The capital’s best free events from Feb 2nd-8th
Happy Monday {{ first name | Cheapskater }},
Welcome back! We hope you all had fab weekends filled to the brim with free culture.
Speaking of free culture, this week we’re partnering with one of London’s many wonderful free galleries: Science Gallery London, near London Bridge. Their latest exhibit, Quantum Untangled, has been extended – you now have until 28th March to catch interactive artworks and sculptural installations exploring how small ripples in time can affect our world.
For more amazing free art (and, of course, other forms of culture), read on! As a result of reader feedback, we’ve also introduced a “looking ahead” section to our newsletter. Let us know what you think of it!
Have a wonderful week,
Clementine x
PS: Congrats to Jaydon S, who won tickets to Berocca’s ‘Reset Rave’, as featured in last week’s email. Scroll down for another free-to-enter prize draw, plus your chance to get £20 free credit on the EatClub app… pretty much a free meal!
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MONDAY
👑 ‘An Eye for Beauty’
Missed the sold-out V&A Marie Antoinette exhibit? Fear not, because the Wallace Collection’s new art trail, dedicated to artworks associated with the ill-fated queen, opens today.
🗓️ Mon 2nd Feb-Tues 31st March
📍 Bond Street
💭 In times of crisis
How do we dream in the climate emergency? This interactive workshop at The Cockpit will use psychoanalysis to explore how climate anxiety might shape our dreams.
🗓️ Mon 2nd Feb, 6-7.15pm
📍 Marylebone
TUESDAY
🪩 Art After Dark
Throughout the West End this week, you can see a variety of public artworks celebrating London’s nightlife, including a ‘reimagining’ of Piccadilly Circus.
🗓️ Tues 3rd-Tues 10th Feb
📍 Various locations
🐱 ‘The Cat Show’
Calling all cat lovers (& art lovers too): this playful exhibit opening at The Bakery Art Gallery will celebrate felines in all their forms, from portraits to quirky cat-inspired pieces.
🗓️ Tues 3rd-Sun 15th Feb
📍 Angel
WEDNESDAY
🎨 ‘Your Stories in Colour’
Join Portland N’ Pals for a painting workshop bursting with connection, conversation & creativity (hosted by the Southbank Centre). Whatever your skill level, this workshop is for you to use art to explore ideas around identity, heritage & memory. All materials provided.
🗓️ Wed 4th Feb, 6-8.30pm
📍 Waterloo
🪷 Take a breather
The Dragon Cafe at Shoe Lane Library is always a good idea for a mid-week mental refresh. This week, choose from yoga, creative writing & experimental drawing.
🗓️ Weds 4th Feb, various times
📍 Chancery Lane
🥘 Bon appetit!
Looking for new friends in London? Try the Likewise Hub, which offers free supper clubs three times a month, where you’ll cook & eat a healthy feast with a diverse group.
🗓️ Weds 4th Feb, 5.30-7.30pm
📍 South Hampstead
THURSDAY
🧪 Fun & functionality
It’s the penultimate day for this pop-up from ‘tobacco-free nicotine’ brand 1N: head to 118 Curtain Road for matcha, red light therapy & even digital art using your own brainwaves.
🗓️ Until Fri 6th Feb, 10am-7pm
📍 Shoreditch High Street
🏳️🌈 Queering the archives
Celebrate LGBT+ History Month at the Royal College of Physicians, with this museum late all about historical queer physicians & the medicalisation of sexuality.
🗓️ Thurs 5th Feb, 5.30-8pm
📍 Great Portland Street
💌 Competition time!
Whether you love or loathe Valentine’s Day, celebrate 14th Feb in style at The Lucky Pig. We’re giving away a pair of tickets to the glamorous underground bar’s Valentine’s Party, featuring special cocktails, live music & even a tarot reading.
To be in with a chance of winning, get someone you know to subscribe to Cheapskate by sending them this link (it contains your personalised referral code): {{rp_refer_url}}. Once they’ve signed up, you’ll be entered into a draw, & we’ll pick the winners at random.
FYI, members of the Cheapskate Club (our incredible community of readers who support us with a small monthly/yearly donation) get automatic entry into all of our competitions, no referral needed. Join here!
FRIDAY
🐠 Wetland wonders
The Science Museum’s latest exhibit explores the fragile beauty of the Pantanal, a vast South American wetland home to a thriving ecosystem threatened by climate change.
🗓️ Fri 6th Feb-Sun 31st May
📍 South Kensington
✏️ Drop in & draw
Pop into the Royal Academy for a relaxed drawing session inspired by A Story of South Asian Art. Materials provided, no experience needed – just turn up, pick up a pencil & have a go.
🗓️ Fri 6th Feb, 6-8pm
📍 Piccadilly Circus
SAT - SUN
📷 DIY photography
Whitechapel Gallery is celebrating the rich history of community darkrooms, with this informal drop-in darkroom session. No photography experience required.
🗓️ Sat 7th Feb, 11am-1.30pm
📍 Aldgate East
🌷 Get green-fingered
Give back to your local green space with this community day on Peckham Rye Park & Common, where you can help restore the wildlife-rich Japanese Garden.
🗓️ Sat 7th Feb, 10.30am-3pm
📍 Peckham Rye/East Dulwich
🐲 Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Lunar New Year has come early in Lewisham, with this festival at the Zhulin Hidden Village, complete with traditional food, family workshops &, of course, a lion dance.
🗓️ Sat 7th Feb, 11am-2pm
📍 Lewisham
💔 Love is a scam!
Not a fan of Valentine’s Day? Luckily for you, Signature Brew Blackhorse Road is hosting an alternative emo-themed V-Day market for all the heartbroken among us.
🗓️ Sun 8th Feb, 1-6pm
📍 Blackhorse Road
LOOKING AHEAD
🎶 Making Trouble will celebrate 200+ years of Union Chapel in Islington.
👑 The Bank of England is hosting a special late event to celebrate its long history as gold custodians.
❤️🩹 You can get a broken item fixed at the Highgate Repair Café.
And for dessert...
🧡 Want to support Cheapskate without spending a single penny? Please click on links scattered throughout the newsletter like this one – we’ll be so grateful!
💰 Trying to save or invest more in 2026? We love Kaldi – a brilliant app that earns you cashback on everyday shopping & automatically adds it to your savings or investments. Cheapskaters get a free £10 Amazon voucher added to their Kaldi wallet when you use the code CHEAPSKATE & open an account (T&Cs apply). Capital at risk when investing.
💆♀️ I have tried all sorts of expensive (& inexpensive) products to help me calm my frizzy hair – but this £4.49 banana-smelling hair mask has genuinely helped the most! It’s available from Boots. - Kate
😎 Check out the fab new range of styles available at our fave sunglasses brand Meller, including this eye-catching, sci fi-inspired pair. Plus, it’s buy one, get one free with the code FLASH2X1! - Clementine
📸 Kate & I had the pleasure of having our headshots taken the other week by Cheapskate reader Lu Guetler. If you’re looking to get your photo taken, lovely Lu is offering fellow subscribers one free final image (for any session type). Just quote CHEAPSKATE in the message box when booking. - Georgia
🏃 Fancy getting fit & helping older people in your local community at the same time? Try GoodGym in Lambeth – we particularly love the sound of their Tuesday group runs, which involve a 5k run followed by a volunteering session.
🎥 I loved the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery last year (on for one more week!) – if you did too, vote for your fave photo here for a chance to win a meal for four. - Clementine
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