Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends opens at the National Portrait Gallery on 9 October 2026, bringing together 250 specially created portraits in a major new photography exhibition exploring queer identity, activism, community and love.
Public entry begins at 1.30pm on opening day, following a Members’ preview, and the exhibition runs until 7 February 2027. This is much more than a fashion-photography showcase: it is the result of five years spent photographing queer activists, performers, artists, writers and allies in Britain and beyond.
What is Tim Walker’s Fairyland?
Tim Walker is known for photography that turns fashion, portraiture and storytelling into something theatrical and dreamlike. Fairyland takes that visual language into a deeply personal exploration of queer life, combining fantastical landscapes with portraits of people who have shaped culture, activism and community.
Among the sitters named by the National Portrait Gallery are Ian McKellen, Chappell Roan, Isaac Julien and Miriam Margolyes. The exhibition celebrates more than fifty years of queer activism, community and love, while creating space for confidence, fantasy and self-expression.
That crossover is what makes this one particularly interesting to me. Clothing, styling and photography can all become forms of performance: ways of trying on identities, making yourself visible, telling a story or simply deciding how you want the world to see you. Fairyland sits right at that meeting point between portraiture, fashion, fantasy and queer culture.
Queer visibility, fantasy and finding your own version of Fairyland
The exhibition is curated by Susanna Brown and accompanied by a new publication featuring writing by Travis Alabanza, Russell T Davies, Shon Faye, Lisa Power and Joelle Taylor.
For Clarissa’s Corner, this belongs alongside our wider coverage of LGBTQIA+ culture, alternative fashion and creative self-expression rather than being treated as a simple museum listing. There is a lovely thread here about clothes and image as performance — not dressing to disappear, but using style, character and fantasy to take up space.
Content warning and age guidance
The National Portrait Gallery advises that the exhibition contains adult themes and language, nudity and some images of a sexual nature. Parental guidance and discretion are advised. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult at the Gallery, and visitors aged 14–17 are advised to consider the content information before booking.
Fairyland tickets — currently sold out
Tim Walker’s Fairyland is currently sold out. The exhibition runs until 7 February 2027, so it is still worth checking the National Portrait Gallery’s official listing in case further tickets or returned availability are released. The original standard adult prices were £23 off-peak (Monday–Thursday) and £25 peak (Friday–Sunday), before optional donations.
- Under 25: CLUB NPG is free to join and gives access to £5 exhibition tickets.
- Pay What You Can Mondays: available for Monday entry times from 10.30am–2pm, excluding Bank Holiday Mondays. Tickets are released at 10am on the Monday before and are intended for visitors unable to pay the full price.
- Disabled visitors: concession tickets are available, with free entry for one carer.
- Members: exhibition entry is free.
Check the official Tim Walker’s Fairyland listing for any newly released or returned tickets →
Accessibility at the National Portrait Gallery
The Gallery has step-free access at all entrances and lifts connecting its levels. Standard and accessible toilets are available, with a Changing Places toilet on Floor -2; anyone wishing to use its hoist needs to bring their own sling.
Fixed seating is available throughout the Gallery and portable folding stools can be requested. A limited number of manual and self-propelled wheelchairs and walkers can be borrowed free of charge, with advance booking recommended.
Ear defenders for adults and children and sensory bags for SEND families and young neurodivergent visitors can be borrowed from the Ticket and Membership Desk. The Gallery also has a visual story, large-print resources, hearing loops and staff who can help visitors find a quieter area if the building becomes busy.
Read the National Portrait Gallery’s full access information →
Accessible Fairyland events
Audio-described tour and tactile workshop: Tuesday 24 November 2026, 3pm–4.30pm. This free, artist-led session is designed for blind and partially sighted visitors and requires booking. Companions and carers are welcome and do not need to book a ticket.
BSL tour: Friday 27 November 2026, 6pm–7pm. The free Deaf-led tour is designed for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors and explores highlights from the exhibition. Booking is required.
Plan your visit
Where: National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE
Dates: 9 October 2026–7 February 2027
Opening day: Public entry from 1.30pm on 9 October
Exhibition location: Ground Floor exhibition space
More culture, fashion and queer stories
If the mix of identity, performance and creative self-expression is what pulls you in, continue into the LGBTQIA+ Culture, Theatre & Community hub, browse Culture & Community, or explore more museums, exhibitions and London discoveries.
You may also like Freddie Mercury: Splendid Things at the V&A, where fashion, image and performance become part of the story, and the Gianni Versace Retrospective archive for another look at fashion as cultural storytelling.
Ticket information and access details were checked against the National Portrait Gallery’s official exhibition and accessibility information. This is editorial coverage. Clarissa’s Corner has not been gifted attendance and the ticket link is not an affiliate link.
