Camden pupils return to King’s Cross gallery

Camden school pupils will see their artwork return to a major King’s Cross gallery this July, as the Camden Schools Art Biennale comes back for its second edition.

The two-week exhibition is scheduled to run from 14 to 26 July 2026 at the Lethaby Gallery, part of Central Saint Martins at the University of the Arts London. It follows the inaugural Biennale in 2024 and will again bring together work from schools across the borough.

Set inside one of London’s best-known creative education hubs, the event gives young artists a public gallery setting usually associated with professional exhibitions, degree shows and cultural showcases.

Exhibition dates and King’s Cross venue

The Camden Schools Art Biennale will take place from Tuesday, 14 July to Sunday, 26 July 2026.

The host venue is the Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, in King’s Cross. The location places pupils’ work in the middle of a district closely linked with design, fashion, architecture, media and the arts.

Camden Council said the exhibition will showcase creativity from pupils at schools across the borough. The announcement did not give details of ticketing, opening hours, participating schools or individual works, so families and schools should wait for further practical information before planning a visit.

The Biennale’s return also gives teachers a fixed point in the summer calendar to celebrate classroom art beyond the school site. For pupils, the gallery setting changes how their work is seen: pieces made in lessons or school projects become part of a borough-wide public exhibition.

Schools, artists and cultural groups brought together

The 2026 Biennale is expected to bring together Camden schools, artists and cultural organisations. That mix is central to the event’s local role: it connects pupils with the wider creative life of the borough rather than keeping school art inside corridors, classrooms or end-of-term displays.

Camden has a dense cultural landscape, from major institutions and university spaces to neighbourhood arts projects and school-led creative work. By placing pupils’ artwork at Central Saint Martins, the Biennale gives young people a visible route into that landscape.

The event also sits naturally in King’s Cross, where education, public space and creative industries often meet. For parents and carers, the exhibition offers a clear reason to visit a gallery with children and see the work of young people from across Camden in one place.

A second edition after the inaugural Biennale

The return of the Camden Schools Art Biennale follows its first edition in 2024. A repeat event in 2026 suggests the model has become part of the borough’s cultural education calendar, with a two-year rhythm that allows schools time to prepare work and build momentum.

Biennales often work well for schools because they give projects a longer runway than a single annual display. Pupils can develop ideas over time, teachers can plan around the exhibition, and cultural partners can shape a programme that feels more substantial than a one-off showcase.

For Camden, the local value is also geographic. A borough-wide exhibition can bring together pupils whose schools may sit in very different neighbourhoods, while giving families a shared destination in King’s Cross.

Practical details still to come

The confirmed details so far are the dates, venue and broad purpose of the exhibition. The Camden Schools Art Biennale will run from 14 to 26 July 2026 at the Lethaby Gallery, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London.

Further information is still expected on visiting arrangements, school participation and any public programme linked to the exhibition.

The source announcement identifies the Biennale as a two-week exhibition showcasing pupils’ creativity from schools across Camden, with schools, artists and cultural organisations involved across the borough.

Source: Camden Council