The Wes Anderson exhibition in London has closed. It ran at the Design Museum from 21 November 2025 to 16 August 2026, and the museum’s own page now carries the words “Exhibition now closed” across the top.
If you are searching for tickets, there are none. Nothing is scheduled to return.
This page stays up because people still search for it in large numbers, and because the museum itself is still very much worth a visit. Here is what it was, and what to do instead.
What it was
The exhibition was called Wes Anderson: The Archives, and the Design Museum described it as “the first retrospective exhibition devoted to his distinctive cinematic output, produced in collaboration with la Cinémathèque française.”
The museum was “granted unprecedented access to Wes Anderson’s personal archives, which the filmmaker has built up over three decades.” It was the first time most of the objects had been seen in Britain.
The scale was large: over 700 objects, including original storyboards, Polaroids, sketches, paintings and handwritten notebooks, alongside puppets, miniature models and dozens of costumes.
The highlights the museum named: a candy-pink model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, the vending machines from Asteroid City, the Fendi fur coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum, the original stop-motion sea creatures from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and Mr Fox in his corduroy suit with the show dog Nutmeg. It also screened Bottle Rocket, Anderson’s first short film, made in 1993.
One warning the museum published, and which applied to the whole run: “Some video content in the exhibition contains nudity and strong language and may not be suitable for young children.”
What is at the Design Museum now
The museum is open, and a good part of it never needed a ticket.
Design Museum, 224 to 238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG.
Opening times: 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday, and 10:00 to 18:00 Friday to Sunday.
The permanent collection is free: “Our collection display Designer Maker User is free to visit, located on Level 2. This exhibition and other free displays do not require a ticket.” Paid exhibitions are separately ticketed, with pre-booking recommended, and members go free.
The museum publishes closures, and one is imminent. The museum will be fully closed to the public on Tuesday 13 October 2026. It also closes over Christmas on 24, 25 and 26 December, reopening on 27 December.
Practical points from the museum’s own visit page:
Card payments only across the museum.
Lockers are on Level -1 and take a £1 coin that is not refunded. If you have no coins, you can buy £1 tokens at the museum shop and pay by card. At busy times there may be a wait for a locker.
The Design Kitchen on Level 2 is open 12:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and 12:00 to 18:00 Friday to Sunday, but it is closed on Tuesday 13 October and Thursday 10 December. A new cafe is being built as part of the museum’s Transformation 2029 plan, with a pop-up shop on Level G in the meantime.
The Design Kitchen looks out over Holland Park, and Leighton House is a short walk away.
If you want the Wes Anderson look
The exhibition’s appeal was the director’s precise visual world, and London has several real places that carry it. Dennis Severs’ House has the same obsessive, staged detail, and Sir John Soane’s Museum is the closest thing in the city to a Wes Anderson set, free to enter, with a Picture Room whose walls fold open.
How to plan it
The exhibition has closed. Final day 16 August 2026.
The museum is open, and the permanent collection on Level 2 is free.
Do not go on Tuesday 13 October. The whole museum is shut.
Bring a £1 coin for a locker, or buy a token in the shop.
Card only.
Wes Anderson: The Archives Closed
- Address
- Design Museum, 224 to 238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG
- Nearest
- See the museum’s own Getting here page for the nearest stations, bus stops and cycling information
- Hours
- Closed. The exhibition ran from 21 November 2025 to 16 August 2026. The Design Museum itself is open 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00 to 18:00 Friday to Sunday, and is fully closed on Tuesday 13 October 2026
- Booking
- Not available. Paid exhibitions at the Design Museum are pre-booked through the museum, and members go free
- Price
- No longer on sale. The museum’s permanent collection, Designer Maker User, is free on Level 2
- Standing
- The first retrospective devoted to Wes Anderson’s films, produced with la Cinémathèque française, showing over 700 objects from his personal archive for the first time in Britain
How to get in
Closed. The Design Museum’s own exhibition page reads Exhibition Now Closed, with dates of 21 November 2025 to 16 August 2026. The museum remains open and its permanent collection is free. The museum is fully closed on Tuesday 13 October 2026 and over Christmas on 24, 25 and 26 December. It takes cards only, and lockers on Level -1 need a non-refundable 1 pound coin.
Where to go next
Sir John Soane’s Museum and Dennis Severs’ House are the closest real-life equivalents, and free museums in London covers the rest.
Leighton House is a short walk away in Holland Park, and London exhibitions covers what is actually on.
Questions we get asked
Is the Wes Anderson exhibition still on in London?
No. Wes Anderson: The Archives ran at the Design Museum in Kensington from 21 November 2025 to 16 August 2026, and the museum's own page now reads Exhibition Now Closed. There are no tickets and no return has been announced. The Design Museum itself remains open, and its permanent collection is free.
What was in the Wes Anderson exhibition?
More than 700 objects from the director's personal archive, shown together in Britain for the first time, including storyboards, Polaroids, sketches, handwritten notebooks, puppets, miniature sets and costumes. Highlights included a candy-pink model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, the Asteroid City vending machines and the Fendi coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums. It was produced with la Cinémathèque française.
Is the Design Museum free?
Partly. The permanent collection display, Designer Maker User, on Level 2 is free and needs no ticket, as are other free displays. Temporary paid exhibitions are ticketed, with pre-booking recommended, and members go free. The museum is open 10:00 to 17:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00 to 18:00 Friday to Sunday.
Is the Design Museum open on Tuesday 13 October 2026?
No. The museum states that it will be fully closed to the public on Tuesday 13 October 2026, and the Design Kitchen is also closed that day and on Thursday 10 December. The museum also closes on 24, 25 and 26 December, reopening on 27 December 2026.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 404 in the guide.
Last checked 10 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
