BEING NATURE:

Seasons come together in a new residency and exhibition programme at Holland Park Café.

On any given morning in Holland Park, you’ll find the usual rhythms of park life unfolding, dogs being walked, coffee cups in hand, people drifting through the trees. Look a little closer and you’ll find something else woven into it: contemporary art.

Being Nature returns to Holland Park Café for its second year, a rolling arts residency and exhibition programme curated by Justin Hibbs and Alan McFetridge in collaboration with Daisy Green. Across four exhibitions throughout the year, works sit within the everyday life of the space, encountered between coffees, conversations and walks through the park.

The programme takes its cue from the original purpose of London’s parks, spaces designed to restore balance and offer a moment of pause within the city. Here, that idea is reworked through a more contemporary lens, exploring how nature continues to shape how we move, gather and spend time. The exhibitions shift with the seasons, allowing each chapter to evolve alongside the park itself.

Alongside the exhibitions, Sensing Earth brings a series of artist- and scholar-led workshops into the space, running on the last Sunday of each month, 12–2pm. Designed as a way to engage more directly with the work, they offer a slower, more hands-on way into the programme.

At its core, Being Nature isn’t about stepping away from the city, but seeing it differently — something to encounter as part of your day, whether you’re passing through or staying a little longer.