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, 2nd February 2024?
Displayed in date order by how soon they close.
Documentary photography from the 70s and 80s (Ending Soon Fri, 4th Feb)
Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
An exhibition to celebrate the life and work of renowned performance artist Leigh Bowery. (Ending Soon Sun, 6th Feb)
Fitzrovia Chapel
£0
Shilpa Gupta
The first major London exhibition by Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta highlights the fragility of one’s right to expression whilst raising urgent questions of censorship, confinement and resistance. (Ending Soon Sun, 6th Feb)
Barbican Centre
Free
Our Future Planet
An exhibition that offers a first look at the technologies being developed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. (Ending Soon Thu, 10th Feb)
Science Museum
An exhibition detailing Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s work and legacy, coinciding with a long-awaited reissue of their influential 1979 album, The Bridge. (Ending Soon Thu, 10th Feb)
The Horse Hospital
Photographic exhibition of Londoners and Berliners during the pandemic, documenting their reality. (Ending Soon Fri, 11th Feb)
99 Bishopsgate
£21
Late Constable
One of Britain’s best-loved artists had a radical side. In this exhibition, discover the free and expressive brushwork that came to define Constable’s late career. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Feb)
Royal Academy of Arts
Light Years is a special four-part exhibition series in celebration of TPG’s 50th anniversary. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Feb)
The Photographers' Gallery
£7.70
Soane Restored
Soane Restored reveals the fascinating story of how Pitzhanger – special as an almost intact example of Sir John Soane’s work – was returned to its original vision. (Ending Soon Fri, 18th Feb)
Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery
Step back into a dangerous world of plots, espionage and treachery to explore the turbulent relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots in their own words. (Ending Soon Sun, 20th Feb)
The British Library
Step into the vibrant world of Peru and discover how people have thrived for millennia in one of the most complex and challenging environments on the planet. (Ending Soon Sun, 20th Feb)
The British Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum hosts an exhibition of shortlisted and winning entries from The Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 and 2021. (Ending Soon Sun, 20th Feb)
Sir John Soane's Museum
Discover how new design ideas are redefining our world and explore major new exhibits that capture the devasting impact of waste including a large-scale installation by Ibrahim Mahama. (Ending Soon Mon, 21st Feb)
The Design Museum
Free
Joy
Explore the diversity of euphoric experiences and the effect of positive emotion on the body. (Ending Soon Wed, 23rd Feb)
Wellcome Collection
Free
London Making Now
London is and always has been a city of makers. Explore their stories in this display. (Ending Soon Thu, 24th Feb)
Museum of London
An exhibition about the eighteenth-century foundling and sailor George King, whose first-hand account of the battle is being shown for the first time. (Ending Soon Sun, 27th Feb)
Foundling Museum
The opening display will feature highlights from The Courtauld’s remarkable collection of British drawings and watercolours. (Ending Soon Sun, 27th Feb)
Courtauld Institute of Art
£10
Amazônia
This exhibition offers an exclusive opportunity to get inside the mind of this great photographer and see nature and humanity in dialogue. (Ending Soon Sun, 27th Feb)
Science Museum
A collection of work exploring artists’ responses to the Battle of Britain and the Blitz as they represented evolving machinery, communications, and urban landscapes, shaped by what was an unprecedented ‘war in the air’. (Ending Soon Sun, 27th Feb)
RAF Museum
An experimental site-specific exhibition of new work by young British artist, Jonny Briggs. (Ending Soon Sun, 6th Mar)
Burgh House and Hampstead Museum
explores fabulous and rare examples from the mid-1960s era-defining stores and designers. (Ending Soon Sat, 12th Mar)
Fashion and Textile Museum
Comprising over 20 paintings, most made over the last 18 months, as well as hand-painted ceramics and a new group of posters, it explores Katz’s long-standing relationship to questions of identity and expression, selfhood and voice. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Mar)
Camden Art Centre
This exhibition explores the characters, events, places and personal tales of triumph and tragedy that inspired and shaped the novel that made Charles Dickens a household name across the world. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Mar)
Charles Dickens Museum
Showcasing previously unseen material from Paul McCartney’s personal archive, this display celebrates the life and art of one of the world’s most successful songwriters and performers. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Mar)
The British Library
An exhibition of new images by Himali Singh Soin with historian of science Alexis Rider inspired by the collection of Sir Richard Burton. (Ending Soon Sun, 13th Mar)
Orleans House Gallery
How William Hogarth and artists across Europe captured the new modernity of the 18th century (Ending Soon Sun, 20th Mar)
Tate Britain
This exhibition follows the pioneering Russian scholar of Ismaili studies, Wladimir Ivanow (1886 – 1970) across the Muslim world. (Ending Soon Thu, 31st Mar)
The Aga Khan Centre
This exhibition combines photographs taken by Shirley Baker of dogs in everyday settings, as well as at dog shows, providing an insight to her affection and admiration for man’s best friend. (Ending Soon Fri, 1st Apr)
The Kennel Club
America in Crisis brings together 40 leading American photographers and over 120 works exploring social change in the U.S from the 1960s till today. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Apr)
Saatchi Gallery
A landmark group exhibition spanning a whole ocean and half a century (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Apr)
Tate Britain
A display exploring the central role food plays in Black enterprise and identity in South East London. (Ending Soon Sat, 9th Apr)
Museum of London Docklands
£14.50
Amy: Beyond the Stage
Celebrate the legacy and creativity of one of the greatest musicians of our time, Amy Winehouse. (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Apr)
The Design Museum
Explore how windows take on cultural significance and surprisingly shape all our views on the world in an exhibition by the Tokyo-based Window Research Institute. (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Apr)
Japan House
Animal Therapy: The Cats of Louis Wain reintroduces the public to the resplendent work of this lately overlooked figure. (Ending Soon Wed, 13th Apr)
Bethlem Museum of the Mind
The exhibition features more than 70 European fans incorporating both handmade and machine lace leaves dating from the 18th century to present day. (Ending Soon Sat, 16th Apr)
Fan Museum
£24.50
Francis Bacon: Man and Beast
Explore Francis Bacon’s visceral paintings, where the line between human and animal is constantly blurred, reminding us that our primal instincts lie just below the surface. (Ending Soon Sun, 17th Apr)
Royal Academy of Arts
The first major UK exhibition of woodcuts by leading Abstract Expressionist, Helen Frankenthaler. (Ending Soon Sun, 17th Apr)
Dulwich Picture Gallery
Described as an "interactive experience", this exhibition showcases unseen Marley photographs and memorabilia with a focus on his lifestyle, passions, influences, and legacy. (Ending Soon Mon, 18th Apr)
Saatchi Gallery
Free
Kehinde Wiley
Kehinde Wiley is an American artist best known for his portraits that render people of colour in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings. (Ending Soon Mon, 18th Apr)
National Gallery
£8
Beethoven
Against the backdrop of war and revolution raging in Europe and the United States, a young man grew up in Bonn inspired by the ideals of freedom, and went on to compose some of the greatest works of music ever written. (Ending Soon Sun, 24th Apr)
The British Library
Free
Body Vessel Clay
For their 10th annual exhibition, Two Temple Place will showcase the ceramic medium through artworks by three generations of Black women artists working in clay. (Ending Soon Sun, 24th Apr)
Two Temple Place
£8.50
Dredd @45
8 original artworks by different artists and eras are displayed in our In Focus space in the museum’s main gallery. (Ending Soon Sun, 24th Apr)
Cartoon Museum
Discover the close-knit world of the Georgian music industry, where not what you knew, but who you knew, was of greatest importance. (Ending Soon Sun, 1st May)
Foundling Museum
Free
Brothers in Arms
Follow the story of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, an elite British tank regiment whose men fought their way across North-West Europe in the final stages of the Second World War. (Ending Soon Fri, 6th May)
National Army Museum
This exhibition explores master goldsmith, Carl Fabergé – who symbolised Russian craftsmanship, luxury and elegance – and the Anglo-Russian relationship which saw the opening of a London branch in 1903. (Ending Soon Sun, 8th May)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Featuring highlights from the museum's manuscripts collection, this exhibition explores the types of books illuminations came from and the 19th-century context in which they were cut up and collected. (Ending Soon Sun, 8th May)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Free
London: Port City
This exhibition will trace more than 200 years of extraordinary experiences and intense activity on a river that has always been essential to the city’s survival. (Ending Soon Sun, 8th May)
Museum of London Docklands
A once-in-a-century opportunity to see this iconic painting in the UK. (Ending Soon Sun, 15th May)
National Gallery
Free
True is The Dream
The exhibition explores the photography of Derek D’Souza, who has captured glimpses of one of Britain’s most revered groups - and frontman Paul Weller - over 4 decades. (Ending Soon Mon, 16th May)
Barbican Arts Centre
Sweet Harmony looks at a significant five-year period in UK dance music history and the previously undocumented contribution that young people living and working in the London Borough of Waltham Forest made to it. (Ending Soon Wed, 25th May)
Vestry House Museum
Step back through millennia and discover how this ancient civilization questioned, contemplated, and debated the natural world. (Ending Soon Sun, 5th Jun)
Science Museum
£14
Freud and China
This exhibition explores Sigmund Freud's fascination and relationship with China. (Ending Soon Sun, 5th Jun)
Freud Museum
Gaze through the lens of some of the world's best wildlife photographers and marvel at the beauty of our planet. (Ending Soon Sun, 5th Jun)
Natural History Museum
£16
Lubaina Himid
Tate Modern presents Himid’s largest solo exhibition to date, incorporating new paintings and significant highlights from across her remarkable career. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Jul)
Tate Modern
Explore the 100-year history of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Aug)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Life in a cup presents a fascinating beverage story and explores the traditions that make coffee a way of life in parts of the Islamic world. (Ending Soon Sun, 18th Sep)
The British Museum
An immersive exhibition exploring the latest cancer research taking place at the Crick - Europe’s largest biomedical research institute under one roof. (Ending Soon Sat, 3rd Dec)
The Francis Crick Institute
An exhibition exploring the Elstree Extension through the Northern Heights that was suspended during World War 2, and never restarted. (Ending Soon Sat, 31st Dec)
Elstree and Borehamwood Museum
Visit an 'abandoned' Tube station underworld and discover what secrets lurk beneath our busy streets in this Hidden London exhibition. (Ending Soon Mon, 31st Jul)
London Transport Museum