London's blockbuster exhibitions open now

Peek at Pamela Anderson's iconic Baywatch swimming costume in this blockbuster exhibition, diving into our ever-lasting love of water. Charmingly split into three swimming-themed sections – the pool, the lido, and nature – you'll journey through 100 years of design history to discover the culture of swimming, the seaside and style.

Meet Shirley Smith, Grayson Perry's latest alter ego and museum heiress in crisis, in the largest contemporary exhibition ever staged at the Wallace Collection alongside masterpieces from their collection. From striking sculptures, vibrant tapestries, and story-filled ceramics, Perry's works of art add to the mythology of his newest persona, while drawing on childhood experiences and examining what it means to make and collect art today.

Step into Siena's Golden Age in this blockbuster exhibition. In the 14th century and for the first time in Western art history, artists dramatically transformed painting. Duccio, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers began adding emotion, movement, colour and perspective in a way that had never been seen before, changing the course of art history forever.

Delve into a pioneering contemporary artist's fascinating career. Ed Atkins draws on digital technology and his own experiences to uncover the messiness of life, while examining how reality and fiction often overlap. Computer-generated videos and moving-image works will be displayed alongside his writing, paintings, embroideries and drawings, to reveal an artist grappling with his own life and work.

Meet a contemporary artist fascinated with language and how our use of it reflects our fears, dreams and desires. Nora Turato collects words from the media, advertising, conversation and online content to create one of her signature 'text pools'. These are expressed through graphic installations, performances, video and sound works to reveal language's lessening power in contemporary society.

The cult fashion magazine The Face gets the all-star treatment in this look back at its iconic covers graced by the models, musicians and movie stars who shaped our cultural landscape from 1980 to 2004. Marvel at photographs by trailblazers in the fashion industry, including Corinne Day, David Sims and Elaine Constantine.

The iconic performer, club promoter and fashion designer Leigh Bowery gets the all-star treatment at Tate Modern. Be dazzled by his boundary-pushing designs – which treated clothing and makeup as painting and sculptural works and challenged preconceptions of the body, sexuality and gender.

Meet a pioneering feminist artist from Manchester's punk scene. Linder creates montages, photographs, sculptures and performances to examine gender roles, the body, and how women are represented in the media. From early glamour to digital deep-fakes, discover a radical artist who has spent 50 years revealing our changing attitudes to lifestyle, sex, food and fashion.

Experience Noah Davis's boundless creativity in the UK's first institutional retrospective dedicated to the late American artist, whose practice spanned figurative painting, sculpture, curating and community-building. Davis was committed to demonstrating the beauty of everyday life and the people around him, often blending reality with fiction to create dreamlike and joyful scenes. And while you're there, don't miss Citra Sasmita's immersive installation in The Curve, which is free to all.

Discover how a wide-ranging community of photographers captured a decade of change. The powerful shots in this exhibition document race uprisings, the miners' strikes, section 28 and the AIDS pandemic – giving voice and visibility to overlooked and ignored groups. Used as a tool for social change, they're now a remarkable showcase of photography's impact on both art and the world.