Hokusai's Great Wave to 17 January and Charlie Mackesy's drawings to 7 February, with late openings to 7pm on 10 and 11 December. Prices, hours and events.
Dulwich Picture Gallery has two winter shows this year, and they overlap from November. Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji opens on Tuesday 20 October and runs to 17 January 2027, with adult tickets from £21.50. Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse… and You opens on Tuesday 3 November and runs to 7 February 2027, and it is included in the normal admission ticket. Under-18s go free to both.
The quick answer
- Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 5pm (Tuesdays 9.30am to 10am are for Friends only), bank holidays included. Open until 7pm on 10 and 11 December, and on Monday 7 December.
- Hokusai from £21.50; Mackesy included with a £10 collection ticket. Under-18s free; £1 exhibition tickets on Universal Credit or Pension Credit.
- Christmas closures for 2026 are not published yet. Last year the gallery shut on 22 to 26, 29 and 31 December and 1 January.
Updated 9 November: the gallery now opens at 9.30am, with late openings to 7pm on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December and an extra Monday opening on 7 December. The Festive Paper Cutting workshop on 15 November has been withdrawn.
Updated 26 October: Japanese woodblock printmaking sessions now run to 20 December (were to 13 December). Exhibitions, prices and the Christmas concert unchanged.
Updated 19 October: Japanese woodblock printmaking now runs on dates from 28 November to 13 December (12pm to 4pm, £70), not one day. Added Club Origami on 9 November and a BSL tour of Hokusai on 17 December. Exhibitions and prices unchanged.
Updated 12 October: five more events added to the winter calendar, including a Japanese supper club on 25 November (£70) and Japanese marbling and bookbinding on 21 November and 19 December (£70). Exhibition dates and prices unchanged.
The two exhibitions
Hokusai: Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji from the Iuchi Collection, 20 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. The gallery says it is the first time the complete set has been shown in the UK. It includes an impression of Under the Wave off Kanagawa, better known as The Great Wave, and a rare variant of Red Fuji never before seen in the UK. The prints come from the Iuchi Collection, lent in partnership with the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo. Adults from £21.50 with donation; Friends free.
Charlie Mackesy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse… and You, 3 November 2026 to 7 February 2027. A one-room show of early sketches, unpublished studies and finished drawings from his two best-selling books, curated by Kate Bryan. Visitors are invited to make their own drawings in response. Included with gallery admission.
Also on until Sunday 25 October: Curtain Up!, a display of theatre portraits, included with admission.
Prices
From the gallery’s visit page:
| Ticket | Exhibition ticket | Collection ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, with donation | from £16 (Hokusai from £21.50) | £10 |
| Student or disabled visitor | £10 | £5 |
| Under 30, with donation | 50% off | £5 |
| Universal Credit or Pension Credit | £1 | Free |
| Under 18 | Free | Free |
| Companion | Free | Free |
| Art Fund member | Free |
An exhibition ticket includes the collection and displays; a collection ticket covers the permanent collection and displays, which this winter includes the Mackesy room. The gallery recommends booking ahead.
Opening hours
- Gallery: Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 5pm, including bank holidays. The first half hour on Tuesdays, 9.30am to 10am, is an exclusive view for Friends.
- Late and extra openings: until 7pm on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December (and 7, 8, 9 and 15 January); also open on Monday 7 December (and Mondays 4 and 11 January).
- Shop: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
- Cafe: Tuesday to Saturday 8am to 5pm, Sunday 9am to 5pm, closed Monday.
- Sculpture Garden: every day, 8am to 5pm, free.
- ArtPlay Pavilion for under-8s: every day, 9am to 4.45pm. Sessions £9 per child with up to two adults.
The 9.30am start and the late openings are from the “Plan your visit” panel on the gallery’s visit page, read 9 November 2026; the hours table lower down the same page still gives 10am, so allow for either if you are arriving at opening time.
Christmas opening: what happened last year
The gallery says it is open “across all Bank Holidays, and for much of the Christmas period”, and posts festive hours on its visit page each December. It has not posted 2026 hours yet.
Last year, according to the visit page as archived on 6 December 2025:
- Gallery, cafe and shop: closed 22 to 26, 29 and 31 December 2025, and 1 January 2026.
- ArtPlay: closed 23 to 26 and 31 December 2025, and 1 January 2026.
So expect a closure across Christmas week and around New Year, with the between-days open. We will update this page when the 2026 hours appear.
Christmas and winter events
| Date | Event | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 3 Nov | Curator’s talk: Hokusai | £35, concessions £30 |
| Sun 8 Nov | Make your own beaded felt stars | £55 |
| Mon 9 Nov | Club Origami, a family dance show about a land made of paper | £12 adult, £12 child |
| Thu 12 Nov, 6.30pm to 8.30pm | Book talk and signing: The Story of Printmaking with Holly EJ Black | £15 |
| Thu 19 Nov | Hokusai paint and sip | £40 |
| Sat 21 Nov and Sat 19 Dec | Traditional Japanese marbling and bookbinding | £70, concessions £65 |
| Sun 22 Nov | Wreath making with Floral Evolution | £115 |
| Sun 22 and 29 Nov | Festive printmaking with Alex Booker | £95 |
| Wed 25 Nov | Oishi! A Japanese supper club with Yuki Gomi | £70 |
| Thu 26 Nov | Book talk and signing: David Hockney in LA with James Cahill | £15 |
| 28 Nov to 20 Dec, 12pm to 4pm | Japanese woodblock printmaking: make a Hokusai-style print; session dates on the booking page | £70, concessions £65 |
| Tue 1 Dec | Online introduction to Hokusai with curator Jane Findlay | £15 |
| Thu 3 Dec, 7pm to 8.30pm | Christmas Concert: carols and readings with The Imperial Singers, in Christ’s Chapel | £19 |
| Sat 5 Dec, 6pm to 7pm | Charlie Mackesy Live, at the Michael Croft Theatre, Alleyn’s School | from £25 |
| Sat 12 Dec | Make your own charm necklace | £65 |
| Thu 17 Dec, 11am to 12pm | BSL tour: Hokusai, in British Sign Language | see booking page |
All from the gallery’s what’s on listings; Friends get discounts. The Christmas Concert’s seats are first come, first served, and proceeds go to the gallery’s learning programme.
So Last Century’s Christmas Vintage Market returns to the gallery on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026, with 20 traders and free ticketed entry, according to the organiser’s event listing. Last year’s ran on 6 and 7 December 2025.
Getting there
Entrances are on College Road and Gallery Road, SE21 7AD. The nearest stations are West Dulwich (from Victoria) and North Dulwich (from London Bridge), each about a 10-minute walk. The P4 bus stops outside. There is free parking on Gallery Road and College Road and paid parking in Dulwich Park; Gallery Road is inside the ULEZ. Check the Dulwich parking and roadworks pages before driving, and the Christmas trains page for holiday services.
For children’s events in the October holiday, see Dulwich October half term. Dulwich Village’s own festive day is covered on our Christmas lights page.
Still to be confirmed
- 2026 Christmas opening hours. Expected on the visit page in late November or early December.
Correction, 2 November 2026: an earlier version of this page gave the dates of the 2025 Christmas Vintage Market as 5 and 6 December. It ran on 6 and 7 December 2025.
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