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, 23rd February 2024?
Displayed in date order by how soon they close.
£14
24/7
An exhibition exploring the non-stop nature of modern lives.
(Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
Somerset House
This small display considers the historical creation of single-use and repurposed objects and presents an artistic response to plastic waste washing up in Pacific islands. (Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
The British Museum
Discover how architects, artists and designers are responding today to some of the most urgent ecological issues of our times. (Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
Royal Academy of Arts
See how fairies and elves have been imagined from the early Victorian period to the 1970s. (Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
Heath Robinson Museum
£18
Moving to Mars
The exhibition features immersive environments, about 200 objects about a future live on Mars. (Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
The Design Museum
This exhibition showcases often unseen and recently acquired items to tell the history of the Child family of bankers and their rise to fame and fortune. (Ending Soon Sun, 23rd Feb)
Osterley Park and House
£14
Buddhism
Explore the origins, philosophy and contemporary relevance of Buddhism, from its beginnings in India in the 6th century BC to having 1 billion followers worldwide today (Ending Soon Tue, 25th Feb)
The British Library
Free
Data Dating
An exhibition about the modern model of dating -- online and smartphones. (Ending Soon Sun, 1st Mar)
Watermans Art Centre
A family-friendly exhibition bringing together young rebels from children’s literature (Ending Soon Sun, 1st Mar)
The British Library
£20
Lightopia
A lit up garden display in Chiswick. (Ending Soon Sun, 1st Mar)
Chiswick House and Gardens
The infographics created by sociologist and activist W.E.B. Du Bois in 1900 were a remarkable development in data visualisation and a direct challenge to institutional racism. (Ending Soon Sun, 1st Mar)
House of Illustration
From Botticelli to Michelangelo, the exhibition reveals how Bomberg’s rebellious, youthful works drew inspiration from the paintings he most admired in the Gallery. (Ending Soon Sun, 1st Mar)
The National Gallery
From Helen of Troy’s abduction to the deception of the Trojan Horse and the fall of the city, tread the line between myth and reality in this exhibition. (Ending Soon Thu, 5th Mar)
The British Museum
Exhibition of linocuts mostly of London Underground stations by Gail Brodholt (Ending Soon Sun, 8th Mar)
Eames Fine Art Gallery
£13.75
Orchids
The orchid festival is back, celebrating the magnificent biodiversity of Indonesia, the land of 17,000 islands. (Ending Soon Sun, 8th Mar)
Kew Gardens
Free
Play Well
Why do we play? How important is it for all of us, young or old? What does it mean to play well? (Ending Soon Sun, 8th Mar)
Wellcome Collection
Free
Hot Moment
An exhibition of photographic representations that emerge from the threshold of dyke intimacy and public life in the 1980s and 90s. (Ending Soon Sat, 14th Mar)
Auto Italia
Robin’s works are views on life, in which toys and object we take for granted appear as characters and props in scenes that are simultaneously natural and ludicrous – like life itself perhaps. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th Mar)
Orleans House Gallery
Exploring the fascinating world of mushrooms, in an exhibition from curator and writer, Francesca Gavin. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Somerset House
£13
Steve McQueen
Tate Modern presents the first major exhibition of Steve McQueen’s artwork in the UK for 20 years (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Tate Modern
An exhibition about the man, the Christmas he created, and how he fell out of love with the season he helped to create. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Charles Dickens Museum
This is the first time that Tate has staged a show devoted to the later 17th century and the first to explore baroque art in Britain. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Tate Britain
As we approach another major turning point in automotive design, this exhibition looks at the role of the car in shaping the world we live in today. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Victoria and Albert Museum
This exhibition visits each stage of the production process; from design to construction, sourcing and alterations, to dressing, repairs and laundering. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
The National Theatre
Intrinsically bound to German identity and the upheaval that followed the First World War, Notgeld is a fascinating microcosm of public feeling in post-war Germany. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
The British Museum
This exhibition shines a spotlight on the subject we’d all rather avoid, from ancient societies to modern day medicine. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
The Octagon Gallery
An immersive installation by contemporary American artist Darren Waterston, presenting a detailed reimagining of James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s famed Peacock Room. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Victoria and Albert Museum
This is the first UK exhibition of works by Indian master painters commissioned by East India Company officials in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Wallace Collection
The first ever retrospective of the Polish-Jewish émigré who brought European modernist aesthetics to British graphic design. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
House of Illustration
£13.50
George IV: Art & Spectacle
This exhibition presents George IV's life through the art that enriched his world. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
The Queen's Gallery
Free
Heritage display
A small heritage gallery in the basement of the Guildhall currently has three documents on display. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
Hidden London - The Exhibition takes people on an immersive journey of some of London’s most secret spaces belonging to the oldest subterranean railway in the world (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
London Transport Museum
The rich history of the Islington stretch of the Regents canal is revealed in this exhibition, including some of its industrial past and the memories of people who worked and lived by it. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Canal Museum
Free
Kara Walker
The Tate Modern hall is filled with a 13-metre tall working fountain inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace, London. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Tate Modern
This exhibition tells the story of the print industry across the 20th century, focussing on the east London boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Nunnery Gallery
A selection from a gift of nine ‘manner posters’ displayed across Tokyo’s Seibu Railway network between 2016 and 2019. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Victoria and Albert Museum
This display brings together a wide range of palaeoart, from nearly 200 years ago to the present day. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Natural History Museum
Alongside a select number of key paintings and sculptures, an exhibition reveals how paper allowed Picasso to push the boundaries of thought and practice. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Royal Academy of Arts
An exhibition exploring representations of the pregnant female body through portraits, over 500 years. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Foundling Museum
Free
Slices of Time
The complexity and delightful aesthetic fills space with cut out coloured paper to create a world where the essence of every carefully considered colour can be appreciated. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Now Gallery
This exhibition marks 50 years since the beginnings of two significant social movements in the UK: the first women’s liberation conference in Oxford and the first UK meeting of the Gay Liberation Front at LSE. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
LSE Library
Free
Space Frames
Glowing arches fill Granary Square at Kings Cross during the winter months. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Granary Square
Discover the creative process behind designing for performance, from costume to set design (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Victoria and Albert Museum
A display celebrating The Clash’s iconic London Calling – an album that rocked the music scene, serving as an anthem for London, Londoners and music lovers globally. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Museum of London
Explore one of the most audacious crimes of the 20th Century and the subsequent investigation, alongside other stories of crime through the post. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
The Postal Museum
A display exploring the unique and largely untold history, heritage and culture of the Krio people of Sierra Leone. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Museum of London Docklands
This exhibition reveals the architectural setting of swimming and bathing from Roman springs and Victorian bathhouses to contemporary swimming spaces. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Free
Tribute Ink
Explore the tattoos worn by members of the Armed Forces community and the powerful stories of identity, comradeship, bravery and sacrifice they represent. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
National Army Museum
Explore the contrasting worlds of Japan’s urban future and rural traditions in WOW’s new digital art installation. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Japan House
Japan House presents two installations by WOW looking at both the urban future and timelessness of rural Japan. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Japan House London
The fifty-fifth Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition will immerse you in the breathtaking diversity of the natural world. (Ending Soon Wed, 18th Mar)
Natural History Museum
An exhibition of superb images reproduced from the British Library’s collection of Japanese pattern books. (Ending Soon Sun, 17th May)
The British Library
Through the medium of film and photography, this major exhibition considers how masculinity has been coded, performed, and socially constructed from the 1960s to the present day. (Ending Soon Sun, 17th May)
Barbican Centre
On display will be fossil skeletons as well as full-size models and animatronics that bring the Permian back to life. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
Horniman Museum
This immersive experience charts their music, lyrics, creative process and influence as one of the most iconic pop bands of the modern age. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
O2 Arena / Millennium Dome
From ‘honey dew’ drinking parties to Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, discover Beatrix Potter’s response to the world of fairies and fairytales. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Free
Becket2020
See a collection of pilgrim badges that illustrate the extraordinary life of Thomas Becket. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
Museum of London
For the first time in over 40 years, the British Museum is showing a major display of its collection of French prints, one of the best collections of its kind in the world. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
The British Museum
This exhibition explores the ways in which, from the eighteenth century to the present day, our perception of the hero or heroine has evolved. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
The Fan Museum
Featuring over 35 paintings and drawings from collections across the world, the exhibition spans Maes’s whole career, spent in Dordrecht and Amsterdam. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
The National Gallery
£14
Spilliaert
This is the first monographic exhibition of Spilliaert’s work in the UK and will showcase some 90 works on paper. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
Royal Academy of Arts
Free
William Wordsworth
See original drafts of Wordsworth’s verse, his notebooks, correspondence and more. (Ending Soon Sat, 23rd May)
The British Library