From the Editor
* The majority of people in the UK think the British Museum should have a permanent exhibition dedicated to the transatlantic slave trade, according to research reported in The Guardian. But you can visit What Have We Here?, an exhibition in which British-Guyanese artist Hew Locke turns his lens on the museum’s collection in an exploration of histories of British imperial power.
Daniel Nelson london.globalevents@gmail.com X: @EventsNelson
TALKS AND MEETINGS
Saturday 18 January
* National Demonstration for Palestine, assemble 12 noon at the BBC, Portland Place, then march, until 4.30pm. Info: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Monday 20 January
* Amplifying women's voices in family planning in francophone West Africa, Nour Horanieh, Thais Gonzalez-Capella, Eloisa Montt-Maray, Marieme Fall, Manuela Reveiz, 3-4.15pm, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1. Info: LSHTM
* Facing antisemitism: the struggle for safety and solidarity, report launch with David Feldman, Ben Gidley, Brendan McGeever, Maya Goodfellow and Rachel Shabi, 6.30-8pm, Birkbeck, Clore Management Centre Torrington Square, WC1E 7JL. Info: Report launch
Tuesday 21 January
* Capitalism in an Age of Conflict, Emma Nelson, Charles Hecker. Marta Lorimer. Simon Bergman, Tanya Costello, 7pm, from £5.94, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2 1QJ. Info: Eventbrite
* World Briefing: Trump, Conflicts and the Economy, Robert Fox, Isa Soares, Ben Bland, Bianca Nobilo, Ravi Mattu, 6.15 – 7.30pm, £16.80-£6.50, The Conduit, 6 Langley Street WC2H 9JA, in-person or online. Info: On Frontline
* Harm and need in armed conflict: what to expect from law, policy and practice in 2025?, Andrew Bartles-Smith, Emiliano Buis, Ioana Cismas, Gemma Davies, Katharine Fortin, Helen Kinsella, Nathalie Weizmann, Shelly Whitman, 5.30-7pm, Overseas Development Institute, 203 Blackfriars Road, SE1 8NJ.. Info: ODI
EXHIBITIONS
* Silk Roads, outstanding fresh look at east-west trade and cultural 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 famous Silk Road to meet the people who lived, travelled through, worked and worshipped there, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 until 23 February. Info: BL
+ A voice from the Silk Roads: ‘I would rather be a pig’s wife than yours’
* 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, photos 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
* 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
* 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
* 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
* 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 Road, SW7. Info: V&A tou
* 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
* 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. Info: Museum
* Target Queen, large-scale commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre
* Hard Graft: Work, Health and Rights, stories of underrepresented 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, £25,000 prizewinner Jasleen Kaur, a Glasgow Sikh, brings her sculptures of everyday objects to life using unique sound compositions; Pio Abad’s exploration of cultural loss and colonial histories, reflecting on his upbringing in The Philippines; Claudette Johnson’s figurative portraits of Black women and men; Delaine Le Bas draws on Roma cultural history, focusing on themes of death, loss and renewal; £14/ concessions available, Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG until 16 February. Info: Tate Britain
* 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
* I See the Same Sky, South African artist Justin Dingwall’s first UK solo exhibition, Doyal Whan, Third Floor, 91a Rivington Street, EC2A 3AY until 25 January. Info: Exhibition
* Art of Palestine | from the river to the sea, the culture, heritage, and struggles of the Palestinian people through various artistic expressions, P21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD until 31 January. Info: P21
* Collateral Damage, artworks by journalist artist Abdelfatah Bouakaz on his inner pain, helplessness and oppression; it’s also a visual presentation on the war on Gaza, P21, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1 1JD, until 17 January. Info; https://p21.gallery/node/391
ARTS OPPORTUNITIES
* Migrants in Culture is looking for a Design Producer. The deadline for applications for the two-days-a-week job is 18 February.
* British East and Southeast Asian artists/companies “interested in using a heritage artform in their modern theatre practice” are invited to apply for six awards of £2,000, mentoring in fundraising, marketing, and creative development, and a residency in a leading theatre venue. Details from New Earth Theatre. Deadline: 5 February
* Volunteer performers of all ages and abilities are invited to join a community-based performance at the O2 Shopping Centre in Finchley Road. You will team up with professional dancers and dance students. No experience required, just enthusiasm for moving and performing, and some of your time.
* The Royal Court Theatre has launched a London-wide playwrights award for 13-18-year-olds.
* The stage is yours: Symposium in east London is an open platform for creativity and for people to exchange creative culture and share work in progress or finished material; a place to be creatively inspired and a spot to do something.
* Springboard is a free part-time training programme that aims to find, shape, inspire, champion and sustain the next generation of performers from under-represented backgrounds in west London.
* The Royal Court Theatre has launched The Writers’ Card, part of its programme of helping playwrights at every stage of their career. It offers mentoring, networking, funding opportunities, events, and use of resources in the building, such as the library, subsidised meals and free script printing. For more information on the Card, details of the writer support offer and how writers can sign up to the free membership, visit https://royalcourttheatre.com/playwriting
* Theatre in the Pound: The Cockpit Theatre’s monthly scratch night enables performers to try out 10-15 minutes of new work, plus a short Q&A. Also classes, workshops, readings, advice sessions, support & performance opportunities.
* 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.” It has also launched songwriting sessions.
* 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
* 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, Curzon. Bloomsbury, 23 January; ICA 17-19, 22 January
+ Congo, colonialism, Cold War conflict and all that jazz
* The Bibi Files, leaked footage from police interrogation videos are interwoven with archival footage that shows Netanyahu’s rise to power, and how his nearly 30-year rule as Prime Minister has divided the state of Israel, until 23 January, Curzon Bloomsbury
* How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, a family coimopetes for a multimillion-dollar inheritance: Thailand's Oscar submission set attendance records across Southeast Asia and claimed the audience award at New York’s Asian Film Festival; Ealing Picturehouse, ICA
* Emilia Perez, musical crime comedy in which a Mexican lawyer is offered an unusual job to help a notorious cartel boss retire and transition into living as a woman, Curzons Aldgate, Bloomsbury, Camden, Wimbledon
* All We Imagine As Light, drama about three women navigating life in Mumbai, Ritzy Picturehouse (until 18 January). ICA (until 23 January), BFI Southbank, Curzon Bloomsbury,
* Separated, one of the darkest chapters in recent US history: the policy of separating children from their parents at the US border, brought in by the Trump administration in 2017/8, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 23 January
* Echoes and Horizons: Contemporary Bolivian Cinema, 25 Jan, Echoes and Horizons: Puerto Escondido; 8, 9 Feb, Bomba animated shorts; 21 Feb, Chaco; Garden Cinema, until 21 February
Friday 17 January
* The Wilby Conspiracy, Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine teamed up for this political thriller set in Apartheid South Africa, about a released freedom fighter who goes on the run with a hapless, avowedly neutral Englishman, 6.10pm, National Film Theatre
from Friday 17 January
* My Stolen Planet, using her own home movies, Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi reveals the dual existences lived by women in Iran, Curzon Bloomsbury until 23 January
Saturday 18 January
* Everywhere We Are Islands, four short films explore the relationship of young people across the Caribbean diaspora with their identities and one another, 5.30pm, £12.50, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1
* Goodbye Julia, superb drama about a woman and her maid set around South Sudan’s succession from Sudan in 2011; in aid of Hadhreen, a displaced people’s charity in Sudan, 3.30pm, Garden Cinema
Sunday 19 January
* La Haine, 1995 drama focussed on three friends caught up in social and racial tensions in neglected Paris suburbs + live soundtrack by three members of Asian Dub Foundation, 6pm, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre. Belvedere Road
* Favoriten, documentary following a class of primary pupils in Vienna, and their devoted teacher, Ilkay. Most don’t speak German at home, some families are wounded by war experience or face discrimination, but Ilkay is determined to create a supportive and safe environment, Curzon Bloomsbury
from Sunday 19 January
* London Short Film Festival,Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA until 26 January. Info: The Programme
Monday 20 January
* The Melody Haunts My Reverie, international films from Singapore and Palestine are among a selection from the London Short Film Festival 2025 programme + Q&A, 8.45pm, £11.70-£13.50, National Film Theatre
from Monday 20 January
* Only The River Flows, a detective in a rural Chinese town finds himself in a dark world where mystery hangs over every lead, Whirled Cinema, 259-260 Hardess Street, SE24 OHN until 26 January. Info: Whirled Cinema
PERFORMANCE
* Nine Nights, Yasser takes part in itikaf, sleeping and fasting in the mosque for the last 10 nights of Ramadan, but soon regrets his decision. And as he navigates smug worshippers, shared bathrooms, and recurring thoughts of chunky chips, Yasser’s isolation forces him to confront a hidden side of himself, Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Street, W6 9BN until 26 January. Info: Riverside
* Kyoto, the world’s nations are in deadlock and 11 hours have passed since the UN’s landmark climate conference should have ended. Agreement feels a world away. The greatest obstacle: US oil lobbyist and master strategist, Don Pearlman… , from £25, Soho Place, 4 Soho Place, Charing Cross Road, W1D 3BG, until 3 May. Info: Soho Place
* The Lonely Londoners, 1950s London. Newly arrived from Trinidad, Henry ‘Sir Galahad’ Oliver is impatient to start his new life in London. Will the London fog dampen Galahad’s dreams? Or will these Lonely Londoners make a home in a city that sees them as a threat?, Jermyn Street Theatre, 16B Jermyn Street, SW1Y 6ST until 22 January.
+ ‘What is it that we want that white people find it so hard to give?’
* A Good House, Amy Jephta’s satirical view of neighbourliness and the pressures that come with wanting to fit in, acting as a microcosm of community politics in South Africa, Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS until 8 February. Info: Royal Court
Friday 17 January
* The Horse of Jenin, an ode to the power of imagination and the value of playing freely, written and performed by Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada, 7.30pm, £10-£17, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN. Info: Theatre Royal
from Tuesday 21 January
* Santi & Naz are bestest-friends in a village in pre-partition India. One Sikh, the other Muslim; they have little understanding of how religion will divide them, £11-£22, Soho Theatre, Dean Street, W1, until 8 February. Info: Soho Theatre
TV and RADIO
Monday 13 January
* Canadian Immigration: Boom Then Bust, 4pm, Radio 4
Tuesday 14 January
* Bombay Railway, 11pm, 2am, BBC 4
Wednesday 15 January
* Simon Schama’s Story Of Us, the Commonwealth and immigration feature strongly in the second of the historian’s new series about changes in Britain seen through the arts, 9pm, BBC2
* Ahir Shah’s Seven Blunders of the World, exploration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 1925 identification of Seven Social Sins, 11pm, Radio 4
Thursday 16 January
* Lockerbie: A Search for Truth, drama about the 1988 airline bombing over Scotland, 9pm, Sky Atlantic
Friday 17 January
* Sorry, I Didn’t Know, Black comedy quiz,11.40pm, ITV 1