Our pick of free things to do in London this week. Get earlier access to this article, delivered straight to your inbox for free every week, via our newsletter.
Festival of Britain-inspired poetry
This week is your last chance to see Gift to the Future, a free installation at Southbank Centre which has transformed the brutalist buildings into a work of poetry.
Inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain, and marking the building’s 75th anniversary, 90 lines of poetry created with thousands of children from across London, Birmingham and Manchester are displayed large-scale on the exterior for everyone to read as they pass.
Until 27 September.
A doubly Biblical exhibition
30 blown-up photographs of the Imperial Family Bible’s engravings of paintings by the likes of Titian, Raphael and Da Vinci, are paired with 30 black and white photos of contemporary church life in south London. Some pairings are obvious; others will challenge you. Drawn into your Presence is on at St James’ Church, Clapham.
Until 18 October.
A history of the Burberry trench coat
On Monday, the V&A South Kensington opens its new, free exhibition The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon, delving into the history and development of the fashion staple, from its origins as military attire to high-fashion status.
In addition to examples of the coat, items on display include a vintage womenswear catalogue and the personalised label inside fashion designer Hardy Amies’ own Burberry coat.
From 21 September.
Lyrical films on decolonisation
Serpentine North opens a free solo exhibition by New Delhi-based artist and filmmaker Amar Kanwar on Wednesday, in the form of a site-specific installation.
Immerse yourself in lyrical films and multi-video installations that shift between documentary, travelogue and visual essay, telling the enduring legacies of decolonisation and the 1947 Partition, which led to the creation of India, Pakistan and eventually Bangladesh.
23 September-31 January 2027.
An absorbing lecture on carbon
One of several free Gresham College lectures this week sees physicist and oceanographer Professor Helen Czerski discussing carbon. Specifically, she looks at how a material previously only mentioned in scientific circles has come to be discussed in everyday life. Learn how the whole carbon cycle works, how we’re affecting it and what it could look like in the future.
The talk takes place on Thursday evening, and you can watch in person at Barnard’s Inn Hall (Holborn), or online via livestream.
24 September.
Stay late at the Wellcome Collection…
The Wellcome Collection in Euston stays open late on Thursday night for a free-entry event exploring the topic of friendship.
Enjoy live music, make friendship bracelets, join conversations about care and connection, watch performances by BLINK Dance Theatre and hear short talks on everything from friendship’s health benefits, to whether we can be friends with machines.
24 September.
… or stay late at V&A East
Also keeping its doors open after dark on Thursday is the V&A East Museum, which holds the last in its series of free-entry upperground: DJ sets evenings. The DJ is TBC at time of writing, but recent appearances have come from Polyjammerous, Gloria Rose and Demae.
24 September.
Celebrities herding sheep
One of London’s wackiest annual events is the London Bridge Sheep Drive and Livery Fair, taking place this Sunday. Each year, a chosen celebrity has the honour of herding sheep over Southwark Bridge while the public watches — keep an eye on the website for this year’s celeb announcement. There’s also a livery fair at the north end of the bridge.
27 September.
Brixton Windmill harvest festival
The free-entry , family-friendly harvest festival at Brixton Windmill takes place on Sunday. It celebrates the wheat harvest with milling demonstrations inside the windmill, craft workshops, children’s baking sessions and live music from SELFolk, Funkoda and Brit Pop Folk Orchestra. Morris dancing is performed by Brixton Tatterjacks and there are drop-in activities including corn dolly making, and children’s arts and crafts.
27 September.
And if you’re in the market for £5 negronis, here’s where they’re hiding…
It’s Negroni Week don’tcha know, and Coppa Club London Bridge and Tower Bridge are marking the occasion by serving classic negronis, cold brew negronis and — for those feeling exotic — pineapple and coconut negronis, for just a fiver a pop throughout the week.
21-27 September.
