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.
Objects left to the V&A
It's Legacy Week at the V&A South Kensington, a programme of free events celebrating the objects which have been left to the museum in people's wills. Among the highlights: hear how a spectacular chest of drawers, covered in mother-of-pearl inlay, made in Syria and purchased by Agatha Christie, ended up on display at the new V&A East Storehouse.
12-16 October.
Lunchtime concert
Did you know that the students and staff of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in Greenwich regularly put on free lunchtime concerts? This Tuesday, tune into a performance of song and aria, with singers Hope Heaven, Jacq Herbots, Hamish Garland and Izzie Wilcocks. Even better, it takes place in the Old Royal Naval College Chapel, so you can soak up the historic setting while you listen.
13 October.
The science of puppetry
Learn about the science that goes into bringing puppets to life and making them as realistic as possible, in Tuesday's free Gresham College lecture. Gresham Professor of Physics Robin May and world-renowned puppet creator Steve Allen (Labyrinth, The Muppets, Fraggle Rock) discuss how we may be able to use puppets to help tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges. It takes place at Barnard's Inn Hall (Holborn) or you can watch the online livestream.
Also at Gresham College this week: History professor Kate Hill talks about how it's decided which objects should be kept for museums, and how what's valuable to a museum varies across different institutions and different time periods.
13 October.
Two artists, one scene
Artists Thomas Gainsborough and Yinka Shonibare were born 235 years apart, but their works appear side-by-side in a new display at the National Gallery.
Yinka Shonibare and Thomas Gainsborough: A Conversation showcases Gainsborough's 1750 work 'Mr and Mrs Andrews', a portrait of a wealthy husband and wife in the British countryside, alongside Shonibare's own take on the scene, which removes their heads and clothes them in West African textiles. The 1998 piece questions ideas about power, identity and wealth, while hinting at the executions of the French Revolution.
15 October-7 February.
Brand new club night
Fancy cutting a rug to Latin ass-shaking bangers, reggaeton and baile funk? Brand new club night Caliente comes to the Shacklewell Arms, with underground queen Kuntessa spinning the choons. It goes on till late, and there's zero cover charge.
16 October.
Bayeux Tapestry talk
The Bayeux Tapestry and the Domesday Book are both survivors of the Norman Conquest, which can tell us what happened during that turbulent period of history. Find out more, as the National Archives offers a free/pay-what-you-can online talk on Friday, by Michael Lewis, Curator of the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, and Jessica Nelson, Head of Collections Expertise and Engagement at The National Archives.
16 October.
Middlesex Hospital Blues
The third — and last — in a series of exhibitions responding to the layered history of Fitzrovia Chapel and surrounding Middlesex Hospital site, Middlesex Hospital Blues centres around Blue, the final film by Derek Jarman.
It includes a newly commissioned ambisonic work by composer Simon Fisher Turner, with excerpts from an assortment of Jarman's texts and projects. Also on show: a new sculptural installation by artist Jenkin Van Zyl in the form of a two-way mirrored screen which spans the full width of the chapel. alongside two mirrored sculptures of an embracing couple.
The setting is deliberate and poignant: Fitzrovia Chapel was once part of Middlesex Hospital, home to the country's first dedicated HIV/AIDS wards, and Blue was the final film by Derek Jarman, released just four months before his death from AIDs-related complications.
16 October-18 November.
An autumnal stroll
Get out and about, with a wander among London's autumn leaves. This time of year is ideal for spectacular seasonal walks and photo opportunities: here are some of our favourite spots for a stroll, almost all of which are free to enjoy.
Alternatively, Frieze Sculpture Trail is ongoing in Regent's Park, and it's one of the best years yet. The open-air exhibition includes a life-sized palm tree made from recycled tyre rubber. It's totally free to visit.
