Fridamania is set to sweep across London this summer. As Tate Modern prepares to open its major exhibition “Frida: The Making of an Icon” on June 25th, six large-scale public murals inspired by Frida Kahlo’s life and work have been unveiled across Bankside, where the Tate Modern is located. The works mark the centerpiece of a citywide celebration of the artist’s enduring legacy.
Each of the murals is the work of an emerging artist under the age of 25 as part of “Beyond Boundaries,” a collaboration between Better Bankside and Tate Collective. The murals tap into different aspects of Kahlo’s complex identity, including her Mexican heritage, feminist ambitions, queerness, and her experience of disability. Installed on walls, railway arches, and public spaces throughout the neighborhood surrounding Tate Modern, the murals will remain in place for several years.
The participating artists include Amy Almeida, Eddie Donaldson, Milena De Rosa, Helena Samarasinghe, Gloria da Silva, and Sharoola.
The murals are one part of a wider public art program celebrating the iconic Mexican surrealist, coinciding with the Tate Modern exhibition. Other city-wide programming includes ¡Frida Icónica!, a large-scale installation by artist Alejandra Ballesteros featuring traditional Mexican papel picado. Contemporary artists have also reinterpreted Kahlo’s 1940 Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, and these public artworks will be on view at locations from Piccadilly Circus and Blackfriars.
The public enthusiasm for “Frida: The Making of an Icon” has been unparalleled. More than 35,000 tickets have been sold ahead of the exhibition’s opening, according to the Tate, making it the highest pre-selling exhibition in the museum’s history. The exhibition will mark the first major London show focused on Kahl since “Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up” opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 2018.
“The extraordinary demand for Frida Kahlo is testament to the enduring power of her story and her work,” Catherine Wood, Tate Modern interim director, said in a statement. “Positioning Frida as an artist for 21st-century London, we will offer audiences multiple entry points into her world—from the intimate space of the gallery to the shared experience of the public realm.”
Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in collaboration with Tate Modern, “Frida: The Making of an Icon” will run through January 3, 2027.
