Hooked: 500 Years of Addiction

30 May 2025 – 13 February 2026

From heroin to gambling, from alcohol to love, HOOKED explores the history of addiction. It invites you to consider the stereotypes attached to addiction and how all of us can be vulnerable to it.

Exploring pills, drink, snuff and cigarettes, we uncover the many faces of addiction and the many attempts to combat it. We explore the dark origins of substance addiction in the western world – rooted deeply in colonialism and slavery.

Featuring rare books, historical objects, artworks, interviews and digital interactives, the exhibition considers the meaning of addiction, its causes and the stigma attached to being addicted.

This exhibition contains some racist and xenophobic historic materials.