Park Nights 2026: Ebun Sodipo at the Serpentine Pavilion

Serpentine’s Park Nights programme continues in September with a newly commissioned performance by London-based visual artist and writer Ebun Sodipo.

Presented within the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, Atlantic Cruises: The Sex Tour explores histories of sexual difference, fetish and the ways race has shaped ideas surrounding desire, identity and the body.

The performance is a new iteration of Sodipo’s ongoing project Atlantic Cruises, which began in 2018. Rooted in Black feminist study, the work brings together audio, visual material, storytelling and speculative research to consider the experiences of Black, trans and queer communities.

Through a layered, polyphonic conversation, Sodipo examines the forces behind the attacks, exclusions and structural failures experienced by these communities. The performance also seeks to develop new forms of language through which Black trans people might discuss embodiment, memory and their relationship with the past.

Rather than treating history as fixed or complete, Sodipo’s practice often works with archival gaps. She uses collage, imagination and fabulation to create alternative narratives that move between the past, present and future.

The performance develops ideas explored in Sodipo’s essay I Guess I Gotta Help Myself, published in the Serpentine Reader. Both the essay and the live work consider how personal and collective histories may be reimagined to create space for Black trans presence, interiority and pleasure.

Ebun Sodipo was born in London in 1993 and continues to live and work in the city. Her multidisciplinary practice spans sound, performance, text, installation, video and sculpture.

Her work has been presented at cultural institutions and galleries including Tate Britain, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, South London Gallery, Camden Art Centre, Frieze London, Cubitt and Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art.

The evening is curated by Claude Adjil, Curator at Large, alongside Hanna Girma, Senior Editor and Curator of Editorial Projects, and Liz Stumpf, Assistant Exhibitions Curator.

Park Nights is Serpentine’s annual programme of live commissions, inviting artists, musicians, writers and performers to create new work in response to the architecture of the Serpentine Pavilion.

Each event offers a different perspective on the temporary structure, transforming it from a daytime architectural installation into an evening space for contemporary performance, sound and experimentation.

The 2026 Pavilion has been designed by Mexico City-based architectural practice LANZA atelier, founded by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo. Positioned beside Serpentine South, the Pavilion brings contemporary architecture into the historic landscape of Kensington Gardens.

Park Nights 2026: Ebun Sodipo takes place on Friday 25 September 2026 at 8.00pm at the Serpentine Pavilion.

Standard tickets are priced at £10, with concession tickets available for £7. Ticket prices and availability may change, so visitors should consult Serpentine’s official event page before attending.

For those seeking contemporary art and performance events in Kensington and Chelsea, the Park Nights programme offers an opportunity to experience newly commissioned work within one of West London’s most distinctive cultural settings.

Through Local Living, tlc Estate Agents highlights the exhibitions, performances and creative institutions that contribute to the cultural character of Kensington, Chelsea and the surrounding neighbourhoods.