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Put your money away! Here are the week’s best free events.
Travel Photographer of the Year
Explore Chinese villages and Louisiana wetlands without leaving London at this year’s Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition. There are photos from !00 countries on display at the University of Greenwich’s new building (next to Greenwich Park). Perfect if you’re desperate for a holiday, but can’t afford to go anywhere more exotic than Zone 3. University of Greenwich. Cutty Sark DLR. Until Sep 4.
Summer Scholars
Nerds assemble! The British Library is putting on three weeks of geeky-but-cool talks based on the research being conducted in their North American collections. Topics include Emily Dickinson’s poetry and the Great American Desert. British Library. Euston. Until Aug 26.
Lifeboat
Want to do something cultural but also quite lazy? Well, take part in Lifeboat as it travels from Hounslow to Catford this month. It’s basically a boatful of hammocks that you can laze in. No wonder, then, that 10,000 people have already had a go. Multiple venues. Sat Aug 13-Aug 28.
Rio in Dalston
Dalston’s already home to the Rio Cinema but for the next two weeks it’s also hosting an unofficial celebration of the 2016 Olympic city. Highlights include poetry readings, music and screenings of the action. Plus caipirinhas. Multiple venues. Dalston Junction Overground. Until Aug 21.
Glow Poster Making
Fancy some psychedelic wall art? Make glow-in-thedark posters at House of Vans this weekend. Suitable for teenagers looking to piss off their parents and adults wanting something good to stare at after a big night out. House of Vans. Waterloo. Sat Aug 13.
Black Chronicles: Photographic Portraits
Looking back on the dark history of the British empire, these 40 photos highlight the significant black presence in the UK before the first major group of Caribbean immigrants arrived in 1948. National Portrait Gallery. Leicester Square. Until Dec 11.