Welcome to the IanVisits alternative guide to London.
Lectures, talks, heritage events, organised walks and other random geeky miscellany.
Displayed in date order by how soon they close.
An exhibition of 100 original works by Times' cartoonist Mel Calman, famous for his "little man" and witty one-liners, plus online auction and evening event at which his two daughters are interviewed by LIbby Purves. (Ending Soon Fri, 1st Mar)
Olympia Auctions
An exploration into the overlooked world of historical boy’s dress through a collector’s eye. (Ending Soon Sat, 2nd Mar)
Fashion and Textile Museum
This exhibition explores printed propaganda textiles over more than two centuries, from the French Revolution to Brexit. (Ending Soon Sat, 2nd Mar)
Fashion and Textile Museum
An autoethnographic exhibition by Roger K. Burton loosely centred around his design influences and inspiration of three seminal fashion shops PX and Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren Worlds End, Nostalgia of Mud (Ending Soon Sat, 2nd Mar)
Horse Hospital
For the first time in 250 years, this exhibition reunites the pastel masterpiece by Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Liotard, painted in Lyon in 1754, with the painted version in oil he completed in London almost 20 years later. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
National Gallery
An exhibition of vertical photographs of London architecture. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
Leica Gallery
Kew’s 28th Orchid festival draws inspiration from the unique flora and fauna of Madagascar, the world’s fourth largest island. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
Kew Gardens
Currently in its seventh year, The Architecture Drawing Prize continues to celebrate the art of drawing in three categories: hand-drawn, digital and hybrid. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
Sir John Soane's Museum
The forgotten story of the Indian Army camps at Hampton Court Palace (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
Hampton Court Palace
Free
The Way of All Flesh
The Way of All Flesh beckons visitors to contemplate the ephemeral nature of existence, to gaze into the mirror of mortality, and to recognise the universal embrace of life’s impermanence. (Ending Soon Sun, 3rd Mar)
Saatchi Gallery
An exhibition of five photographers who were born outside the UK but have been central to the development of photography in Britain over the last century. (Ending Soon Fri, 8th Mar)
Ben Uri Gallery
Free
Everyday Monuments
Everyday Monuments showcases works by three emerging UK artists – Catriona Robertson, Jacob Talkowski and Alaric Hammond. (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Mar)
Saatchi Gallery
The first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of French couturière, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, charting the establishment of the House of CHANEL and the evolution of her iconic design style. (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Mar)
Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum
An exhibition of 70 works on paper by leading Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Mar)
Royal Academy of Arts
Discover an overlooked Renaissance great in the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Francesco Pesellino (c.1422–1457). (Ending Soon Sun, 10th Mar)
National Gallery
‘Charles Holden’s Master Plan’ celebrates the architect’s vision of what a modern university could be through displays of detailed architectural models, archival documents, photo albums, and other mixed media. (Ending Soon Fri, 15th Mar)
Senate House
An exhibition of text and film work by Douglas Gordon. (Ending Soon Fri, 15th Mar)
Gagosian Gallery
Free
Elysian Arcs
Elysian Arcs is a free outdoor immersive light and sound installation created by award-winning design studio, Atelier Sisu. (Ending Soon Fri, 15th Mar)
The Leadenhall Building
Free
Isolation Portraits
Isolation Portraits is a collection of photographs by Chris Pig.
(Ending Soon Fri, 15th Mar)
Gallery 1885, at the Camera Club
Two exhibitions at the Brunei Gallery in SOAS about African architecture, and reflections on global democracy. (Ending Soon Sat, 16th Mar)
Brunei Gallery, SOAS
This exhibition at the National Gallery presents models of the shortlisted artworks for the next two commissions in 2026 and 2028. (Ending Soon Sun, 17th Mar)
National Gallery
An exhibition of photographs by Kevin Davies, capturing David Bowie over the course of a single day in 1992. (Ending Soon Wed, 20th Mar)
Fitzrovia Chapel
Brought together again after five decades, a series of landscapes by the Scots-Irish artist William Crozier (1930-2011) are on display, showcasing why he became one of the leading artists of the post-war generation. (Ending Soon Fri, 22nd Mar)
Piano Nobile
This exhibition displays her vivid and detailed illustrations, as well as the wooden ‘Pomona’ toys she created with fellow artist and suffragette campaigner Louise Jacobs. (Ending Soon Sun, 24th Mar)
Heath Robinson Museum
This free exhibition showcases the work of the 12 emerging designers from across the UK who have been selected as the recipients of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design 2023. (Ending Soon Sat, 30th Mar)
The National Theatre
Showcasing prints and drawings from Genoa's golden age, this display spotlights an artistic powerhouse that rivalled Venice, Florence and Rome. (Ending Soon Mon, 1st Apr)
British Museum
This free installation invites visitors to orient themselves in the buildings and their complex, fascinating histories in an exciting new display at the heart of the Barbican’s Foyers. (Ending Soon Fri, 5th Apr)
Barbican Centre
The first of its kind, this exhibition is a wide-ranging exploration of feminist art by over 100 women artists working in the UK. (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Apr)
Tate Britain
£20
DIVA
Expect an explosion of over the top fashions at the V&A Museum this summer, as it brings together a collection of outfits worn by celebrities under the title of "divas". (Ending Soon Sun, 7th Apr)
Victoria and Albert Museum
This exhibition brings together over 100 works from Henry VIII’s court, including drawings, paintings and miniatures by Hans Holbein the Younger drawn from the Royal Collection, one of the most important surviving groups of the artist’s work. (Ending Soon Sat, 13th Apr)
The Queen's Gallery
An exhibition to mark the film's 30th anniversary. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Apr)
Cartoon Museum
£18.50
Cute
From emojis to internet memes, video games to plushie toys, food to loveable robotic design, cuteness has taken over our world. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Apr)
Somerset House
£27.40
Delight
A multimedia exhibition that combines visuals, sound, and augmented reality to animate the cultural heritage and spirit of South Korea's Seoul. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Apr)
Borough Yards
A monumental sculptural installation made of thousands of metal bottle tops and fragments. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Apr)
Tate Modern
Discover over 100 years of intrigue, deceit and real-life secret agents. (Ending Soon Sun, 14th Apr)
Imperial War Museum
Experience Ainu culture as it exists today in this exploration of the contemporary lives of this indigenous people of northern Japan. (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Apr)
Japan House London
The exhibitions explore one of the great - and most entertaining - literary friendships, tracing the shared work, travels, confidences and, above all, the bond of friendship between two men whose books remain loved the world over. (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Apr)
Charles Dickens Museum
Free
The Glass Heart
This bold new exploration of glass in the UK brings together for the very first time rarely seen works from key UK collections, celebrating this remarkable material. (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Apr)
Two Temple Place
This free display brings together ten works by the two artists: with four views of Yorkshire by Turner and five scenes of Normandy and Venice by Bonington. (Ending Soon Sun, 21st Apr)
Wallace Collection
Free
The Cult of Beauty
This exhibition explores notions of beauty across time and cultures. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Wellcome Collection
A large scale new commission from Hong-Kong based artist Zheng Bo, transforming Somerset House’s courtyard into a bamboo garden. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Somerset House
This exhibition finds conversations between various forms of abstraction, symbolism and figuration that were circulating and interacting in the visual culture of Brazil in the mid-20th century. (Ending Soon Sun, 5th May)
Raven Row
Spanning over 60 years of contemporary sculpture, this exhibition highlights ways in which artists draw on familiar experiences of movement, flux and organic growth. (Ending Soon Sun, 5th May)
Hayward Gallery
This exhibition marks the largest exhibition ever mounted in the 40+ year career of world-renowned photographic artist, Edward Burtynsky. (Ending Soon Mon, 6th May)
Saatchi Gallery
Explore how music shapes our lives in this interactive exhibition. (Ending Soon Mon, 6th May)
Science Museum
Bethlem Museum of the Mind showcases Alison Lapper’s (b.1965) work that explores her journey of grief since the untimely death of her son Parys. (Ends on Sat, 11th May)
Bethlem Museum of the Mind
How do you develop a vaccine quickly and effectively to combat a global pandemic? (Ends on Sun, 12th May)
Science Museum
This exhibition showcases the difference between refillable, returnable (prefill) and repurposed product packaging of the past, present, and future. (Ends on Wed, 15th May)
Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
A small display of documents about Billingsgate Market in the Guildhall Art Gallery's Heritage room (lower basement). (Ends on Thu, 16th May)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
A major study of the Black figure – and its representation in contemporary art. (Ends on Sun, 19th May)
National Portrait Gallery
Through photographs, possessions, interviews, maps and more, this exhibition explores the lives and stories of generations of UCL students. (Ends on Mon, 20th May)
UCL Octagon Gallery
A display exploring the body of literature about London by European writers from across the centuries. (Ends on Mon, 20th May)
Bloomsbury Campus
The museum exhibition features first-hand accounts of the horrors and moments of hope faced by doctors tackling the impact of the virus. (Ends on Fri, 24th May)
Royal College of Physicians Museum
Using textiles, fibre and thread, 50 international artists challenge power structures and reimagine the world in this major group exhibition. (Ends on Sun, 26th May)
Barbican Arts Centre
A group of hauntingly beautiful, large-scale portrait heads in charcoal by Frank Auerbach - considered some of his early masterpieces – are being presented together for the first time. (Ends on Mon, 27th May)
Courtauld Institute of Art
Celebrate the centenary of the publication of Freud’s famous work The Ego and the Id with an interactive mini-exhibition exploring visual metaphors behind the id, ego and superego. (Ends on Fri, 31st May)
Freud Museum
This exhibition features personal stories, photographs and objects from from the 1950s to the present day. (Ends on Sat, 1st Jun)
Hackney Museum
A virtual reality tour around the French cathedral, Dame de Paris telling its history right up to the recent devastating fire. (Ends on Sat, 1st Jun)
Westminster Abbey
An exhibition about the west London hive of workshops and design studios that fed into some of the country’s most iconic Sci-Fi films and TV shows. (Ends on Sun, 2nd Jun)
Gunnersbury Park and Museum
Turn back the hands of time and discover a beautiful exhibition of mechanical marvels. (Ends on Sun, 2nd Jun)
Science Museum
£18
Skateboard
The first major UK exhibition to map the design evolution of the skateboard from the 1950s to today – a story of design, daring and disobedience. (Ends on Sun, 2nd Jun)
The Design Museum
From 1970s activism to the current party scene, the exhibition displays five decades of Hackney life through a camera lens. (Ends on Sat, 15th Jun)
Hackney Museum
Free
Rediscovering gems
A display of gems collected in classical times -- including some recently recovered by the British Museum from an alleged theft. (Ends on Sat, 15th Jun)
British Museum
Free
Art Now Zeinab Saleh
An exhibition of delicate and intimate paintings and drawings from Kenyan-born, London-based artist Zeinab Saleh. (Ends on Sun, 23rd Jun)
Tate Britain
This exhibition transports you across the Roman Empire through the life and service of a real Roman soldier, Claudius Terentianus, from enlistment and campaigns to enforcing occupation and then finally retirement. (Ends on Sun, 23rd Jun)
British Museum
Robinson explores the ancient myth of Mithras through an immersive space, evocative of the initiation ceremonies thought to have been held in the Temple. (Ends on Sat, 29th Jun)
London Mithraeum
A forest rodeo, a hidden stargazer and a mason bee at work are just a few of the awe-inspiring images featured in the 59th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. (Ends on Sun, 30th Jun)
Natural History Museum
This exhibition highlights far-right nationalist rhetoric from the 1970 – 90s and the anti-fascist, anti-racist responses that followed. (Ends on Mon, 1st Jul)
Wiener Library
An exhibition for the fans by the fans going some way to explain not just what 2Tone is but why and how we got there. (Ends on Mon, 1st Jul)
Barbican Library
The exhibition explores tea’s complex history and myriad of meanings – from its popularisation and globalisation connected to stories of imperialism and colonial violence. (Ends on Sun, 7th Jul)
Horniman Museum
For the first time, this exhibition will uncover the major contribution of Jewish designers in making London an iconic fashion city. (Ends on Sun, 7th Jul)
Museum of London Docklands
Almost 60 of Sargent’s paintings will be on display, including major portraits that rarely travel (Ends on Sun, 7th Jul)
Tate Britain
Through personal letters, photographs, sculptures, books and marginalia, Freud and Latin America will investigate the roots of psychoanalysis in the region. (Ends on Sun, 14th Jul)
Freud Museum
From Hokusai to Pokémon, Studio Ghibli, robots and beyond, the exhibition takes young visitors on an atmospheric and playful journey revealing the influence of folklore on Japan’s art and design. (Ends on Sun, 11th Aug)
Young V&A
This exhibition follows the lives of British soldiers in Germany over the past 75 years. (Ends on Wed, 21st Aug)
National Army Museum
An exhibition of photos and artwork inspired by the brutalist appearance of the National Theatre. (Ends on Sat, 31st Aug)
The National Theatre
You can spot your postie by their brightly coloured get-up, but what’s the history of their uniform and how has it changed? (Ends on Sun, 1st Sep)
The Postal Museum
Free
Shakespeare and War
This exhibition explores some of the ways in which Shakespeare has shaped how we think about soldiers and the Army, and how we imagine war and its consequences today. (Ends on Sun, 1st Sep)
National Army Museum
Delve into the powerful, participatory work of artist and activist Yoko Ono (Ends on Sun, 1st Sep)
Tate Modern
The 14 works on display provide a snapshot of digital art practices from the 1960s to early 2000s. (Ends on Sun, 15th Sep)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Loaned from Brighton Museum, this display showcases more than 300 years of popular British history. (Ends on Sun, 29th Sep)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Free
The Future of Money
Money and the way we use it has changed. This free exhibition responds directly to questions asked by the public about the future of money. (Ends on Fri, 29th Aug 2025)
Bank of England Museum
