From the Editor
* Six Global Majority-led theatres — Tamasha, tiata fahodzi, New Earth Theatre, Tara Theatre, Beyond Face, Talawa Theatre Company — are offering artists, creatives, theatre-makers and freelancers connected to their organisations “the opportunity to email, call or request time to share what they might be feeling” during the anti-migrant violence. “We are pooling our resources to ensure that we can offer access to a kind, friendly voice if you need it. Each of our organisations will be holding space for those that need care and connection.”
They say their theatres exist “to enable theatre-makers, across the country, and at all stages of their careers, to keep telling the nuanced stories that challenge hate and division. The stories that bring people together, that allow empathy beyond tolerance, and that mean people see themselves and their experiences reflected back to them.”
* This month the Garden Cinema presents South Asian Heritage Month as well as an impressive retrospective season.of films by China’s Zhang Yimou.
Daniel Nelson london.globalevents@gmail.com X: @EventsNelson
TALKS AND MEETINGS
Tuesday 27 August
* Global Africa: Profiles in Courage, Creativity and Cruelty, Adekeye Adebayo presents a short film about African writers, thinkers and personalities + discussion with Nigel Stewart and Dawn Wright, 1-2.30pm, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: SOAS
31 August
* Divest for Palestine - Day of Action. Info: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
EXHIBITIONS
* Tavares Srachan: There is Light Somewhere, the Bahamian artist spotlights lost stories of the people of the African Diaspora, £18, under-12s free, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, until 1 September. Info: Southbank Centre
+ Bahamian artists wants us to see the light
* 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
* Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King, the life and legacy of the maharaja, 1780-1839, Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1 until 20 October. Info: www.wallacecollection.org
+ Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King: glittering remnants of empire
* 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: Welcome Collection
* 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
* Antelope, Malawian, Oxford-based artist Samson Kambalu’s sculpture on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square. Info: Malawian Pan-Africanist the world forgot
* House of Bondage, revisits South African photographer Ernest Cole’s Apartheid-era record, £6.50-£8, Photographers’ Gallery, Ramillies Street, W1 until 22 September. Info: Gallery
* Shadowlines, the world of Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide, £6.50/£8, Photographers’ Gallery, Ramillies Street, W1 until 22 September. Info: Gallery
* Tropical Modernism: Architecture and Independence, an architectural style with British colonial beginnings in the 1940s that evolved into a symbol of a postcolonial future in West Africa and India, £14, Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7. Info: V&A
+ How sunlight, humidity and independence made a new ism + Post-colonial party pads
* Suspended States, Yinka Shonibare riffs on colonialism’s ecological impact, imperialism's legacy on conflict and peace attempts, Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Gardens, W2 3XA , until 1 September. Info: Serpentine
* Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music, “celebration of the trailblazers and innovators that brought new music to the UK, and the layered Black experiences that have birthed a thriving musical culture and history”, British Library, Euston Road, NW1 2DB until 26 August. Info: 500 years of Black British music
* Raise the Roof: Building for Change exhibition, explores narratives and attitudes in the Royal Institute of British Architects’ hq, looking at gender, race and imperialism through new works, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, until 21 September. Info: RIBA
+ ‘One of the most racist things I’ve ever seen’
* Gavin Jantjes: To Be Free! A Retrospective 1970 – 2023, more than 100 prints, drawings and paintings by the South African artist, £12.50/ £9.50 , Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, E1 7QX, until 1 September. Info: 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
* Between Two Worlds: Vanley Burke and Francis Williams, two portraits of Jamaican scholars, centuries apart, shedding light on a 1745 painting and reflecting on identity and colonial legacies, free, V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7. Info: Exhibition
* Inspiration Africa: Stories Beyond the Artifacts, exploration of V&A galleries through the lens of African heritage, free, second Saturday of every month, V&A, Cromwell Rod, SW7. Info: V&A tou
* Stella B -Celebrating Hidden Histories, Goldframing Women in the Revolution, exploration of female heroism, Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk St, SE1 0BL until 22 August. Info: Africa Centre, 66 Great Suffolk Street, SE1 0BL. Info: Africa Centre
from Friday 23 August
* 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
ARTS OPPORTUNITIES
* Applications are open for Black Cultural Archives' Youth Programme: a community of young people who meet fortnightly at the home of Black British history, and develop transferrable skills for a career in the arts and heritage sector.
* This year’s Talawa Festival is running development workshops and link-ups for artists exploring story, movement, voice and dramaturgy. You’ll be able to meet fellow creatives and Talawa’s New York team.
* Call for photographs: disability and representation. Emerging photographers have a chance to win a £312 fee and an online exhibition. Contact Autograph for details.
* Wanted: dancers of Latinx backgrounds to participate in workshops and perform at Hoxton Hall, east London to tell the story of Latin America's Indigenous communities. Weekly evening workshops from September, Hoxton Hall performances 27 November to 1 December.
* The 15th Open City Documentary Festival in London next May invites entries: deadline: 13 December.
* Film Africa, 25 October - 3 November, will present films in London venues. You can enter your film now.
* London Film Festival is accepting submissions for UK shorts and features for LFF 2024 in October. Contact lffsubmissions@bfi.org.uk
* Papatango has launched a digital playwriting course, with tips from top artists.
* Riverside Studios is offering a regular drop-in playwriting group: “Whether you’re working on a script and want creative inspiration, you're intrigued by the idea of writing a play, or simply want a creative outlet, these monthly meet-ups are informal, fun and open to everyone.”
* Are you a writer, director, producer or theatre-maker with a piece of new writing that you’d like to put in front of an audience? This is the place.
* London is to get a memorial to slave trade victims in Docklands. “It is vital that our public spaces reflect the heritage of our great city - in all its diversity and complexity,” said Mayor Sadiq Khan. Public consultation will be followed by a competition for the artist. Unveiling is scheduled for 2026.
* Citizens of the World, a choir that grew out of the Calais “Jungle” and has 50 members from 30 countries, welcomes newcomers. It rehearses on Wednesday evenings. Details on the website
FILM
* Hollywoodgate, Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Nash'at is granted limited access to an abandoned US base and $7 billion worth of arms and equipment as the Taliban take over and employ Hollywood-style propaganda to promote their standing in the world, Curzon Bloomsbury and Garden cinema until 29 August; Riverside, Barbican, ICA until 22 August; Picturehouses Central, Crouch End, Ealing, Hackney, Ritzy; 30-August-4 September, Cine Lumiere
* Didi, coming of age drama in a Taiwanese-US household, Picturehouses Central, Crouch End, Ealing, Hackney, Ritzy
* South Asian Heritage Month, programme includes 23 Aug, Original Copy, documentary offering a poignant and humorous insight into the workings of an Indian cinema and its devoted staff, including Mumbai's last painter of film posters. Info: Garden Cinema.
+ South Asian film special: ‘Free to be me’
* Zhang Yimou: A retrospective season. 23 Aug, 2 September, The Road Home, as a mother wants a traditional burial for her husband, the story of their love affair unfolds in stunning colour; 24, 29 Aug, House of Flying Daggers, 9th century love-triangle with political machinations and deadly fight sequences; 26 Aug, Not One Less, once-in-a-lifetime performance of 13-year-old Wei Minzhi as a teenager ordered to a remote and poverty-stricken village to work as a substitute teacher; 27, 30 Aug, Hero, a boundary pushing extravaganza, richly romantic vision of history, and a somewhat controversial blockbuster; Garden Cinema, until 2 September
* Only The River Flows, a police detective is assigned the case of a series of horrific murders in a rural Chinese town – leading him into a dark world where mystery hangs over his every lead, ICA, The Mall, until 22 August; Picturehouses Central, Crouch End, Ealing,Gate,, Greenwich, Hackney, Ritzy; Odeon Luxe Haymarket, Vues Finchley Road, Islington, Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City
* A Story of Bones, documentary inquiry into the unmarked mass burial ground of an estimated 9,000 formerly enslaved Africans on the island of Saint Helena - one of the most significant traces of the transatlantic slave trade still on earth, Curzon Bloomsbury until 22 August
Friday 23 August
* Only the River Flows, police detective Ma Zhe is assigned the case of a series of horrific murders in a rural Chinese town. Pressure from his superiors leads to a hasty arrest but several clues push him deeper into a desperate investigation of his own, Garden Cinema
Saturday 24 August
* Who in da Mornin + Sugar Cane Malice, double bill of two perspectives on colonialism: the annual Bahamian Junkanoo festival – a masque and music tribute to the warrior king of the West African Ahanta + a portrait of the plight of Haitian migrant workers in the Dominican Republic, who work on one of the largest US-owned plantations in the world, 2pm, £11.20-£13, BFI Southbank
from Tuesday 27 August
* Edward Yang, four works celebrating the Taiwanese filmmaker, who was among the first to explore Taiwan's rapid urbanisation and the lives of people attempting to navigate the ever evolving city of Taipei,.ICA, The Mall, until 1 September
PERFORMANCE
* Pieter-Dirk Uys: Sell-By Date, the South African comedian returns, Soho Theatre, Dean Street, W1, until 24 August. Info: Soho Theatre
* Death of England: The Plays, Clint Dyer and Roy Williams’ series of three state of the nation plays performed together for the first time. Watch one or discover the connections between the plays as Michael, Delroy, Denise and Carly navigate what it means to be British, 4 Soho Place, Charing Cross Road, W1D 3BG, until 28 September. Info: Soho Place
+ Brexit-voting bailiff electrifies this post-Boris revamp
* Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and US civil rights fighter Rosa Parks are among those remembered in this musical, from £15, Other Palace Theatre, 12 Palace Street, SW1 until 8 September. Info: The Other Palace
Thursday 22 August
* Una Marson Celebration, discussion and performance on the work and life of the pioneering Jamaican feminist activist, writer and first Black BBC producer with Rosa-Johan Uddoh, 8pm, from £7, Southbank Centre. Info: Celebration
TV and RADIO
Monday 19 August
* The Kingdom: The World’s Most Powerful Prince, two-parter about Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, 9pm, BBC2
* Slavery At Sea, investigation into the conditions of migrants workers on British fishing vessels, 11.05pm, BBC2
* To Catch A Scorpion, real-life series about an attempt to track down a notorious people-smuggler, 9.30pm, Radio 4
Tuesday 20 August
* Corridors of Power: Should America Rule the World?, third in powerful documentary series. This time out it’s the Rwanda genocide when the US, and the UN, undermined the post-Holocaust “Never Again” pledge, 10pm, BBC4
Wednesday 21 August
* Pole to Pole, travelogue in Kenya, 8pm, 1.35am, BBC4
Thursday 22 August
* Bend It Like Beckham, colour and culture clash humorously as an Indian family in London tries to raise their soccer-playing daughter in a traditional way in this much-loved 2002 sports comedy-drama, 2.40pm, Film 4
* Empire of Tea, series about the beverage and colonialism, 9.45pm, Radio 4