The ianVisits guide to January's unusual events, tours, lectures and exhibitions happening around London.
Monday 1st January
Explore the Deptford Creek with experts and find out about the local and natural history of this amazing urban space.
10:30am to 12:30pm
Deptford
£15.00
This is the first opportunity in two years for people to marvel at the working steam engines that provided water to millions and helped make London the city it is today.
11am to 5pm
Brentford
More than 8,000 performers, representing 20 nations, will fill the West End with culture, colour, entertainment, and music.
Starts at 12pm
More London events on Monday 1st January
Tuesday 2nd January
£1.00
A talk about the history of the Southbank area of London by the author of a book on the same.
7:30pm to 9:30pm
Streatham
More London events on Tuesday 2nd January
Wednesday 3rd January
No events are listed for today. Sorry.
More London events on Wednesday 3rd January
Thursday 4th January
Online events / webinars
This talk will highlight some of the specific problems of folk horror, while also distinguishing between folk horror as a genre
8pm to 9:30pm
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Friday 5th January
Dr Fabio Simonetti examines the interactions between the British Army and the Italian people during the Second World War invasion of Sicily.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
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Saturday 6th January
Free
Music and merriment will be had as we welcome in 2024 and mark the end of Christmastime.
10am to 3pm
Croydon
Suitable even for complete beginners, in this workshop you will learn how Japanese characters were developed, discover different styles of writing, and be guided in the techniques for writing Japanese with a brush.
Starts at 11am
Camden
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Sunday 7th January
An annual collective celebration of the New Year held in the Bankside area, mixing ancient Midwinter seasonal customs and contemporary festivity.
Starts at 2pm
Southwark
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Monday 8th January
Online events / webinars
Brace yourself, for you're about to embark on a chilling journey through the ancient realm of Sámi ghost stories
8pm to 9pm
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Tuesday 9th January
This lecture will demystify the AI technological revolution and explore “why now?” and how to ensure AI is deployed safely and meaningfully.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
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Wednesday 10th January
We are the only human species on the planet today. But for most of our history we have not been alone.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
Palaeontologist and author, Professor Steve Brusatte, will explore the 250-million-year story of the dinosaur two centuries after the first species were discovered and named in England.
6:30pm to 8pm
South Kensington
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Thursday 11th January
The fair features some forty distinguished specialist exhibitors, drawn primarily from BADA and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers.
11am to 8pm
Mayfair
On the first Thursday of the month, Holborn's Novelty Automation has a bar in the store for their late-night opening.
6pm to 9pm
Holborn
This lecture explores ancient Greek aspirations to justice - and how they fell short - as a call for recurrent interrogation of the terms governing power and vulnerability.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
Online events / webinars
Please join Amy Slonaker for an illustrated lecture on the Surrealist themes in the comic book art of Alejandro Jodorowsky.
8pm to 9:30pm
More London events on Thursday 11th January
Friday 12th January
The fair features some forty distinguished specialist exhibitors, drawn primarily from BADA and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers.
11am to 6pm
Mayfair
Professor Michael Roper explores what it was like for the post-war generation to grow up surrounded by the memory and legacies of the First World War.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
Free
See a horse's skull paraded around the local streets by the local Welsh community.
Starts at 6:30pm
Farringdon
Online events / webinars
Drawing on notable examples from within our collection, this talk will explore the changes in this historic form of data collection over the centuries.
2pm to 3pm
Step into the eerie realm of this lecture, where they'll unravel the unsettling phenomenon of Killer Clowns that have haunted and captivated popular culture.
9pm to 10:30pm
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Saturday 13th January
Kirkaldy's Testing Works preserves Kirkaldy's unique Universal Testing Machine - the huge hydraulic powered machine he designed and had built in Leeds - in full working order in the premises he built to house it.
10:30am to 12pm
Southwark
The fair features some forty distinguished specialist exhibitors, drawn primarily from BADA and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers.
11am to 6pm
Mayfair
Free
Join Gavin Francis, author and GP, in conversation with Michael Rosen, one of the UK’s best-known children’s authors, to find out why they think Britain’s health service is worth saving.
3pm to 4:30pm
Camden
Launching the 2024 Programme in true Ri explosive style, posing the question: What truly defines this thing called Science?
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
Online events / webinars
Join Lead Curator Dr Alexandra Green and Project Curator Dr Mizuho Ikeda as they give an introduction to Myanmar, present new research and explore approaches to decolonising museums and their collections.
10am to 3:30pm
More London events on Saturday 13th January
Sunday 14th January
The collection includes instruments by Gavioli, Marenghi, Hooghuys, Wilhelm Bruder Söhne and Gebr.Weber.
11am to 5pm
Amersham
The fair features some forty distinguished specialist exhibitors, drawn primarily from BADA and LAPADA The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers.
11am to 5pm
Mayfair
Free
Join them for strolling, singing, tree libations, fine company and a perhaps a mulled beverage.
12pm to 3pm
Clapton
Processions from either side of London Bridge will meet in the middle for a ceremonial blessing of the river for the year ahead.
Starts at 12pm
Southwark
Annual celebration for the apple trees in Greenwich's Pleasaunce park.
1pm to 2:30pm
Greenwich
Come and wassail the oldest apple orchard in Waltham Forest.
5pm to 10pm
Tottenham
More London events on Sunday 14th January
Monday 15th January
Roughly once a month, there is a guided tour of the unique and historic Stationers' Hall in the City of London.
11am to 12:30pm
City of London
Iván Werning will discuss how old insights extended with new frameworks can be used to shed light on the recent surge in inflation.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
More London events on Monday 15th January
Tuesday 16th January
Free
No playwright has been subject to as much interpretation as Shakespeare, and it is said that every age recreates him in its own image.
2pm to 3pm
City of London
Discover how satellites can combat climate change with the National Physical Laboratory
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
Monica Macias in conversation with Becky Branford about her remarkable memoir, the extraordinary true story of a West African girl’s upbringing in North Korea under the guardianship of President Kim Il Sung.
7pm to 8pm
Richmond
Online events / webinars
During the panel discussion, experts will delve into how the war has metamorphosed Ukraine and Russia since the February 2022 escalation, examining its impact on the immediate region and the broader global order.
3pm to 4pm
More London events on Tuesday 16th January
Wednesday 17th January
This lecture will take a break from global climate policy to talk about the links between climate and weather
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
Hardeep Matharu, Editor at Byline Times, and Joe Twyman, director at Deltapool discuss cancel culture and the culture war.
6:30pm to 8pm
Lewisham
In his new book The Inequality of Wealth: why it matters and how to fix it, former Treasury Minister, Liam Byrne, explains the fast-accelerating inequality of wealth.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
On Wednesday 17th January 2024 two Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) events will be conducted in Blackwall Reach.
7pm to 11pm
Greenwich
Rebecca Lewin, Senior Curator at the Design Museum, will discuss the development of the exhibition, from discovering Björk’s infamous swan dress to researching club posters from the 90s.
7pm to 8pm
Dulwich
More London events on Wednesday 17th January
Thursday 18th January
Grand sale of artworks, magazines, posters, vintage & modern clothes, books, and much more from the collected archives of The Horse Hospital and The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection
5pm to 10pm
Clerkenwell
In this talk moderated by Simon Baker, Photographer Arai Takashi will discuss his interdisciplinary approach to nuclear issues utilising the uncertainty of the daguerreotype, one of the earliest photographic techniques
6pm to 7pm
Camden
This lecture presents the rich history of musicians’ engagement with pitch.
6pm to 7pm
Clerkenwell
£14.70
Stanley Donwood and Dan Richards will discuss, in a rambling and discursive manner, some ways in which letterpress printing might be used in ways which may horrify printers.
6:45pm to 8:30pm
City of London
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Friday 19th January
Professor Kate McLoughlin traces the stories of soldiers’ homecomings from antiquity to the present day.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
Grand sale of artworks, magazines, posters, vintage & modern clothes, books, and much more from the collected archives of The Horse Hospital and The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection
12pm to 6pm
Clerkenwell
Online events / webinars
Join Jon Dear to learn about the history of Dracula and vampires on the small screen. Enter freely and of your own free will!
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Friday 19th January
Saturday 20th January
Join us at Southwark Cathedral for this day of talks about the Six Wives of Henry VIII
10am to 5pm
Southwark
Grand sale of artworks, magazines, posters, vintage & modern clothes, books, and much more from the collected archives of The Horse Hospital and The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection
12pm to 6pm
Clerkenwell
London Wildlife Trust welcome the local community to awaken the apple trees to ensure a good harvest of fruit in autumn in a traditional Wassailing event.
12pm to 3pm
Dulwich
£10.00
A special matinee screening of Jessica Edward’s pioneering documentary SKATE DREAMS followed by a conversation with Skate GB’s rising star Lilly Strachan and 1970s skate legend Thea Cutts.
2pm to 4pm
Kensington
Anu Ojha OBE, Director for Championing Space at the UK Space Agency, will guide us through the future evolution of space exploration.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
More London events on Saturday 20th January
Sunday 21st January
Grand sale of artworks, magazines, posters, vintage & modern clothes, books, and much more from the collected archives of The Horse Hospital and The Contemporary Wardrobe Collection
12pm to 6pm
Clerkenwell
A screening of the 1966 Riverside-filmed final episode from the classic The Celestial Toymaker.
1pm to 7pm
Hammersmith
Online events / webinars
This first session introduces the alchemical nekyia—a narrative journey evoking the archetypal iconography of underworld
First Series: Origins to the Renaissance
I: Alchemy in Antiquity: The C
8pm to 9:30pm
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Monday 22nd January
Hear Nick’s tale from when he bought a set of 87 magic lantern slides with little idea of who was in them and where they were taken.
2:30pm to 3:45pm
South Kensington
Dive into the mysteries of the deep with Schmidt Ocean Institute.
7pm to 8:30pm
Hanover Square
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Tuesday 23rd January
Using lung cancer as a case study, this lecture will explore the transformative impact of genomics on personalised cancer treatment.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
In this lecture Manuel Pastor, joined by T.O. Molefe, will discuss his newest book Solidarity Economics: why mutuality and movements matter.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Explore the rich history of London's South Bank in this guided tour through its most fascinating historic and modern buildings.
7pm to 8:30pm
Soho
Online events / webinars
An account of being a volunteer ambulance driver in the Second World War, and the wider volunteer force in London during the Blitz.
2pm to 3pm
More London events on Tuesday 23rd January
Wednesday 24th January
Free
Late opening of Christie's auction house celebrating Mark Knopfler’s legendary guitar collection prior to its sale.
5pm to 10pm
St James
Join Mark Freeman for this Professorial Lecture as he considers the nature and ‘uses’ of history through his work on historical pageants in modern Britain, local history, and the history of adult education.
6pm to 8pm
Euston
This lecture also considers the prospects of discovering more unusual objects in the Solar System, and what we might do about asteroids that threaten the Earth.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
Jon and Robert will explore the history of the 1991 War Crimes Act and how and why it failed to deliver convictions to many of the perpetrators of the Holocaust.
6:30pm to 8:30pm
Southwark
£15.00
Former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman discusses his experiences of growing up in London during the Second World War.
Starts at 6:30pm
Chelsea
Southwark Cathedral would like to invite all amateur and professional photographers to spend an evening taking photos of the Cathedral.
7pm to 8:30pm
Southwark
Online events / webinars
Unchartered waters: the end of the typing pool, the desktop computer revolution and women’s office work in 1980s and 1990s Britain
5:30pm to 7pm
Join Roger Moorhouse in conversation about the forgotten story of the Holocaust's most audacious rescue operation.
7:30pm to 8:30pm
More London events on Wednesday 24th January
Thursday 25th January
A talk about the professionalisation of pharmacy, the move from herbal to more chemical products and to the start of the pharmaceutical industry.
6pm to 8:30pm
Southwark
This lecture will look at when humans first created art and at the dawn of satire.
6pm to 7pm
Holborn
£20.00
Step through the gates of the Charterhouse in the early evening after work and discover a different world hidden behind the ancient walls.
6:30pm to 8pm
Clerkenwell
A talk about Frank Matcham, the most prolific theatre architect of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Starts at 7:30pm
Highgate
Online events / webinars
John Clark investigates the significance of the two figures of giants, known as Gog and Magog, that stand in London's medieval Guildhall.
7:30pm to 9pm
More London events on Thursday 25th January
Friday 26th January
Join Rosie Serdiville as she explores the fate of 5,000 Scottish prisoners following the Battle of Dunbar in 1650.
12pm to 1pm
Chelsea
Free
World-renowned art collective Guerrilla Girls will take over the Late at Tate Modern for a special evening of music, workshops, film and artist talks.
6pm to 10pm
Southwark
£19.00
An expert panel sets out the key issues that Britain's next government will need to address if it is to bring about needed change to public housing.
Starts at 7pm
Barbican
Join philosopher and cognitive scientist Andy Clark as he unveils a ground-breaking theory.
7:20pm to 8:45pm
Hanover Square
Online events / webinars
Learn about the difficulties faced by the poor in England and Wales when dealing with a central poor law authority
2pm to 3pm
More London events on Friday 26th January
Saturday 27th January
Free
An animatronic elephant will be parading around Bankside this weekend as part of the Bankside Frost Fair
12pm to 4:30pm
Southwark
More London events on Saturday 27th January
Sunday 28th January
An annual march down The Mall to commemorate the execution of King Charles I will take place this morning.
11am to 1pm
Whitehall
Free
An animatronic elephant will be parading around Bankside this weekend as part of the Bankside Frost Fair
12pm to 4:30pm
Southwark
Laugh away the winter blues with silent comedies accompanied by the Wurlitzer Theatre Organ
2:30pm to 5pm
Brentford
More London events on Sunday 28th January
Monday 29th January
Brian Klaas will explore how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and random events.
6:30pm to 8pm
Holborn
Online events / webinars
This lecture introduces the original sources describing this beloved divinity, and explores how the image of her in contemporary culture
8pm to 9:30pm
More London events on Monday 29th January
Tuesday 30th January
Join our guided tour of Oxford House's listed Victorian building. Peek into our archives, visit our 'secret chapel' and take in 360°degree views of East London on our spectacular rooftop.
12pm to 1pm
Bethnal Green
Every month at Frameless, in partnership with ArtscapesUK, they will be delving deeper into the stories behind the art.
12:30pm to 2pm
Marylebone
We will discuss several examples and the related mathematics.
1pm to 2pm
Holborn
Expect a variety-show style event featuring staff and student alike packed with music, theatre, gameshows and more
6pm to 6pm
Euston
Richard C McNeff deciphers Crowley’s espionage career and takes a wider look at his role as an influencer, with some very surprising followers.
7:45pm to 9:30pm
Whitechapel
More London events on Tuesday 30th January
Wednesday 31st January
A talk about a project to conserve the mausoleum of Sir Joseph Bazalgette in Wimbledon.
8pm to 9pm
Wimbledon
Online events / webinars
Find out what young people in the first children’s hospitals thought about their experiences of care.
5:30pm to 6:30pm
