London is perhaps the best city in the world if you’re looking for sheer variety in art exhibitions. Whether you want to look at permanent collections of old masterworks or be absorbed entirely by a shiny new immersive experience, London can provide. Not only this, but in terms of pricing, things tend to be pretty reasonable. In a city that’s known for sky-high rents and exorbitant restaurant prices, culture is reassuringly inexpensive. With that in mind, we’ve created this list of the most exciting art exhibitions in London right now, that you can visit for £25 or less. You’re welcome!

Japan: Courts and Culture

Some exhibitions are transient, to be forgotten as soon as you leave them, but when The Royal Collection brings out the big guns, you’ll never forget it. Japan: Courts and Culture is filled with the most outstanding items from The Royal Collection. Spanning our 300-year relationship with Japan, the pieces on display tell the story of our diplomatic exchanges. From gifts between the monarchies to densely engraved Samurai armor, there are endless breathtaking pieces in this exhibition. If you’re fascinated by Japanese artworks and crafts, then this is the single most important collection of its kind in the Western world. It’s on display now until the 26th of February, so get in quickly and take your time looking around, there’s so much to see.

Jenkin Van Zyl: Surrender

Whilst Japan Courts and Culture has its roots in history, Surrender is quite the opposite. This art installation is incredibly modern and totally captivating. You begin by stepping through a gigantic silver rat’s mouth, into what appears to be the digestive system of the animal. You’re faced with images, videos, and drawings of intimacy between rats and rats, as well as rats and humans. Jenkin Van Zyl was inspired by the myth of the Rat King, a tumbling mass of rats who have been knotted together by the tail. He’s taken this and created an homage to the love between rat and human. It’s at times deeply troubling, but you can’t look away. If you want an immersive experience that you’ll be thinking about for weeks to come, then it would be hard to beat Surrender.

Dalí Cybernetics: The Immersive Experience

Whilst some people see immersive 3D art exhibitions as the ‘gamification’ of serious artworks, there are others who would argue that video games might actually be works of art in themselves. Some of the titles from recent years are so artistic that their merits as stand-alone pieces have to be considered. Surrender is an immersive experience that’s totally captivating, and so too is Dali Cybernetics. You’re invited to take a journey through the universe of Salvador Dalí, seeing not just his artworks in a 3D form, but also being invited into his creative process, his friendship groups and maybe even his own perception of life. If you’re willing to give the VR goggles a chance, then we think you’ll be captivated by this recreation of Dali’s universe. Divisive or not, if you’re going to see one of the blockbusting immersive exhibitions this year, then make it this one.

Frameless

In terms of size, nobody is beating Frameless, a 30,000-square-foot behemoth dedicated to providing a new way of taking in art. There are four different galleries, each with its own theme, each wired up to an incredible sound system that delivers a cocooning experience to the viewer. More than 150 speakers deliver surround sound from angles that you’d never realized you needed sound delivered from. As well as this, intermittently lit-up screens toe the line between a traditional art gallery and the ever-popular immersive experience of 2023. If you want a soft entry to this style of art viewing, then Frameless is the perfect introduction.

Finishing off with a classic, The EY Exhibition has been delivering French legends for a while now, and they’ve kicked things up yet another gear with this stunning exhibition dedicated to Paul Cezanne. Seeing such a large collection of his work all together is something that even the most dedicated contemporary art snob would cut off their right arm to experience, and the great news is, you don’t even have to do that. Tickets are just £22 and the exhibition runs until the 22nd March.