The summer holidays may have come to an end for most of us, but our run-down of cultural goings-on provides more than one way to stay optimistic. Whether it’s art, architecture or design that gets you going, our edit of the best UK cultural events in September will keep you busy. 

The Bauhaus in Bristol, The Ken Stradling Collection, Bristol 
Celebrate the centenary of the Bauhaus with a visit to the Ken Stradling Collection in Bristol, where a display of modernist design pieces will highlight the remarkable (and little known) friendship between Marcel Breuer and Bristol furniture manufacturer Crofton Gane. 

Reflections: The Anatomy of Form with Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, Design Museum, London
SOM, a behemoth architecture practice whose 83 year-long output spans early contributions to mid-century American modernism, significant International Style landmarks and contemporary superstructures, has a portfolio spanning the iconic Sears Tower in Chicago to the record-breaking Burj Khalifa. Peruse their display for the London Design Festival and experience their process of ‘inquiry, experimentation, and ingenuity’ through models of past work. 

Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad, New Art Centre, Salisbury
Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad – a cheeky nod to the propagandistic chant in Orwell’s Animal Farm – forgoes the farm for the Design House at Roche Court, a RIBA Award-winning space, which we have visited for our ‘My Modern House’ series. Featuring artists and designers like Barbara Hepworth, Julian Stair, and Anton Alvarez, this exhibit looks to be a fascinating exploration of the chair and its relationship with the human body. 

Thabiso Sekgala: Here is Elsewhere, Hayward Gallery, London
Running until 6th October is Thabiso Sekgala’s first solo exhibition in the UK. The late South African photographer’s work revolves around themes of home, identity, and belonging, as captured through elegiac portraits of South Africa’s ‘born-free generation’, street scenes, and depictions of public and domestic spaces in contemporary Africa, Amman, and Berlin. 

Legacy and Robin Hood Gardens, Victoria and Albert Museum, London 
What do you get when some of the world’s most prolific designers partner with the capital’s cultural leaders? ‘Legacy’ promises to be an intimate and thought-provoking collaboration between the likes of Studiomama and Hans Ulrich Obrist of the Serpentine Galleries, Tomoko Azumo and Kwame Kwei-Armah of the Young Vic, and Max Lamb and Dr. Maria Balshaw of the Tate. 

Also at the V&A is Robin Hood Gardens, a video work from Do Ho Suh inspired by the controversial demolition of the Brutalist housing estate. Suh’s work explores utopian visions of architecture alongside the idea of home ‘as both physical structure and lived experience’. 

The Garden of Good and Evil, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire
Spend a day exploring the woodlands of Yorkshire Sculpture Park while you discover hidden structures designed by Chilean artist Alfredo Jaar. Expect depictions of ‘mathematical rigour’ coupled with ‘evocative poeticism’, nested in an area of the park that has been opened up to the public for the very first time.

Antony Gormley, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Gormley joins the ranks of Ai Weiwei, David Hockney, and Anselm Kiefer with this forthcoming solo show at the RA’s Main Galleries. Spot old favourites, remade works, and new pieces at this experiential exhibition whose highlights include Clearing VII, a ‘drawing in space’ that encircles the visitor and Host, a vast expanse of water and clay filling an entire gallery.