Events in London
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Talks and discussions
Monday 2 December
* Struggles Against Slavery in West Africa Today, Biram Dah Abeid, Ali Bouzou, Amadou Diemdioda Dicko, Maduagwu Stella Ogechukwu and Rhaichatou Walet Altanata, Olutayo Adesina, Adam Mahamat, 6-8:30pm, Medical Sciences Building, UCL, Malet Place, WC1E 6BT. Info: Institute of Advanced Studies
* Living With Digital Surveillance in China: Citizens Narratives on Technology Privacy and Governance, Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, 5-6.30pm, online. Info: SOAS
* Upholding humanitarian principles in contexts of impunity, Francesca Albanese, Agnes Callamard and Nimer Sultany, 6.15-7.30pm, Overseas Development Institute
Tuesday 3 December
* Through the lens, photojournalist Asmaa Waguih talks about covering politics and conflict in the Middle East, including Yemen, 7-8.30pm, £16.96-
£6.13, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline
* Stop Arming Israel: Protest at the Global Banking Summit, outside Convene Sancroft, Paternoster Square, Rose Street, EC4M 7DQ, 7.15-8.30pm. Info: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
* Canning House LatAm Outlook 2025 launch, 8:30am-1pm, Prince Philip House, 3 Carlton House Terrace, SW1Y 5DG. Info: Canning House
* Producing Palestine: The Creative Production of Palestine Through Contemporary Media, book launch with Vivianne Saglier, Stephen Sheehi, Sarona Bedwan, Danah Abdullah, Kareem Estefan, 6-7.30pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC12. Info: SOAS
* Rethinking growth: making economies work for the common good, Mariana Mazzucato, 4-5.30pm. Info: Institute of Development Studies
Wednesday 4 December
* Launch: Litigating the right to a nationality – a guide for practitioners, Bronwen Manby, Waikwa Wanyoke, Adrian Berry, Carole Dahan, 6-9.30pm, The Senate Room, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1E 7HU. Info: [email protected]
* India’s Near East: A New History, Avinash Paliwal, 5pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: SOAS
* Baroness Sayeeda Warsi On Why ‘Muslims Don’t Matter’, 1-2pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: SOAS
* The Transformation of the Prohibition of Torture in International Law, Lutz Oette, 5-6.30pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: SOAS
* Forbes Burnham: The Life and Times of the Comrade Leader, public seminar, 5:30–7pm online. Info: Institute of the Americas
* The geopolitics of Brazil’s return to the global stage: from G20 to BRICS and COP30, Ana Saggioro Garcia, Laura Trajber Waisbich, 12.30-2pm. Info: Institute of Development Studies
Thursday 5 December
* Law, economy and society in NSL-era Hong Kong: A reflection of the 40th anniversary of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, symposium, 2-6.45pm, University London, Senate House, Chancellor’s Hall, WC1E 7HU. Info: SOAS
* The Orwell Lecture 2024: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian who was held hostage in Iran for six years, 7.30pm, from £15, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX. Info: Lecture
* Succeeding in the Snakes and Ladders Game of Development in Mozambique: The Role of Collaborative Approaches, Karin Alexander, Ludo Alcorta, Neil McCulloch, 1-2.30pm
Friday 6 December
* Women in Transition: Crossing Boundaries, Crossing Borders, book launch with Tuna Erdem, Seda Ergul, Mònica Rovira, Marcia Thompson, 6-9pm, King’s College, Strand Building, Strand campus. Info: King’s
Monday 9 December
* “Do you hear me?”: A creative anthology of poems in exile, readings and performances from sanctuary-seeking poets and artists in response to UK riots targeting racialised minorities, 2-4pm, The College Chapel, Strand campus, King’s College. Info: King’s
* Africa In A Changing World and the Role of the African Union: A commemoration of the leadership of Salim Ahmed Salim, Mo Ibrahim, Abdul Mohamed, Funmi Olonisakin,, Maryam Salim, El Ghassim Wame, 5.30pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: SOAS
Tuesday 10 December
* Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism, Daniel Trilling, Shaista Aziz and Rachel Shabi, 7pm, £16.96- £6.13, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline
* Human Rights Through the Eyes of My Native Land: South Africa In the World, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, 6.30-8pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2
* ODI Global In Conversation With Rachel Kyte, 5.30-6.30pm, online. Info: Overseas Development Institute
Exhibitions
* Silk Roads, outstanding fresh look at east-west trade, cultural and intellectual routes in the period AD55-AD1000, £22-£25, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1 until 23 February. Info: Exhibition
+ ‘Made in Syria, buried in Essex’: Silk Roads busts its blocks
* A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang, step into a once bustling town on the Silk Road to meet the people who lived, travelled through, worked and worshipped there, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW! until 23 February. Info: British Library
+ A voice from the Silk Roads: ‘I would rather be a pig’s wife than yours’
* Zanele Muholi, more than 280 photographs by the South African “visual activist” of her country’s Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex communities, including self-portraits, £18, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG, until 26 January. Info: Tate
+ Black LGBTQIA+ lives matter, shout Zanele Muholi’s photos
* Hew Locke: What Have We Here?, Guyanese-British artist Hew Locke turns his lens on the British Museum collection in a collaborative exhibition exploring histories of British imperial power, adults from £12, under-16s free, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1, until 9 February. Info: British Museum
+ ‘It’s as if Amazon had their own army today’
As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, photographs from Africa and the diaspora in Canada, UK, US and The Caribbean, from £6 (access to three exhibitions), Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, SW3 4RY, until 20 January. Info: Black Atlantic
+ Every image contains some kind of magic
March of the Hummingbirds, Aneesa Dawoojee documents the histories and cultures of the Caribbean and Mauritius, from £6 (access to three exhibitions), Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, SW3 4RY, until 5 January. Info: Hummingbirds
* Grace, Alvaro Barrington’s “reimagining of Black culture and aspirational attitude under foreign conditions … explores how my grandmother, my mother, and my sister in the British Caribbean community showed up gracefully,” free, Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG until 26 January. Info: Grace
* The Kola Nut Cannot Be Contained, display about the bitter-tasting fruit that has been important in West African culture and trade since at least the 11th century features stories about its entangled global histories, vibrant traditions, and new innovations, Wellcome Foundation, 183 Euston Road, NW1 until 2 February. Info: Wellcome Collection
* Abi Morocco Photos: Spirit of Lagos, free, Autograph, Rivington Place, EC2A 3BA, until 22 March. Info: Autograph
* 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
* Inspiration Africa: Stories Beyond the Artifacts, exploration of V&A galleries through the lens of African heritage. Free, every second Saturday of the month, V&A museum, Cromwell Avenue, SW7. V&A tour
* Collecting and Empire, trail making connections between archaeology, anthropology and the British Empire. British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG.
* British Library, installation of 6,328 books celebrates the ongoing contributions made by immigrants to Britain. Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG.
* 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 the Gold Coast in 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
* All Our Stories: Migration and the Making of Britain, the centrality of migration to British life, free, Thursdays-Saturdays, Migration Museum, Lewisham Shopping Centre, SE13 7HB, until December 2025. Info: Museum
* Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights, stories of under-represented workers and their rights within precarious and unsafe labour environments, free, Wellcome Centre, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE until 27 April. Info: Wellcome
+ Working yourself into the ground
* Turner Prize 2024, Pio Abad’s exploration of cultural loss and colonial histories, often reflecting on his upbringing in the Philippines; Claudette Johnson’s figurative portraits of Black women and men; Jasleen Kaur, a Glasgow Sikh, brings her sculptures of everyday objects to life using unique sound compositions; Delaine Le Bas draws on the cultural history of the Roma people, focusing on themes of death, loss, and renewal; £14/ concessions available, Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG until 16 February. Info: Tate Britain
* Art of Palestine: from the river to the sea, showcase that aims to share the culture, heritage, and struggles of the Palestinian people through artistic expressions, P21 Gallery, 21 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD, until 21 December. Info: P21
* The Imaginary Institution of India: Art 1975–1998, group exhibition by over 30 Indian artists, bookended by two transformative events: Indira Gandhi’s declaration of a state of emergency in 1975 and the Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998, £20, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS until 5 January, free. Info: Barbican
* Haegue Yang: Leap Year, South Korean artist’s inventive, immersive, multisensory installations and sculptures weaving connections between disparate histories, cultures and traditions, from £19, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX, until 5 January. Info: Hayward
* Huang Po-Chih: Waves, the Taiwan-born artist focuses on the macroscopic backdrop of trade and exchange, free, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX, until 5 January. Info: Gallery
* Mire Lee, born in South Korea and living and working between Amsterdam and Seoul, her visceral sculptures use kinetic, mechanised elements to invoke the tension between soft forms and rigid systems, Tate Modern, Bankside, SE1 9TG until 18 March. Info: Tate Modern
* Umseme Uyakhuluma: a Celestial Conversation, work by a women’s artistic collective inspired by ancient forms of communication in Africa, Third Floor, 91a Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY. until 7 December. Info: Gallery
* Esther Mahlangu: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu, brightly coloured geometric paintings rooted in South African Ndebele culture, free, Serpentine North, until 28 September 2025. Info: Serpentine
* Beware Blue Skies, immersive film installation about battle drones, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, until 16 March. Info: IWM
* The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence, £22, V&A Museum, Cromwell Street, SW7 2RL, until 5 May. Info: V&A
* Letters for Palestinian Childhoods, letters, poems and artwork dedicated to the young people of Palestine, created around the world by both adults and children, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA, until 6 December. Info: Exhibition
* The 80s: Photographing Britain, includes work showing the Black arts movement and South Asian diaspora, Tate Britain, Millbank
SW1P 4RG until 5 May. Info: Tate
Film
* Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, jazz and decolonisation are entwined in this historical rollercoaster of a documentary about the West’s murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba, ICA, Cine Lumiere, Curzon Bloomsbury until 5 December
+ Congo, colonialism, Cold War conflict and all that jazz
+ 3 December, Film as composition & music as an historical agent of change - Part 1, discussion of the film’s soundtrack and other works, £12
* Layla, a British-Palestinian drag performer, falls for Max, a cis-gendered white gay man. The film captures their struggle for love across divided worlds within London’s LGBTQ+ community, Curzons Bloomsbury, Camden, Hoxton, Soho
* Bread and Roses, follows three women as they fight to recover their autonomy after theTaliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 4 December
* Rewriting the Rules, Pioneering Indian Cinema after 1970, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, until 12 December. Info: Barbican
* Echoes In Time: Korean Films of the Golden Age and New Cinema, two-month season offering an introduction to Korean cinema through 30 essential films, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, until 31 December. Info: Korean season
No Other Land, for half a decade Palestinian activist Basel Adra films his community of Massafer Yatta being destroyed by Israel’s occupation, as he builds an alliance with an Israeli journalist who wants to join his fight, Curzon Bloomsbury, Lexi until 4 December
* Made in Ethiopia, when a massive Chinese factory complex attempts a high-stakes expansion in rural Ethiopia, three women in search of prosperity have their faith in industrialisation tested to the limit, Curzon Bloomsbury until 4 December
+ China-African development: ‘Those who fall behind get trampled on’
* All We Imagine As Light, dramatic portrait of three women navigating life in Mumbai; BFI Southbank until 11 December,
BFI Southbank until 11 December; Garden Cinema; ICA, Rio, Picturehouses Central, Finsbury Park, Hackney, Ritzy; Vues Finchley Road, Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City; from 6 December, Crouch End Picturehouse, Riverside Studios
* A Night of Knowing Nothing, Payal Kapadia’s feature debut explores the political climate of contemporary India, £11.70-£13.50, BFI Southbank
Monday 2 December
* The Things We Don’t Say, new monthly programme featuring filmmakers from migrant and refugee backgrounds, No Crying At The Dinner Table, filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her own family about intergenerational trauma, grief, and secrets + The Things We Don’t Say, Ornella Mutoni’s film
about a group of young Rwandans 30 years after the genocide who confront family secrets and wounds, led by a therapist and genocide survivor + Q&A with Mutoni, 6.45pm, £7.50, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1
* Death Without Mercy, captures the destruction caused to Turkish and Syrian communities after a huge earthquake hit the region in February 2023 + talk with director Waad Al-Kateab and Joanna Natasegara, introduced by Cate Blanchett, 6.15pm, Barbican cinema 1
Wednesday 4 December
* Bread and Roses, a window into the seismic impact of women’s rights and livelihoods of the 2021 Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, 2pm, Curzon Bloomsbury
* Chungking Express, two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant, 7.30, £10/£8, Tara Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, SW18 4ES. Info: Tara Film Club
Friday 6 December
* On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni’s second film is a fierce and darkly funny portrait of a woman’s strength in the face of crisis + Q&A with actress Susan Chardy, 6.30pm, Ritzy Cinema, Brixton. Info: Picturehouse
* Emilia Pérez, crime comedy that tells the story of high-powered lawyer Rita who takes on an unexpected assignment: helping a Mexican cartel leader fake their death and undergo sex reassignment operations + talk with actors Karla Sofía Gascón & Zoe Saldaña, and writer/director Jacques Audiard, 6.10pm, Barbican cinema 1
Saturday 7 December
* Black Is - Beyond October - A Short Film Series, films that challenge the status quo and amplify the under-represented voices of Black British filmmaking talent, shining a light on the diverse expressions of the African diaspora, 7.45pm, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA
* On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, director Rungano Nyoni’s compelling drama about community and sisterhood + Q&A with actor Susan Chardy, 5.45pm, Garden Cinema
Performance
* Expendable, playwright Emteaz Hussain spotlights the often-overlooked voices of Pakistani women, delving into the shortcomings of law enforcement, politicians, and the media when hundreds of young girls were sexually exploited in northern towns by gangs of predatory men, £15 - £26, Royal Court, Sloane Square until 21 December. Info: Royal Court
* Cutting the Tightrope: The Divorce of Politics from Art, collection of short political plays in response to warnings that artists shouldn’t be political; playwrights include Hassan Abdulrazzak, Mojisola Adebayo, Phil Arditti, Sonali Bhattacharyya, Nina Bowers, Roxy Cook, Ed Edwards, Afsaneh Gray, Dawn King, Ahmed Masoud, Sami Abu Wardeh,Waleed Elgadi, Joel Samuel and a devised piece inspired by an idea from Nina Segal, £31-£12, Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL until 7 December. Info: Arcola
Monday 9 December
* “Do you hear me?”: A creative anthology of poems in exile, readings and performances from sanctuary-seeking poets and artists in response to UK riots targeting racialised minorities, 2-4pm, The College Chapel, Strand campus, King’s College. Info: King’s
TV and radio
Sunday 1 December
* Sorry, I Didn’t Know, Black comedy panel show, 10.30pm, ITV1
Monday 2 December
* Person Of Interest, drama about a British Muslim taxi driver, beset by news from Gaza - and who might be under surveillance, 11.05pm, Ch 4
Tuesday 3 December
* Beyond Belief, the impact of globalisation on religious freedom, 3.30pm, Radio 4
* File on 4, the impact of foreign students on British universities, 8pm, Radio 4
Wednesday 4 December
* Rage Against the Regime: Iran, second part of hard-hitting anti-regime documentary, 9pm, BBC 2
Thursday 5 December
* Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Treasures, food, culture and wildlife, 7pm, BBC 2
Friday 6 December
* Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Treasures, food, culture and wildlife, 7pm, BBC 2
* Unreported World, as a result of the war on drugs thousands of Mexicans find themselves imprisoned without trial, caught in a web of legal uncertainty, 7.30pm, Channel 4
* Rare Earth, drought and fire in the Amazon rainforest, 12.04pm, Radio 4
Saturday 7 December
* So Long, My Son, outstanding Chinese two-family saga, 11.15pm, BBC2
Sunday 8 December
* Sorry, I didn’t know, Black comedy quiz, 10.55pm, BBC 1
* Beyond Belief, the impact of globalisation on religious freedom, 6.05sam, Radio 4
* The Girl of the Sea of Cortez, drama about a brother and sister in a Mexican fishing village, 3pm, Radio 4
* Witness History: When Emperor Haile Selassie lived in England, 5pm, Radio 4
Monday 9 December
* Captain Phillips, exciting Somali ship kidnap drama based on a true story, 9pm, BBC 3
* History’s Youngest Heroes: Nelson Mandela and the Defiance Campaign, 3.30pm, Radio 4
Thanks to volunteer Daniel Nelson (editor of Eventslondon.org) for compiling this list.