Events in London
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Talks and discussions
Monday 12 January
* Climate change: Evidence of health impact and developing a climate-resilient future, Bianca Anton, Hannah Marshall, Pierre Masselot, Hugh Sharma Waddington, 5.30 - 6.30pm, LSHTM, Keppel Street WC1E 7HT. Info: LSHTM
Thursday 15 January
* Pictures from Afghanistan: Are we making the same mistakes?, Clive `Stafford Smith, 6pm, in person and online, Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, EC1N 2HH. Info: Gresham
* The price of truth: Finance, misinformation and the battle for reality, Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, 12-1pm, University College, 55 - 59 Gordon Square WC1H 0NT. Info: Lecture
Exhibitions
* Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus, how post Second World War “Emergencies” , as they were termed by the UK, shaped Britain, its former territories and the modern world, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1 6HZ until 29 March. Info: IWM
* Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day Nepal and Singapore, the exhibition combines art, science, history, technology and indigenous knowledge to deepen understanding of our relationships with freshwater, free, Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE until 1 February 2026. Info: Wellcome
+ Thirst: an exhibition bridge over troubled water
* Botanical Tales and Seeds of Empire & Flora Indica: Recovering the lost histories of Indian botanical art, The Singh Twins examine the global mythologies of plants and the histories of Empire + Flora Indica – work by historical Indian botanical artists, admission with Kew entry fee, Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens until 12 April
+ The Singh Twins light up the links between empire and botany
+ The Singh Twins spotlight Kew’s role in the business of Empire
* Mumbai + London: new perspectives on the ancient world, small show focussed on Greek god Dionysius and India’s Vishnu, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG until 11 January 2026. Info: Exhibition
* Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times In An Instant), Mexican artist Teresa Margolles’ cuboid on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square is a memorial to trans people worldwide
* Collecting and Empire, trail making connections between archaeology, anthropology and the British Empire, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1. Info: British Museum
* British Library, installation of 6,328 books marks the contributions of migrants to UK, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1. Info: Installation/ 7887 8888
* African Deeds, showcases a collection that includes diaries, cassette interviews, videos, photos and documents of three generations of family history, inspired by grandfather Thomas’ land title deeds brought from West Africa in 1901, Black Cultural Archives, 1 Windrush Square, SW2 1EF. Info: BCA
* Target Queen, large-scale commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
* Imaging Peace, outdoor exhibition of global community peace photography projects, part of ‘Lost & Found: Stories of sanctuary and belonging’, a free programme of arts and ideas at King’s College, Strand, WC2R 2LS. Info: Exhibition
* Kerry James Marshall: The Histories, “the most important artist” in the US, who places the lives of Black Americans front and centre, £23.50-£25.50, Royal Academy, Piccadilly, until 18 January. Info: RA
+ ‘If you say Black, you should see Black’
+ ‘My paintings don’t fit the narrative’: Kerry James Marshall on why he’s depicting black enslavers
* The Presence of Solitude, through film, photography and costume, Taiwanese artist Val Lee explores isolation, solitude and the human connections that may form in these moments, free, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road until 11 January. Info: Hayward
* Nigerian Modernism, Nigerian artists working before and after the decade of national independence from British colonial rule in 1960, Tate Modern, Bankside SE1 9TG until 10 May. Info: Tate
* I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies, examination of political dissent and erasure through the idea of collage, Sabrina Tirvengadum, Sunil Gupta, Qualeasha Wood, Jess Atieno, Sheida Soleimani, free, Autograph, Rivington Place, EC2A 3BA until 21 March. Info: Exhibition
* Parliament of Ghosts, Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama repurposes colonial-era furniture and jute sacks alongside newly crafted elements, Ibraaz, 14 Mortimer Street, W1W 7SS, until 15 February. Info: Ibraaz
+ Secret Maps, the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps, £20, British Library, 96 Euston Road NW1 2DB until 18 January. Info: Library
* A Story of South Asian Art: Mrinalini Mukherjee and Her Circle, artists who have shaped the trajectory of Indian Modernism, £17, Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J until 24 February. Info: RA
* The Land Carries, work by three international artists: Ahmed Akasha (UK), Dina Nur Satti (US) and Yasmin Elnour (Bahrain) responding to material in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, 1 - 5pm, Petrie Museum, University College London, Malet Place, WC1E 6BT until 16 May. Info: Sudan exhibition
* Sites of Life, explores how Arab artists imagine and enact life beyond the human, £5, P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD until 9 January. Info: Exhibition
* Between the Door and the Dust, Gil Mualem-Doron’s examination of the deliberate destruction of homes and the worlds they sustain, from the 1948 Nakba to the West Bank occupation and the genocide in Gaza, £5, P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD until 9 January. Info: P21
from Thursday 15 January
* Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans, a celebration of art and history, £14/ £16, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG until 25 May. Info: Hawai’i
Film
* It Was Just An Accident, Jafar Panahi’s award-winning Iranian black comedy thriller is a powerful indictment of state-sponsored terror and a moving drama of individuals seeking to rebuild their lives after being subject to it, Cine Lumiere, ICA until 8 January; Gate, 22 December; National Film Theatre, Barbican until 23 December; some Picturehouses
+ Twice-jailed Panahi spins a moral tale for our authoritarian times
* Animalia, a pregnant woman comes to terms with her in-laws’ privileged status and finds her freedom in this sci-fi tinged film that dissects the hypocrisies of Morocco's moneyed classes, women’s position in Muslim societies and limits of wealth, Barbican, Cine Lumiere, ICA until 7 January
+ A sense of there uncanny makes Morocco uneasy
* The Six Billion Dollar Man: Julian Assange and the Price of Truth, blistering documentary about the man behind Wikileaks, 22 December: Picturehouses Arts, Finsbury Park, Greenwich, Hackney, Ritzy; 23 December, Curzon Bloomsbury; until 24 December, Garden. Info: Assange doc
+ ‘I plead guilty to journalism’, says the six billion dollar man
Monday 22 December
* Through the Olive Trees (Zir-e darakhtan-e zeyton), the final part of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy is a touching, funny account of how a (fictionalised) director returns to a village after its destruction by an earthquake to make a film, 6.15pm, National Film Theatre
* Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi recorded her video calls with photojournalist Fatma Hassona, creating a vivid video testimony of her daily life in Gaza, 6.10pm, Curzon Bloomsbury + 29 December, 4pm
Tuesday 23, Saturday 27 December
* Sudan, Remember Us, documentary about young activists in Sudan filmed from the swell of hope following dictator Omar al-Bashir’s fall to the military crackdown and subsequent civil war, Curzon Bloomsbury
+ Remember the Sudanese protesters who though their time had come
Wednesday 24 December
* Mistress Dispeller, a woman in China hires a professional to go undercover and break up her husband’s affair. Elizabeth Lo's intimate film follows this unfolding family drama from all corners of the love triangle, 5.30pm, Curzon Bloomsbury + 26 December, 4pm; 1 January, 8pm
Sunday 28 December
* BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions, Kahlil Joseph transforms his video art installation into an impressionistic collective memory of Black people, Barbican cinema
Monday 5 January
* In the Mood for Love, sleek suits and richly colourful dresses help define the beauty and elegance of Wong Kar Wai’s Hong Kong-set masterpiece that has come to be regarded as a defining film of this century, 6pm, National Film Theatre
from Friday 9 January
* Coexistence, My Ass!, comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi uses humour to expose hard truths about the relationship between Israel and Palestine, Curzon Bloomsbury + 10, 14, 15 January
Performance
* Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, the lives of two US Marines, an Iraqi translator and a Bengal tiger collide, £12 - £57, Young Vic, 66 The Cut, SE1 8LZ until 31 January. Info: Young Vic
+ ‘Did he who made the lamb, make thee?’ The tiger replies
* Evita Too!, ”join the disco dictators as they tell the wild story of Isabel Perón, the go-go-dancer-turned-president who led Argentina for 18 disastrous months”, from £30, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road until 31 December. Info: Southbank Centre
Thursday 8, Saturday 10 January
* Monkeyface, within the walls of a university bedroom, the title character navigates the euphoric highs and crushing lows of racism, mental health and loneliness, £12, Riverside, 101 Queen Caroline Street, W6 9BN. Info: Riverside
from Wednesday 14 January
* The Horse of Jenin, one-man show constructed from the fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s memories, Bush Theatre, Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ until 22 January. Info: Bush
+ A Palestinian tale - straight from the horse’s mouth
Thursday 15 - Friday 16 January
* Gaza - The Dream and the Nightmare, based on first-hand interviews with Gazans from all walks of life conducted by Julie M. Norman for her co-authored book of the same title, 6pm, £6/ £4 + post-show discussion, Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street WC1H 0AH. Info: [email protected]/ 3108 1000
TV and radio
Monday 22 December
* Faith, Hope and Glory, drama series charting the lives of three women, connected by the theft of a pram in Tilbury in 1946, who witness and participate in the emergence of modern Britain, 2.45pm, Radio4
Tuesday 23 December
* Slumdog Millionaire, 2008 British drama film based on an Indian novel about a quiz winner whose answers stem from his experiences of shantytown life, 10.30pm, BBC2
Thursday 25 December
* East is East, 1999 English comedy-drama film about a Pakistani father in the north of England who finds his authority challenged by his increasingly Anglicised children, 1.30am, Channel4
Friday 26 December
* Joyland, Pakistani film about a married man who falls for a trans performer, 2.05am, Channel4
Monday 29 December
* Faith, Hope and Glory, drama series charting the lives of three women, connected by the theft of a pram in Tilbury in 1946, who witness and participate in the emergence of modern Britain, 2.45pm, Radio4
Wednesday 31 December
* More Or Less: Numbers of the Year 2025, interesting numbers you may not know about, 9am, 1 January, 5.04; 2 January, 4.30pm; Radio4
Friday 2 January
* 2025: The Year From Space, satellite images and punditry offer a different view of events including a mass celebration on the Ganges, population movements in Gaza and changing battlefronts in Ukraine, 7.30pm, Channel4
* The Damned Don’t Cry, drama about a mother and son in Morocco who move to Tangier in hope of a better life, 11pm, BBC2
* Correspondents Look Ahead, BBC journalists make forecasts for 2026, 8pm, Radio4
Monday 5 - Friday 9 January
* More Or Less: The State of the Nation, a look at the numbers - including migration - you need to know in order to understand modern Britain in 2026, 9am, Radio4
Thanks to volunteer Daniel Nelson (editor of Eventslondon.org) for compiling this list.