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Tate Britain Festival

The Big Weekender

3–4 August 2024

Queer & Now, Tate Britain 2023. Photo © Jordan Anderson

  • Family Day
  • Block Party
  • Sunday Social
  • Carnival Flavours Menu

Join us to celebrate carnival this summer

Everyone is welcome at The Big Weekender, celebrating all things carnival, music, community and home, in partnership with Notting Hill Carnival.

This festival is inspired by Alvaro Barrington’s Grace commission at Tate Britain this summer. It is part of our Gather Together event series.

Tate Britain's step-free entrance is on Atterbury Street. It has automatic sliding doors and there is a ramp down to the entrance with central handrails.

There is a lift between the Lower and Main floors. Alternatively you can take the stairs.

  • Accessible and standard toilets are located on the Lower floor.
  • A Changing Places toilet is not currently available.
  • Ear defenders can be borrowed from the ticket desk on the Lower floor.

To help plan your visit to Tate Britain, have a look at our visual story. It includes photographs and information about what you can expect from a visit to the gallery.

Download Tate Britain map

For more information before your visit:

  • Email hello@tate.org.uk
  • Call +44 (0)20 7887 8888 (daily 10.00–17.00)

Check all Tate Britain accessibility information

Family Day

Saturday 3 August 11.00–16.00

Calling all families with children ages 0-16 to join us to paint, hear stories, dance and move outside and around Tate Britain.

Take part in an interactive large-scale game with A Line Art, painting, dress-up and reading activities throughout the day, as well as performances and workshops.

Grab some snacks from our foodtrucks or take a picnic to this outdoor adventure of storytelling, painting and performance!

11.00 Fold Your City by A Line Art

Would you like to help in creating a large paper model city inspired by your local area and community? All you need to do is turn up, create your own large paper shaped house, boat, car or local landmark. Draw, colour and decorate your landmark with A Line Art.

Drop in between 11.00 and 16.00

11.00 Paint Outdoors, Pose, Play, and spend time in Story Space

Explore different ways of painting together, reading, dressing up and posing outside. Parents and carers included! Bring your curiosity and creativity.

Drop in between 11.00 and 16.00

12.00 Performance by Kinetika Bloco’s Junior Summer School

Come celebrate all things carnival with Kinetika Bloco’s Junior Summer School members as they share their creativity with you with a big ensemble performance of Brass, Steel pans, Dance and drums.

12.00 Hip Hop Garden workshop by May Project Gardens Project

Connect with nature through the universal language of music and join us to explore how Hip Hop culture can inspire the design of a new public garden at Tate Britain, opening in 2026. Led by May Project Gardens, express yourself through Hip Hop inspired writing and engage in discussions about garden themes, by designing your own garden with sketches from Garden designer, Tom Stuart-Smith and his team.

Sessions begin at 12.00 and 14.00

13.00 Puppet-making with Swallow’s Wings Puppetry

Celebrate storytelling and imagination with us in this workshop where you will be creating puppets with Swallow’s Wings Puppetry.

Drop in between 13.00 and 14.00

15.00 Performance by Swallow’s Wings Puppetry

Our Family Day will close with a puppet show by Swallow’s Wings - Anansi & the Lost Sun. The show takes West African traditional stories of Anansi the spider and embarks on a journey that follows enslaved African people to the Caribbean and then the migration of their descendants to the UK with the Windrush generation. Come join us and embark on a journey that will captivate your imagination and uplift your spirits.

The Big Weekender: Family Day at Tate Britain is supported by Westminster City Council as part of its Inside Out Festival.

Block Party

Saturday 3 August 16.00–22.00

Join us for a block party! We've partnered up with Notting Hill Carnival for an evening of music and performance that brings the carnival vibes to Tate Britain to kick off summer.

Inside the galleries and out on the front lawn, music and performances will transform Tate Britain. Listen to sounds from Reprezent Radio and Saxon Sound System enjoy a one-off performance from Chisara Agor and friends. Take part in workshops inspired by the people closest to us and dig into some food from the Carnival themed food vendors.

Enjoy the carnival vibes with good food, good music and good times!

Angelus

Follow Chisara Agor through the Tate Galleries and explore through music and art the history of Masquerade from Caribbean and African diasporas. This procession of spirit is a journey into the future and a window into the precious wreckage of the past. “This is how one pictures the angel of history".

Procession times: 16.00 and 17.00

The meeting point for the start of the procession will be at the top of the Rotunda Staircase by the Millbank Entrance.

Chisara and Friends

Room 8

Join Chisara and special guests on the live stage, sharing new music, storytelling and visions of our shared cultural heritage.

Setlist times:

19.00 Kirk-Ann Roberts

19.25 Teshay Makeda

20.00 Chisara Agor

20.30 Erica McKoy

21.15 End

Reprezent Radio

Djanogly Lawn

Brixton-based youth-led community radio station Reprezent is steeped in Carnival culture. Join them for a showcase of brand new and classic Carnival sounds, hosted by Blasé Vanguard.

Setlist times:

16.00–16.50 Sinead Adams

16.50–17.40 DJ TEEJ

17.40–18.30 Versatile

18.30–19.30 Blasé Vanguard

Saxon Sound System

Djanogly Lawn

19.30–21.45

Saxon (est 1976) one of the U.K's leading Sound Systems is taking over the Tate Britain garden. Come and experience this pioneering collective of DJs and MCs who have been instrumental in shaping Britain’s musical and cultural landscape over the past four decades.

Sapodilla: An Ode to Caribbean Fathers

Clore Extension

17.00–21.00

Jasmine & Decarla invite you to participate in Sapodilla, an interactive installation. Inspired by Alvaro Barrington’s reflections on the impact Black women have had on his upbringing in GRACE, they honour the practices of passed paternal figures and how this has left a lasting impression. Using prompts, the audience will be able to explore heritage and communal relationships through the mediums of collage and writing.

Carnival Mask Making

Learning Gallery

16.00-19.00

Join the masquerade and make your own mask in a special workshop brought to you by Notting Hill Carnival.

Sunday Social

Sunday 4 August 11.00–17.00

Come and unwind with us at our Sunday Social.

It's all about good vibes as legendary steel drum players liven up the scene. Bounce to Saxon Sound System and let our food trucks tempt you. Meander through the galleries and outdoor spaces, soak in the carnival atmosphere and enjoy the perfect blend of art, music, and community.

11.00 Family Tours

Tours at 11.00, 12.00 and 13.00

11.30 Mangrove Steel Band

North Duveens

Performances at 11.30, 12.30 and 13.30

(Duration 25 minutes)

The Mangrove Steel Band established 1980 are one of the most prominent in Europe. Regular performers at the Notting Hill Carnival, Mangrove are one of the most well-travelled professional steel bands in Britain, and are eleven-time winners of the U.K. National Panorama Competition.

12.00 Hip Hop Garden workshop by May Project Gardens Project

Djanogly Lawn

Sessions begin at 12.00 and 14.00

Connect with nature through the universal language of music and join us to explore how Hip Hop culture can inspire the design of a new public garden at Tate Britain, opening in 2026. Led by May Project Gardens, express yourself through Hip Hop inspired writing and engage in discussions about garden themes, by designing your own garden with sketches from Thomas Stuart-Smith.

14.00 Kyma the DJ

Djanogly Lawn

14.00–15.00

A maestro of high energy sets, Kyma effortlessly brings a unique and explorative fusion of Afro club, GQOM, Afro tech, Afro house and UK Funky creating a sonic journey that will make you move and groove like never before! Kyma embarked on their journey in 2022 and since then has been making waves in the music scene, reaching stages such as Glastonbury, 51st Festival and Outlook fest.

15.00 Saxon Sound System

Djanogly Lawn

15.00–17.00

Saxon (est. 1976) one of the U.K's leading Sound Systems is taking over the Tate Britain garden. Come and experience this pioneering collective of DJs and MCs who have been instrumental in shaping Britain’s musical and cultural landscape over the past four decades.

Carnival Flavours Menu

Jerk stall

Flame-Grilled Jerk Chicken: A succulent flame–grilled jerk chicken leg, corn on the cob,  zesty lime, vibrant coriander, and refreshing cumber slaw.

Curry stall

Tropical Sweet Potato and Black Bean Curry: A rich and aromatic vegan curry infused with ginger is served with a side of spicy jalapeño cornbread for a flavourful kick.

Patties station

Caribbean Beef Patties: Savoury beef patties paired with sweet, golden plantain and tangy pineapple salsa, all atop a crisp iceberg salad.

In addition to these stalls, we'll have:

Coffee bar

We offer barista-made drinks made with Coffee by Tate, a selection of soft drinks, delicious pastries, and cakes served throughout the day.

Lodge bar

This is a pop-up event bar that offers a selection of cold beers, cocktails, wines, soft drinks, and crisps.

Djanogly Café

The Djanogly Café will run its full offer during the day into the evening.

Gallery 8 bar (Saturday evening only)

Offering a selection of cans including beers, wines, cocktails and soft drinks.

Tate Britain

Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
Plan your visit

Dates

3–4 August 2024

All events at The Big Weekender are free, no ticket required

On 3 August the Now You See Us exhibition will close at 18.00. The free displays will remain open until 22.00

We recommend

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    29 May 2024 – 26 January 2025
  • A group of people dancing on the grass outside Tate Britain
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    Festival PAST EVENT

    Retelling Histories

    Join us for a series of events exploring kinship, community and archives

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Artwork
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