Welcome to the IanVisits alternative guide to London.
Lectures, talks, heritage events, organised walks and other random geeky miscellany.
This is quite an old listings page, did you want: Friday, 8th November 2024?
Displayed in date order by how soon they close.
An exploration of melancholia in European art and culture. (Ending Soon Fri, 10th Nov)
King’s College London
The exhibition presents a spectacular selection of eighteenth-century Venetian art, with Canaletto's greatest works. (Ending Soon Sun, 12th Nov)
The Queen's Gallery
Free
Plywood
More than 120 objects have been brought together in an exploration of how the often-overlooked product has helped create the modern world. (Ending Soon Sun, 12th Nov)
Victoria and Albert Museum
This small display looks at a range of European prints and other objects from the Reformation (Ending Soon Thu, 23rd Nov)
The British Museum
Free
The Power of One
Shining a light on stem cell and bone marrow donation from Black, Asian, ethnic minorities and those with mixed heritage. (Ending Soon Fri, 24th Nov)
City Hall
The exhibition features individual and collaborative artworks curated into themed
story boxes. (Ending Soon Sat, 25th Nov)
Wilton's Music Hall
This exhibition examines the British arrival in Helmand province, Afghanistan, and the decisions that shaped the way the conflict escalated and the lessons learnt. (Ending Soon Sun, 26th Nov)
Imperial War Museum
This exhibition looks at the early pioneers of Roman London archaeology and the discovery of Roman London over three centuries. (Ending Soon Fri, 1st Dec)
Guildhall Library
Explore the history of the Wrens in Greenwich. New interviews and research offer a rare female perspective into the fascinating history of the Old Royal Naval College. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Dec)
Old Royal Naval College
This is the exhibition on Balenciaga in the UK and marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of his first fashion house. (Ending Soon Tue, 5th Dec)
Victoria and Albert Museum
A display of paintings, drawings and models by the likes of Dame Zaha Hadid, Amanda Levete, Julia Barfield and Patty Hopkins. (Ending Soon Sat, 9th Dec)
School of Architecture
This exhibition provides snapshots of everyday lives as the metropolis expanded and new communities emerged over the centuries. (Ending Soon Fri, 15th Dec)
UCL Main Library
Free
Reformation
Focussing on London through the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, this exhibition traces the impact of the Reformation on culture and society. (Ending Soon Fri, 15th Dec)
Senate House Library
This exhibition tells stories of the boring beasts that have changed the world. (Ending Soon Sat, 16th Dec)
Grant Museum of Zoology
A free exhibition of photos and memorabilia covering Sir Simon Rattle’s musical life to date. (Ending Soon Fri, 22nd Dec)
Barbican Music Library
Free
Falling Shawls
Falling Shawls is a floating textile installation that artist Outi Pieski describes as a ‘drawing in air’. (Ending Soon Sun, 31st Dec)
Southbank Centre
An international cast of street artists have teamed up with fan maker extraordinaire, Sylvain Le Guen in a bid to reinvigorate the craft of fan making. (Ending Soon Sun, 31st Dec)
The Fan Museum
Free
The Forum of Rome
David Roberts’ painting The Forum, Rome forms the centrepiece of a new display which explores why the forum was so important in the Roman world, (Ending Soon Mon, 1st Jan)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
This display explores the fascinating story of the Hall’s design through a variety of historic models, photographs and casts. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Jan)
Victoria and Albert Museum
The first London exhibition of Spanish art from The Bowes Museum in County Durham, including works by Goya and El Greco. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Jan)
Wallace Collection
An exhibition exploring the unsolved mystery of Sir John Franklin's fatal last journey into the Arctic. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Jan)
National Maritime Museum
Free
John Akomfrah Purple
An immersive six-channel video installation addressing climate change, human communities and the wilderness. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Jan)
Barbican Centre
Celebrate the golden era of toys and games, made in the borough by famous names such as Spears Games and Lesney Matchbox and played with by generations of local children. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Jan)
Enfield Museum
An exhibition that looks at how policy and development help support Londoners to live and work across a multi-centred city. (Ending Soon Thu, 11th Jan)
The Building Centre
Comprising of over 200 objects, this exhibition considers the role of graphic design in constructing and communicating healthcare messages. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Jan)
Wellcome Collection
This exhibition explores the story of the Scythians – nomadic tribes and masters of mounted warfare, who flourished between 900 and 200 BC. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Jan)
The British Museum
Discover the forgotten history of the world's oldest continuously serving police force - the Thames River Police. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Jan)
Museum of London Docklands
This exhibition remembers the centenary of this battle and the massive medical and human impact of the wounds sustained during and beyond WW1. (Ending Soon Mon, 15th Jan)
Science Museum
This exhibition celebrates outstanding women in medicine, past and present. (Ending Soon Fri, 19th Jan)
Royal College of Physicians Museum
Free
(Un) Common Currency
Display exploring alternative currencies past and present – from 17th century trade tokens to today’s Brixton Pound. (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Jan)
Museum of London
The first major exhibition of production designs by celebrated political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Jan)
House of Illustration
An exhibition of portraits of service staff from the fashionable hotels and restaurants of Paris in the 1920s (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Jan)
The Courtauld Gallery
The first large-scale exhibition in the UK of the work of American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Jan)
Barbican Centre
The annual Beazley Designs of the Year exhibition returns, providing a snapshot of the very best in innovative design from the past year. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Jan)
The Design Museum
£15.50
Tove Jansson (1914-2001)
An exhibition showing off the wide range of works by an artist more famous for inventing the Moomins. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Jan)
Dulwich Picture Gallery
This exhibition uses art, archaeology, and modern material culture to explore how seduction, sensuality, and sex have been represented through time. (Ending Soon Tue, 30th Jan)
A.G. Leventis Gallery
A new temporary exhibition at The Wiener Library exploring the topic of Nazi occupation in the Channel Islands (Ending Soon Fri, 9th Feb)
Wiener Library
Fifty new drawings of contemporary buildings – constructed during the second half of the 20th century but in an ostensibly 'Georgian' style - will be on display for the first time. (Ending Soon Sun, 11th Feb)
Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
The major exhibition brings together over 50 of Cézanne’s portraits from collections across the world, many visiting the UK for the first time. (Ending Soon Sun, 11th Feb)
National Portrait Gallery
Free
Art of Recovery
A temporary exhibition showcasing sculptures created by wounded, sick and injured service personnel and their families. (Ending Soon Fri, 23rd Feb)
Bethlem Museum of the Mind
Discover Jon Snow's unique and colourful collection of ties crafted by the UK's last silk-weaving factory. (Ending Soon Sun, 25th Feb)
The Design Museum
Explore the secrets behind Michael’s storytelling through his original drafts, adaptations, scripts and unpublished manuscripts. (Ending Soon Sun, 25th Feb)
V&A Museum of Childhood
The exhibition explores Starley’s developments, still reflected in bicycles today, and celebrates his legacy. (Ending Soon Sun, 25th Feb)
Vestry House Museum
Together the V&A and the Royal Opera House present a landmark exhibition exploring the vivid story of opera from its origins in late-Renaissance Italy to the present day (Ending Soon Sun, 25th Feb)
Victoria and Albert Museum
The exhibition showcases a display of wizarding books, manuscripts and magical objects. (Ending Soon Wed, 28th Feb)
The British Library
An exhibition dedicated to Cornwall’s most magical Museum. (Ending Soon Wed, 28th Feb)
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities
£11.50
Whales: Beneath the surface
More than 100 specimens from the Museum's collection will be on display together for the first time, (Ending Soon Wed, 28th Feb)
Natural History Museum
The nursing workforce is diverse, with healthcare workers representing a huge variety of backgrounds and experiences. This exhibition celebrates the contributions of some of the people whose work and lives have too often been overlooked. (Ending Soon Sat, 10th Mar)
Royal College of Nursing Library & Heritage Centre
A display of rarely-seen records, players and recorders, exploring how technology has transformed our listening experience. (Ending Soon Sun, 11th Mar)
The British Library
Free
The People's Forest
A major new contemporary visual art project which explores the history, politics, and people of London’s ancient woodland, Epping Forest. (Ending Soon Sun, 18th Mar)
Barbican Centre
This display looks at the changing roles of currency and exchange in communist states in the century since the 1917 Russian Revolution. (Ending Soon Sun, 18th Mar)
The British Museum
Explore the history behind the creation of the open spaces, gardens, and conservatory that are found across the Barbican Estate and Arts Centre. (Ending Soon Tue, 20th Mar)
Barbican Centre
Take a journey through the remarkable history of Indian innovation and discovery. (Ending Soon Sat, 31st Mar)
Science Museum
An ambitious survey of the technological and artistic development of photography in India. (Ending Soon Sat, 31st Mar)
Science Museum
Dive into the unknown story of London’s lost canals created from the 1680s to the 1830s. (Ending Soon Sat, 31st Mar)
Canal Museum
£8
Nature Morte
Explore the transience of time and the problem of mortality as the 16th-century tradition of still life meets modern art. (Ending Soon Mon, 2nd Apr)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
Discover how van Eyck’s 'Arnolfini Portrait' was one of the beacons by which the Pre-Raphaelites forged a radical new style of painting (Ending Soon Mon, 2nd Apr)
The National Gallery
This exhibition includes objects of belief from societies around the world and through time. (Ending Soon Sun, 8th Apr)
The British Museum
£8.50
Designs On Britain
Discover how much of the most iconic British design was produced by immigrants to this country. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th Apr)
Jewish Museum London
An exhibition revealing the story behind the Museum’s most treasured possession. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th Apr)
Sir John Soane's Museum
A new exhibition surveying the variety of postcards from all periods relating to Fulham Palace and exploring what they reveal about its history. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th Apr)
Fulham Palace
Free
Imagined Futures
Consider speculative London futures as depicted in fiction past and present. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th Apr)
Museum of London
A rare opportunity to see stunning paintings, pastels, and drawings by leading French Impressionist Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas. (Ending Soon Mon, 7th May)
The National Gallery
The UK’s first major exhibition of artists’ responses to war and conflict since the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. (Ending Soon Mon, 28th May)
Imperial War Museum
A display of more than 200 original illustrations of the nature of the British Isles. (Ending Soon Fri, 2nd Nov)
Natural History Museum