Events in London
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Talks and discussions
Monday 16 February
* The global rise of the far right, Victor Mallet, Matthew Holehouse, Anna Gross, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Frontline
* Is China’s urban-rural income gap still relevant?, Terry Sicular, 5pm, SOAS, 10 Thornhaugh Street, WC1H 0XG
* Immigration policy: challenges and options, Alan Manning, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC1
Tuesday 17 February
* EuroBirderWalks: Walking borders, risk and belonging, Maggie O’Neill, 4 - 5.30pm, Info: Institute of Development Studies
* The Price of Pixels: Unmasking the Environmental Impact of Our Digital Lives, 6pm, Ian Mudway, Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, EC1N 2HH. Info: Gresham
* The World in 2026, Christine Amanpour, 7pm, from £19.99, Intelligence Squared, Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, SW1P 3DW. Info: Intelligence Squared
* Book Talk: Lessons from the front, Robert Sherman - a rookie war correspondent in Ukraine and Israel, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place W2 1 QJ. Info: Frontline
* Deconstructing Refugee Women’s “Empowerment”, Zeynep Kilicoglu, 1 - 2pm, King’s College, Waterloo Bridge Wing SE1 9NH
Wednesday 18 February
* Retaining Black students, Marie Gentles, Krystal Douglas-Dodd, online, 6 - 7.15pm. Info: University of Westminster
* Climate Risk and Insurance, Raghavendra Rau, 6pm, Ian Mudway, Gresham College, Barnard's Inn Hall, EC1N 2HH. Info: Gresham College
Thursday 19 February
* Kingdom of the Sick: The Architecture and Topography of Disease, Andrea Bagnato and Oliver Basciano explore how disease has shaped colonisation, segregation, and stigma, 7pm, £125, Barbican Centre, Silk Street EC2Y 8DS. Info: Barbican
* Culture as Security: How Culture Protects Us, Mariam Naiem, Charlotte Higgins and Yassmin Abdel-Magied, 7pm, £15, British Museum, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB. Info: Library
* The reopening of the Mosaic Rooms, Wednesday to Saturday 11-6pm, Sunday 12-5pm, Tuesdays by appointment, 226 Cromwell Road SW5 0SW. Info: Mosaic
Monday 23 February
* The World in 2026, Fiona Hill, 7pm, from £19.99, Union Chappel, Upper Street, 19b Compton Terrace, N1 2UN. Info: Intelligence Squared
* Embedded Generations: Family life and social change in contemporary China, Jieyu Liu’s book launch, 5pm, SOAS, 10 Thornhaugh Street WC1H 0XG
* Discourses of solidarity fatigue and misrecognition in the context of Ukrainian displacement, Rob Sharp discusses Ukrainian refugee experiences through the politics of recognition, 4-5pm, UCL Knowledge Lab, 23 Emerald Street, WC1N 3QS. Info: Institute of Education
Tuesday 24 February
* The Go-Home Office: Border Forces since 1962, Juanita Cox, Liam Liburd and Bobby Phe Amis discuss how border control has changed and how the Home Office participates in the politics of immigration and race-making, 5 - 7.30pm, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road E1 6LA. Info: Birkbeck
* An Evening with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 7pm, from £29.99, Barbican Hall, Barbican Centre, Silk Street EC2Y 8DS. Info: Intelligence Squared
* An introduction to public law for environmental campaigners, Alex Shattock, Natasha Jackson, Joe Haydn, Naomi Luhde-Thompson,
11 - 12.30pm, online. Info: Public Law Project
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
+ 28 February, Discussion Day, Yasmin Khan, Rose Miyonga, Maria Hadjiathanasiou, Bethany Rebisz, David Anderson, Huw Bennett, Karl Hack, 2 - 7pm, £30
* 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
* A Greenland shadow over a wonderful Hawai’i exhibition
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* Target Queen, large-scale commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
* Charlie Phillips - Somewhere, Somehow, work by the Jamaican immigrant who became one of Britain’s greatest photographers, Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street W6 9BN until 9 March. Info: Riverside
* Tixinda, A Snail’s Purple, exhibition about a sea snail whose ink can be milked to produce a purple pigment known as Tyrian or Royal purple, by British-Mexican artist Melanie Smith and Patricio Villarreal Ávila, Peltz Gallery, 43 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PD, until 11 March. Info: Pellz
* Water Pantanal Fire, photography exhibition revealing the fragile beauty of the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland that sprawls across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, free, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 2DD until 31 May. Info: Museum
* To Survive To Witness, works by Gaza-based Palestinian artist Marwan Nassar created during the 2023-25 war in Gaza, P21, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD until 13 March. Info: P21
from Wednesday 18 February
* Bouchra Khalili: Circles and Storytellers, the culmination of the French-Moroccan artist and educator’s long exploration of the Mouvement des Travailleurs Arabes and its theatre groups, Al Assifa and Al Halaka, free, Mosaic Rooms, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SW until 14 June. Info: Mosaic
Performance
* Sweatmeats, a touching love story between two South Asian elders begins in a London diabetes clinic when a “scary Indian woman” meets an “irritating Pakistani man”, £10 - £35, Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, W12 8LJ, until 21 March. Info: Bush
+ A British-Indian~Pakistani rom com sparked by diabetes
* The Ophiolite, when Takis dies in Britain, a bitter feud erupts over where he should be buried. For his Cypriot family, ancient tradition must be respected; for his English wife, a promise he made in life is binding, Theatro Technis, 26 Crowndale Road, NW1 1TT until 29 February. Info: Theatro Technis
* Far Gone, one-man performance tracing a boy’s journey from innocence to child soldier with the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, and survival, £22, Brixton House, 85 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 8GL until 21 February. Info: Brixton House
+ From boy to man in a flash in the Lord’s Resistance Army
* Ukraine Unbroken, cycle of short plays by Ukrainian and British writers about courage, truth and survival in the face of tyranny, £15 - £39, Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street E8 3DL until 28 March. Info: Arcola
from Wednesday 18 February
* Bouchra Khalili: Circles and Storytellers, the culmination of the French-Moroccan artist and educator’s long exploration of the Mouvement des Travailleurs Arabes and its theatre groups, Al Assifa and Al Halaka, free, Mosaic Rooms, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5 0SW until 14 June. Info: Mosaic
Film
* The Voice of Hind Rajab, dramatisation of events in January 2024 when Red Crescent volunteers receive an urgent call: a six-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza begs for rescue, Curzon Bloomsbury until 18 February; Vues Finchley Road, Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City
* My Father’s Shadow, two brothers connect with their father in this drama set against the backdrop of the 1993 Nigerian presidential election, Picturehouses Finsbury Park, Hackney; until 19 February, National Film Theatre, Riverside; 20 - 26 February Lexi
+ A father’s shadow - and the shadow of a Nigerian coup
+ Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù: ’If the west doesn’t say a film is good, that doesn’t mean it’s no good’
* The President’s Cake, despite hardships in 1990s Iraq, Saddam Hussein requires every school to prepare a cake to celebrate his birthday. So 9-year-old Lamia must use her wits and imagination to gather ingredients for the cake or face the consequences, Picturehouses Finsbury Park and Hackney; Barbican, Cine Lumiere, ICA until 19 February
+ A girl, a boy, a rooster and a cake for Saddam
* No Other Choice, a man’s desperation to secure a new job finds him exploring unique ways to eliminate his competitors, in South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s madcap thriller, cinemas all over town
* I’m Migrant Film Festival, film from the SWANA region. programme includes 17 Feb, the Miraculous Transformation of the Working Class Into Foreigners, migration into Switzerland; 19 Feb, Sumud: Life Endures, three films about Palestine; 22 Feb, Fractured Homes, three films about migration and refuge; 24 Feb, Home Truths, stories exploring relationships and private lives; 27 Feb, I’m Migrant, two documentary portraits. Genesis Cinema.
+ I’m Migrant Film Festival is back
* Masterpieces of the Iranian New Wave, sexuality, identity and oppression explored with honesty, until 26 February. Programme includes 17 Feb, The Journey + A Wedding Suit; 21 Feb, The Postman; 24 Feb, The Night It Rained + documentary shorts by Ebrahim Golestan; 25 Feb, Dancer of the City; 26 Feb, Secrets of the Jinn Valley Treasure. Info: Barbican
* All That’s Left of You, Palestinian American director Cherien Dabis takes us on an epic and poignant journey through a Palestinian family's 75-year history; until 18 February: Cine Lumiere; Barbican; until 19 February ICA
* The Secret Agent, Brazilian political thriller, Odens Greenwich and Luxe Acton; 17 February: Odeons Lee Valley, Streatham, Wimbledon; 18 February, Lexi, 11am; 20 - 26 February ICA, National Film Theatre; Riverside 20 February - 5 March
* Make it Look Real, a local photo studio in Pakistan serves as a vibrant cultural hub where personal dreams and community connections are brought to life through photography, Curzon Bloomsbury until 20 February
Monday 16 February
* The global rise of the far right, Victor Mallet, Matthew Holehouse, Anna Gross, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place. W2. Info: Frontline
* Black Queer Lives in the Archive, Jason Okundaye discusses queer-focused media in the multicultural corpus, 6.20pm, National Film Theatre
Tuesday 17 February
* Last Days, Justin Ling’s portrait of a young missionary whose desire to spread the gospel in the remote North Sentinel Island, which has had no contact with the outside world, resulted in tragedy, 6pm, National Film Theatre
Wednesday 18 February
* Djouhra Abouda: Ali in Wonderland, directed by a woman, the film observes immigrant workers in 1970s France, offering a critique of labour, exploitation and racism, 6pm, £12, £10 concessions, £5 students, Ciné Lumière, Institut Français. Info: Mosaic Rooms
Thursday 19 February
* Amores Perros, three stories of animalistic desire drive this modern Mexican classic, 8.10pm, British Film Theatre
Saturday 21 February
* Black Girl, seminal work from the father of African cinema, Ousmane Sembène, focuses on a domestic worker who emigrates from Senegal to France in hope of a better life + Jemima + Johnny, a key figure in the development of pan-African filmmaking, South African-born Lionel Ngakane directed this short sprightly drama about the friendship between a Black girl and a white boy in 1960s West London, 3.15pm, National Film Theatre
Sunday 22 February
* West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty, Med Hondo’s spectacular musical traces the history of the West Indies + introduction by Ashley Clarke, 3.10pm, National Film Theatre
from Sunday 22 February
* Do You Love Me, playful and personal journey through archival footage of Lebanon, a fragmented history in a country without a national archive, celebrating creative expression as both resistance, renewal and a way to preserve memory, Curzon Bloomsbury
* Cutting Through Rocks, extraordinary documentary about Sara Shahverdi, an indomitable, motorcycle-riding divorcee and the first woman to be elected to the council of her Iranian village - provoking a backlash, 2.30pm, Curzon Bloomsbury + 25, 26 February
+ Cutting through the patriarchy in an Iranian village
Monday 23 February
* Niñxs, filmed over eight years in a small Mexican town, 15-year-old Karla tells her own coming-of-age story as she navigates life as a trans teenager + filmmaker Q&A, 6.20pm, Curzon Bloomsbury
Tuesday 24 February
* The Last Ambassador, What do you do as an ambassador for Afghanistan when the Taliban take power and you are a feminist? You fight back - at least if you're Manizha Bakhtari + Q&A with Bakhtari, Curzon Bloomsbury
TV and radio
Saturday 14 February
* Airbrushing Autocracy: The Fall and Rise of the Marcoses, the 1986 revolution in The Philippines, 8pm, Radio4
Sunday 15 February
* Return to the City of Darkness, a soundscape of Kowloon, 7.15pm, Radio3
Monday 16 February
* Other, By Leila Slimani: Being An Immigrant, essay by the French-Moroccan writer, 11.45am, midnight30, Radio4
* How did we get here?, series on the origins of the Middle East conflict, 8pm, Radio4
Tuesday 17 February
* Other, By Leila Slimani: Imagining Others, essay by the French-Moroccan writer, 11.45am, midnight30, Radio4
Wednesday 17 February
* Other, By Leila Slimani: Being A Woman, essay by the French-Moroccan writer, 11.45am, midnight30, Radio4
* Slim’s Guide To Life, in the first of a six-part series a 53-year-old stand-up locks back at his Black British childhood, 11pm, Radio4
Thursday 19 February
* Cecil: The Lion and the Dentist, a look-back at the 2015 controversy over the shooting of a Zimbabwean lion by a US trophy hunter that also raises questions about national parks, 10pm, Channel4
* Other, By Leila Slimani: Language and Belonging, essay by the French-Moroccan writer, 11.45am, midnight30, Radio4
* Word of Mouth, the loss of languages around the world, 3.30pm, Radio4
Friday 20 February
* Other, By Leila Slimani: Myths of Motherhood, essay by the French-Moroccan writer, 11.45am, midnight30, Radio4
Thanks to volunteer Daniel Nelson (editor of Eventslondon.org) for compiling this list.