WONDER: Why We Believe in Magic

Somerset House’s major winter exhibition WONDER: Why We Believe in Magic journeys across time and cultures to reveal how magic, wonder and belief shape the way humans understand and imagine the world – from the earliest evidence of supernatural belief to digital phenomena such as WitchTok and AI. Taking over the Embankment Galleries, Somerset House’s largest gallery space, it unfolds across interconnected chapters exploring magic’s great archetypes – the Magician, the Alchemist, the Clairvoyant – through rare historical objects, contemporary artworks and immersive installations. Highlights include the 40,000-year-old Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel, the Bronze Age Nebra Sky Disc, Hieronymus Bosch’s The Conjurer, crystal balls, tarot decks, seance ectoplasm and new commissions by Sian Fan and others. An interactive family trail guides young visitors, and children under 16 go free throughout the run. Part of Somerset House’s winter programme. Tickets on sale from 25 September.