Current exhibition

Islington Museum's permanent display includes objects and stories from Islington’s local history, from prehistory to today. Most of our collection is from the 1700s onwards.

For information about our current temporary exhibitions, email islington.museum@islington.gov.uk or call 020 7527 2837.

Upcoming exhibitions

Sanctuary and Solidarity: Islington and the Migration Blanket

13 March- 2 April 2025

Sanctuary and Solidarity showcases art made for and around the ‘Migration Blanket,’ an award-winning piece by artist Salma Zulfiqar that explores identity, community, and histories of refugees in England. It urges visitors to consider their own place within Islington’s vibrantly diverse community and reflect on the ways we can work, live, and act in solidarity with one another to improve Islington and our own lives. It will involve the creation of 2-3 new art pieces made with refugee communities in Islington, which will be displayed in a stand-alone case later in the year. This exhibition partners with Migrant Help and will inform visitors of Islington’s status as a Borough of Sanctuary and how to get involved.

Undercurrent: Islington’s Lost Waterways

April-September 2025

Undercurrent explores the histories of three of London’s now-lost waterways. Discover how the Walbrook, dammed by the Roman wall, created marshy Moorfields—a liminal place that was at times a wasteland home to thieves, a refuse dump for Londoners, a refuge for survivors of disaster, and a hard-won home for dissenters and radicals. Uncover why the River Fleet, once a great tidal river that floated stones for St. Paul’s Cathedral and powered industry before fossil fuels, became an underground sewer known for hundreds of years as the filthy Fleet Ditch. Examine the history of Islington’s chalybeate mineral wells, which fell from high fame as centres of healing, luxury, and leisure to bricked over and forgotten relics of the past. It features artworks by artist educator Georgie Fay and Islington residents, and a collaboration between sound artist Jamie Turner and digital artist Erin Robinson responding to these themes and encouraging interaction with the exhibition and stories involved. Viewed through the lens of history, ecology and human misuse, this exhibition aims to inspire visitors to make a greener, cleaner Islington (and world) a reality.