A new exhibition at the Museum of London Docklands is to explore the secrets of London’s historic waterways and the art they have inspired.

The Heath, 12, 2006-2011 – Andy Sewell

The Museum of London Docklands have just announced their upcoming ‘Secret Rivers’ exhibition.

Granted, the exhibition doesn’t start ’til next May (we’ll remind you about it nearer the time), but it looks pretty damn good…

From the museum’s website:

‘For centuries Londoners have existed beside a series of waterways, which have shaped the city and people within it. The history of this relationship and the art that it has inspired are the focus of our next major exhibition, Secret Rivers.

Secret Rivers will draw from the museum’s archaeological collections and recent excavations to uncover the forgotten secrets of London’s rivers, streams, and brooks, revealing clues about how the rivers were used through millennia of human habitation.

Paintings, prints and contemporary art will show how these waterways have changed over the centuries, and previously unseen artefacts from excavations of the Fleet River and elsewhere hint at the diverse industrial, economic and religious roles these rivers have previously played.

Stories of the Thames and other rivers still flowing through the city will be uncovered, along with the histories of the ‘lost rivers’ now buried beneath the streets and incorporated into the city’s sewer system. The exhibition will use the Effra, Fleet, Neckinger, Tyburn, Walbrook and Westbourne to explore themes of industry, manipulation, activism and more, as well as looking at restoration on the Lea and Wandle.’

Secret Rivers runs 24 May – 27 Oct 2019.