Bishopsgate Institute - Discover London

London Courses  Learn something new this autumn Our Library & Archives hold varied collections relating to the social and cultural history of London and the people who have shaped the city. If you love London, join us this term to explore more about the magnificent metropolis, from the buildings that make up it's ever-changing skyline, to the rich literary canon it has inspired.  Modernist London in 10 Buildings  Thursday 29 November, 18.30  |  from £22 The National Theatre, the Isokon building, Trellick Tower; London is home to some striking modernist architecture. Focusing on ten examples of modernist architecture in the city, we will examine the historical contexts of modernism, its legacy, and its shifting status in the popular imagination.     Book Now  More London Courses Picturing London 5 November - 10 December  |  18.30 - 20.30 Hear stories of how Soho’s LGBTQ+ inhabitants have shaped society as we know it today, as well as discovering tales of loves lost and found, deceit, and debauchery: from a sensational Victorian scandal involving the heir to the throne, to the recording of Lou Reed’s sexually ambiguous album Transformer.   Book Now  The Changing City - Building the Square Mile Saturday 10 November  |  10.00 - 16.00 Explore the architectural history of The City of London, starting with Sir Christopher Wren and St Paul’s Cathedral, and working our way through to the present day’s ‘starchitects’. Explore the area on foot and learn some basic architectural drawing techniques to wow your friends and family.   Book Now  Walking Tours: Marx in Soho  Saturday 13 October  |  11.00 - 13.00  It was in London that Marx and Engels were commissioned to write The Communist Manifesto, brought up a family and founded an international working-class organisation. This course of two walks will examine the ways in which the stark inequalities, the history, literature and spectacle of the city influenced Marx and how, in turn, Marx influenced the metropolis.  Book Now  Walking Tours: Marx in Hampstead Saturday 20 October  |  10.00 - 13.00 Don't miss the second part of this walking tour series in which you will hear a revolutionary history of the capital, told through the eyes of radicals, trade unionists and exiles daring to dream of a better world. Marx in Hampstead examines Marx’s relationship with suburban North London: from Marx-style family outings on Hampstead Heath, to living on the cusp of the capital and writing Capital.   Book Now  The East End in Fiction and Fact  Saturday 27 Oct, 11.00 - 16.00  |  from £39 A one-day session exploring East London history via some of the vividly realised fiction written about its districts between 1820 and 1920. Among our tour guides are Dickens, GWM Reynolds, Walter Besant, Margaret Harkness, Israel Zangwill and Arthur Morrison. Using maps and images, we’ll explore areas including Stepney, Poplar, Shoreditch, Limehouse, Wapping and Bethnal Green, thinking about how imaginative fiction and historical fact intertwine to create local legend.  Book Now  You may also like... Photography Workshop: Take Great Photos in a Day Saturday 13 October  |  10.30 - 16.30  |  from £59 This one-day workshop will teach you handy technical knowledge and enhance your creativity when taking photographs. You will learn how to control your manual camera’s exposure, moving away from limited automatic modes. This is an eye-opening workshop-style session with hands-on tuition and practice. During the workshop, the tutor will give you creative advice, ideas on what subjects to shoot, and tips on how to shoot them in an inspiring way. Expect to put all theory you learn into practice. Book Now