surrounding bench seats inviting viewers to take their time, the piece is accompanied by a soundscape that further creates a place for reflection - a space of both judgement and salvation. Until 10 August.

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