As spring reaches its peak, we fill the longer days of May with uplifting events and outings. Celebrate the season and discover our pick of exhibitions and culinary experiences taking place across the UK this month.
LR Vandy: Rise at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
The first solo museum exhibition by LR Vandy is currently running at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park's Weston Gallery, with many of the works created on site. At the heart of Rise is a large-scape twisted rope maypole, drawing on this folk symbol as an epicentre for communal gathering and movement. The artist's practice broadly explores histories of trade and power within colonialist structures, tracing themes of resilience, liberation, and collective joy through ritual and dance.
LR Vandy: Rise is on at Yorkshire Sculpture Park until 13 September.
Charleston Festival at Charleston in Firle
The 2026 edition of the Charleston Festival takes place in May, set on the storied grounds of Charleston. This modernist estate was once the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, acting as a meeting place for 20th-century writers and thinkers. Continuing its long tradition of inspiring curiosity, this year's festival will host talks by authors, poets and politicians, including Reni Eddo-Lodge, Alice Oswald and Ahdaf Soueif.
Charleston Festival 2026 is on from 13 – 25 May.
The Wild Table at Teybrook Orchard
The Wild Table is a multi-course, open-fire feast created by chef Melanie Brown using seasonal, locally grown ingredients from Browning Bros’ organic farm. Set beneath the trees, the experience begins with a woodland walk and canapés before guests gather for a vibrant, flame-cooked menu. Each course is paired with optional wines, with every dish shaped by spring’s freshest produce and connection to the land.
Join the Wild Table on 17 May.
Ranti Bam: Sacred Grooves at South London Gallery
British Nigerian artist Ranti Bam works across sculpture, performance, film and photography, exploring environmental connection through touch and spirituality. Sacred Groves, her first solo institutional show, displays Ifa sculptures formed by pressing clay to her body, creating organic, collapsing vessels. Also included are her Abstract Vessels, featuring patterned and punctured surfaces. Bam views clay as a primal material, linking its elements – earth, air, fire and water – to an instinctive creative energy.
Ranti Bam: Sacred Grooves opens at South London Gallery on 1 May.
The OffBeat Folk Film Festival
OffBeat began in 2022 as a small film night among friends and has grown into an inclusive celebration of contemporary folk culture. The Folk Film Festival brings together film, music and art in beloved and under-the-radar venues across London, from The Garden Cinema to Coldharbour Blue in Brixton. This year's screenings reflect a range of themes, including people's connection to natural landscapes and the art of folk dance.
The OffBeat Folk Film Festival is on in venues across London from 2-14 May.
Image 1: LR Vandy, Dancing in Time, The Ties That Bind Us, 2023. Installation view at YSP, 2026. In collaboration with October Gallery. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy YSP.
Image 2: LR Vandy, 2026. Supported by October Gallery. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy YSP.
Image 3: LR Vandy, Rise, installation view at YSP, 2026. In collaboration with October Gallery. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy YSP.
Image 4 and 5: The Wild Table, photography by Rebecca Hope.
Image 6: Ranti Bam, In Hearthlands, 2022. Video Still from Performance in Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Osogbo, Nigeria. Courtesy Ranti Bam and James Cohan, New York.
Image 7: OffBeat Folk Film Festival, photography by Amy Dyduch.
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