From the Editor

* Palestinian comedian Alaa Shehada’s one-man show at the Bush has finished, but he is one of six Palestinians starring in a documentary, Palestine Comedy Club, that is about to be unveiled in London cinemas, and in Palestine: Peace de Resistance at the Park Theatre comedian Sami Abu Wardeh is proving that resistance can be funny.

Seriously, A Grain of Sand, the story of a Gazan girl in search of her family, has opened at the Arcola, and The Voice of Hind Rajab, a dramatic reconstruction of the shooting of a six-year-old girl, is showing in several cinemas. There’s also a film season celebrating Palestinian director Annemarie Jacir.

Daniel Nelson london.globalevents@gmail.com

TALKS AND MEETINGS

Saturday 31 January

* Ai WeiWei on Censorship, 7.30pm, £30 - £85, Central Hall Westminster. Info: FANE

Sunday 1 February

* Philharmonia Debates... Music & Exile, panel discussion on  music’s role in preserving cultural identity for exiled and migrant communities, 5.45pm, free, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road SE1 8XX. Info: Philharmonia

Monday 2 February

* How to defeat the far right, Nick Lowles, 6.15 - 7.30pm, £16.80, The Conduit, 6 Langley Street, WC2H 9JA. Info: Conduit

* Why immigration policy is hard, Alan Manning, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2

* Shoah with Sue Vice, to celebrate the new edition of Shoah, Vice, Barry Langford and Libby Saxton consider director Claude Lanzmann’s work as an influence on films that witness genocide and the Holocaust, 6.30pm, £15, British Film Institute

EXHIBITIONS

* Emergency Exits: The Fight for Independence in Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus, how post Second World War “Emergencies” , as they were termed by the UK, shaped Britain, its former territories and the modern world, free, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road SE1 6HZ until 29 March. Info: IWM

+ 28 February, Discussion Day, Yasmin Khan, Rose Miyonga, Maria Hadjiathanasiou, Bethany Rebisz, David Anderson, Huw Bennett, Karl Hack, 2 - 7pm, £30

+ Exit wounds of Empire

* Hawaiʻi: a kingdom crossing oceans, a celebration of art and history, £14/ £16, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG until 25 May. Info: Hawai’i

*  A Greenland shadow over a wonderful Hawai’i exhibition

* Thirst: In Search of Freshwater, from ancient Mesopotamia to modern-day Nepal and Singapore, the exhibition combines art, science, history, technology and indigenous knowledge to deepen understanding of our relationships with freshwater, free, Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE until 1 February. Info: Wellcome

+ Thirst: an exhibition bridge over troubled water

* Botanical Tales and Seeds of Empire & Flora Indica: Recovering the lost histories of Indian botanical art, The Singh Twins examine the global mythologies of plants and the histories of Empire + Flora Indica – work by historical Indian botanical artists, admission with Kew entry fee, Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, Kew Gardens until 12 April

+ The Singh Twins light up the links between empire and botany

+ The Singh Twins spotlight Kew’s role in the business of Empire

* 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

* Nigerian Modernism,  Nigerian artists working before and after the decade of national independence from British colonial rule in 1960, Tate Modern, Bankside SE1 9TG until 10 May. Info: Tate

*  A Story of South Asian Art: Mrinalini Mukherjee and Her Circle, artists who have shaped the trajectory of Indian Modernism, £17, Royal Academy, Burlington House, Piccadilly W1J until 24 February. Info: RA

* I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies, examination of political dissent and erasure through the idea of collage, Sabrina Tirvengadum, Sunil Gupta, Qualeasha Wood, Jess Atieno,  Sheida Soleimani, free, Autograph, Rivington Place, EC2A 3BA until 21 March. Info: Exhibition  

* The Land Carries, work by three international artists: Ahmed Akasha (UK), Dina Nur Satti (US) and Yasmin Elnour (Bahrain) responding to material in the Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology, 1 - 5pm, Petrie Museum, University College London, Malet Place, WC1E 6BT until 16 May. Info: Sudan 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

* Target Queen, large-scale commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre

* Charlie Phillips - Somewhere, Somehow, work by the Jamaican immigrant who became one of Britain’s greatest photographers, Riverside Studios, 101 Queen Caroline Stret W6 9BN until 9 March. Info: Riverside

* Tixinda, A Snail’s Purple, exhibition about a sea snail whose ink can be milked to produce a purple pigment known as Tyrian or Royal purple, by British-Mexican artist Melanie Smith and Patricio Villarreal Ávila, Peltz Gallery, 43 Gordon Square, WC1H 0PD, until 11 March. Info: Pellz

ARTS OPPORTUNITIES

* British Youth Music Theatre auditions offer 11-21-year-olds the chance to train with professionals and perform in new musical productions in theatres across the UK. London audition is in Peckham on 31 January.

* The Young Playwrights Award is a free, open-access competition for any teenager in the UK interested in writing a play. Entries are open until 22 April.

* The Royal Court Theatre’s Writers’ Card aims to help playwrights through mentoring, networking, funding opportunities, events, subsidised meals and free script printing.

* Closing date for the Soho Theatre’s flagship writing award is 13 February. The winning play will be given a full production.

* UK-based and aged 18-25? The Grierson DocLab: New Entrants training initiative is providing up to 12 individuals with the chance to thrive in factual TV and documentary-making. Deadline: 17 February.

* P21 Gallery & Az Theatre invite submissions for an upcoming exhibition and activities programme on artistic responses to genocide: all media, any genocide.

* The £15,000 Footnote x Counterpoints Prize is open for fiction writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Deadline 13 February. The prize also includes a publishing deal.

* The Climate Migration Collaborative is looking for contributors to its
Climate Migration Storytelling initiative.

* Comedian Munya Chawawa has launched Black Boys Theatre Club “to give young men access to a world of theatre”.

* Women writers, directors, performers, musicians and visual artists are invited to submit projects for the Playground Theatre’s planned Women’s Voices: A Celebration

* The BFI is to invest £150m over the next three years under six headings: audiences, education & heritage, filmmaking & talent development, skills & workforce development, international, and insight & industry.

* New Diorama Theatre is distributing grants of £500 to migrant theatre makers to ease the burden of visa, legal, and other bureaucratic costs affecting migrants navigating UK immigration.  

* Good Chance, formed in the Calais Jungle refugee camp, is launching Stage Door 10 - a national programme placing 10 creatives from refugee backgrounds in paid roles across 10 UK theatres and arts organisations.

* Theatro Technis and Hyphen Artist Collective’s offer free in-person & online writing sessions + community chats for hyphenated & global majority creatives.

* Artist Surgeries at the Gate Theatre: on the second Thursday of every month.

* As Yet Unscene, year-round initiative to find and develop scripts in early stages of development. it includes workshops, rehearsed readings and fully-rehearsed performances of longer extracts. Details here

* The Cockpit Theatre offers classes, workshops, readings, advice sessions, support & performance opportunities.

* Papatango hopes its new Playwrights’ Studio will be a home for playwrights of all levels of experience. Its advantages include digital workshops, lone-to-one, and thousands of pounds in open-access funding.

* 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.