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.
Nazi slave labour
A tough exhibition at the Wiener Holocaust Library explores the Nazi system of slave and forced labour, with archival documents, company files and eyewitness testimony showing how perpetrators such as the SS, and firms including IG Farben and Krupp, profited from and exploited forced labourers.
Until 30 October.
The story of surgery
The Hunterian Museum's current exhibition explores how hospital operating theatres have changed over two and a half centuries, exhibits ranging from an 18th century amputation painting to contemporary images of NHS surgical teams. The exhibition looks at developments in anaesthesia, antisepsis, theatre design and the ethics of showing surgery.
Until 31 October.
Wartime London in art
Also closing this week is Beauty and Destruction: Wartime London in Art, the Imperial War Museum's exhibition showing how artists depicted the Second World War in the capital. 45 paintings, drawings, photographs, film, objects and oral histories combine to tell the story of a city facing loss, displacement, overcrowding and shortages — and often meeting all this with remarkable resilience.
Until 1 November.
Celestial cartography
Tracing the entangled histories of cosmic imagination and earthly power, Night Maps — a new exhibition at the Warburg Institute in Bloomsbury — reveals how throughout history, depictions of the heavens have been made to serve rival systems on Earth. This is the first time many of these maps have gone on public display.
Until 17 April 2027.
Bloomsbury Group talk
Guildhall Library examines the art and lives of Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry in a talk about the Bloomsbury Group on Tuesday afternoon. Arts Society lecturer Frank Woodgate also considers the group's literary and intellectual companions, including Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey and John Maynard Keynes. The talk is available in person or online via YouTube.
27 October.
History of Indian cinema
Wednesday's Gresham College lecture delves into the history of Indian cinema, looking at how Bollywood has successfully overcome competition from Hollywood. You can watch in person at Barnard's Inn Hall (Holborn) or online.
28 October.
Bodysnatching talk
Guildhall Library in the City explores the grisly demand for corpses created by the proliferation of anatomy schools in the late 18th century. The gruesome history of bodysnatching is a free Thursday afternoon talk led by City of London Guide Robert Stephenson. It's also available online via YouTube.
29 October.
Double dose of V&A lates
The V&A East's upperground: DJ sets evenings continue this Thursday. The museum stays open late, with a guest DJ taking over for the night, with an extended set.
Then on Friday, the V&A South Kensington holds its regular Friday Late, exploring the eerie and surreal through contemporary design and performance. Expect haunting stagecraft, surreal screenings and weird workshops, with artists and designers using storytelling and world-building to blur the line between reality and simulation.
29 and 30 October.
Pumpkin painting
As pumpkin season reaches its crescendo, the Royal Parks hosts three days of free pumpkin painting sessions for families, at Regent's Bar & Kitchen in Regent's Park; and the Pavilion Café in Greenwich Park. You'll need to sign up in advance. Oh and psssst! children wearing fancy dress receive a free Halloween treat.
29-31 October.
Knitted gnocchi and crocheted cannoli
A new Italian deli opens in Soho on Friday... but we hear the food's a bit woolly. Kate's Knitalian is an art exhibition by Kate Jenkins, who has used crochet, knit and embroidery to transform Air Contemporary Gallery into a detailed Italian trattoria and deli counter. Tables are laid with hand-knitted feasts: (Literal) strings of salami, woven wheels of parmesan and tangled spaghetti.
30 October-5 December.
A spellbinding history of witchcraft
On Friday afternoon, Jessica Nelson, Head of Collections at The National Archives, gives a free online talk about the history of witchcraft — just in time for Halloween. Hear about the real people who were accused during witch hunts, and the devastating impact it had on their communities.
30 October.
Vintage car run
If you're up bright and early on Sunday morning, look out for some rather unusual vehicles on London's roads. The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run sees 400+ pre-1905 vehicles setting off from Hyde Park from 7am onwards (it takes a couple of hours for them all to get going). From here they head southward, via either the A3 or A23, passing through Brixton, Balham, Streatham, Tooting, Mitcham, Croydon, Purley and Coulsdon.
It's free to watch, and a lot of fun to wave at the vehicles as they pass. Just turn up at the side of the road anywhere along the route.
1 November.
