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.
Oxford House hosts Falmouth University's annual photography exhibition, revealing the hidden life of Bethnal Green over the course of a single 24-hour period. (Ending Soon Fri, 26th Apr)
131 Thornlaw Road
An exhibition marking the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale between Britain and France. (Ending Soon Sat, 27th Apr)
Institut français du Royaume-Uni
Free
1001 Days in London
Street photographer Steve Hollingshead celebrates this vibrant metropolis with a gallery-filling installation of 1001 individual photographs. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
gallery@oxo
Be astonished as over 100,000 tulip bulbs erupt in colour in one of the UK’s biggest display of planted tulips. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Hampton Court Palace
Free
The Cult of Beauty
This exhibition explores notions of beauty across time and cultures. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Wellcome Collection
The Pillars of Our Latex House: A thanks to the gutta-percha tree and to those who keep it. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Watermans Arts Centre
Around 120 examples of the fusion between sportswear and fashion from the Westminster Menswear Archive. (Ending Soon Sun, 28th Apr)
Ambika P3
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
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
The Sony World Photography Awards exhibition. (Ending Soon Mon, 6th May)
Somerset House
For his first show at the gallery in London since 2016, Oehlen continues to explore the rich possibilities and the future of painting. (Ending Soon Sat, 11th May)
Gagosian Gallery
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. (Ending Soon Sat, 11th May)
Bethlem Museum of the Mind
Free
Terry Frost
This survey presents an extensive collection of Frost's most compelling paintings from 1966-2003. (Ending Soon Sat, 11th May)
Flowers Gallery
How do you develop a vaccine quickly and effectively to combat a global pandemic? (Ending Soon Sun, 12th May)
Science Museum
Free
Marriner 100
This exhibition about Sir Neville Marriner features record sleeves and boxes, photographs, awards, tributes from friends and colleagues and memorabilia from a life of great achievement and personal enjoyment. (Ending Soon Sun, 12th May)
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Critically acclaimed, the collection features works by artist Nathan Sawaya which are made from millions of LEGO bricks. (Ending Soon Sun, 12th May)
The Boiler House
This exhibition showcases the difference between refillable, returnable (prefill) and repurposed product packaging of the past, present, and future. (Ending Soon 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). (Ending Soon Thu, 16th May)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
Hissing snakes look on as men holding flaming torches set about burning numerous different human heads, masks, and shields. (Ends on Sat, 18th May)
Castor
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
Free
Fanciful Figures
anciful Figures turns visitors’ attention to ‘staffage’, the small human and animal figures in architectural drawings, which became increasingly popular during the eighteenth century. (Ends on Sun, 9th Jun)
Sir John Soane's 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
Showcasing more than 160 rare vintage prints, this exhibition spans the career of both artists – and suggests new ways to look at their work. (Ends on Sun, 16th Jun)
National Portrait Gallery
This exhibition presents the emergence of Indian modern art as a quest for cultural independence. (Ends on Sat, 22nd Jun)
Brunei Gallery, SOAS
An exhibition of costumes inspired by Englands's many folk traditions. (Ends on Sat, 22nd Jun)
UAL: London College of Fashion
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
Step inside a traditional tailor’s workshop in the East End and immerse yourself in the glitz and glamour of a Carnaby Street boutique at the height of the Swinging Sixties – when London was the world's fashion capital. (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
Free
The Last Caravaggio
The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, 1610, lent by the Intesa Sanpaolo Collection, will be displayed alongside another late work by the Italian artist from the National Gallery Collection, Salome receives the Head of John the Baptist, about 1609–10. (Ends on Sun, 21st Jul)
National Gallery
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
Explore how music shapes our lives in this interactive exhibition. (Ends on Sun, 1st Sep)
Science Museum
Delve into the powerful, participatory work of artist and activist Yoko Ono (Ends on Sun, 1st Sep)
Tate Modern
£12.65
The Biba Story, 1964-1975
Exploring how fashion phenomenon Biba blossomed to become the world’s first lifestyle label. (Ends on Sat, 7th Sep)
Fashion and Textile Museum
Offering art lovers a fresh perspective on London, its architecture, and geography, Guildhall Art Gallery celebrates the work of artist and specialist wood engraver, Anne Desmet RA. (Ends on Sun, 8th Sep)
Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheater
£20
Enzo Mari
This exhibition celebrates the life and work of one of the greatest Italian designers of the 20th century, Enzo Mari, whose designs have inspired generations of creatives around the world. (Ends on Sun, 8th Sep)
Design Museum
This exhibition explores networks of solidarity between groups campaigning on peace, nuclear weapons and national self-determination. (Ends on Sun, 15th Sep)
LSE Library
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
An exhibition about an architectural style developed in the 1940s and adopted after independence by India and Ghana as a symbol of modernity and progressiveness, distinct from colonial culture. (Ends on Sun, 22nd Sep)
Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum
An exhibition of diaries collected by the artist Dylan Jonas Stone. (Ends on Sun, 29th Sep)
Maughan Library
Loaned from Brighton Museum, this display showcases more than 300 years of popular British history. (Ends on Sun, 29th Sep)
Victoria and Albert Museum
Take a deeper look into the human experience of conflict with Storyteller: Photography by Tim Hetherington at IWM London. (Ends on Sun, 29th Sep)
Imperial War Museum
A display of rare, nationally significant outfits which shines a spotlight on the intimate story of a middle-class mother and her affluent daughter at a moment in history that shaped the way fashion is consumed today. (Ends on Sun, 20th Oct)
Leighton House Museum
The Wallace Collection explore the remarkable life and legacy of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839), the founder of the Sikh Empire (1799-1849). (Ends on Sun, 20th Oct)
Wallace Collection
This exhibition shows the decade-to-decade evolution of today’s most iconic brands, including Cadbury’s Milk Tray, Bisto, HP Sauce, Ovaltine and many more. (Ends on Thu, 31st Oct)
Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
This exhibition invites you to discover the key role chocolate played in the revival of Greenwich. (Ends on Sun, 3rd Nov)
Old Royal Naval College
Free
Women of the RNLI
Women of the RNLI at the National Maritime Museum celebrates the work of women in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. (Ends on Sun, 1st Dec)
National Maritime Museum
Free
Hello Brain!
An exhibition about the brain – the most complex and least understood part of the body – and the journey to map its intricate connections. (Ends on Sat, 7th Dec)
The Francis Crick Institute
The exhibition is a joyful exploration of the body, drawing on the artist’s experience of becoming disabled as a child. (Ends on Sun, 12th Jan 2025)
Wellcome Collection
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