Free event

Essential information

Type
Location
Date and times October 2021- June 2022

Influenced by the afrofuturist world-making of musicians like Sun Ra and Igbo creation myths, the legendary 90s Detroit techno duo Drexciya named themselves after a mythological underwater country populated by the unborn children of pregnant African women who were thrown off slave ships. The Black Atlantis series invites artists, academics, activists and musicians to discuss the nautical afrofuturist mythologies that Black creatives have explored and what they tell us about the Black experience in the new millennium.

The Black Atlantis Series will take place both online and on site at the National Maritime Museum from October 2021 - June 2022

In conversation with Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert

Wednesday 13 October 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Black Atlantis Series.

 

In this conversation with educator and activist Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert we explore afro-futurist mythologies in fiction and how these connect to climate justice, feminist practice and a radical Black liberation movements.

Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert is a London-based educator and activist. She is a member of Black Lives Matter UK and the Wretched of the Earth collective.

Her work focuses mainly on the politics of race, gender, class and climate justice. Her educational work centres on race and racism, black feminism and radical imagination. She currently works at the University of Warwick.

Alexandra has worked on a number of collaborative and creative projects and recently wrote a piece for Skin Deep magazine called 'No police, no pollution: A vision for Black liberation in the UK’.

Chair: Chardine Taylor-Stone : Adult Education Programmer at National Maritime Museum

Book tickets

Event Image: Pumzi 2009 Dir: Wanuri Kahiu

Black History Month 365

Join us in celebrating Black histories as part of a year round programmes of activities

B.O.S.S. X RMG

Saturday 4 December, time TBC

Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S), The Only Good System Is a Soundsystem, 2021. Installation view at FACT, Liverpool Biennial 2021. Photography_ Rob Battersby (5).jpg

Black Obsidian Sound System (B.O.S.S.) was established in the summer of 2018 with the intention of bringing together a community of queer, trans and non-binary black and people of colour involved in art, sound and radical activism. Following in the legacies of sound system culture they wanted to learn, build and sustain a resource for our collective struggles. The system, based in London, is available to use or rent by community groups and others with the purpose of amplifying and connecting them.

B.O.S.S illustration by Jacob V Joyce 2021.png


The Turner Prize 2021 nominated collective will be taking over the National Maritime Museum's Great Map with their sound system and inviting guests to explore afrofuturistic and nautical themes through music, art and performance within our galleries.

Learn more about B.O.S.S.
 

What’s on

Talks and tours | LGBTQ+

LGBTQ+ history talks at the National Maritime Museum

We offer queer history talks at least once a week at the National Maritime Museum
Thursdays and Sundays | See page for dates | 3.30pm | Drop-in
Free
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' lecture: 2026 guide to the night sky

Hear from astronomer Radmila Topalović about what you can expect to see in the night sky this year
Thursday 5 February 2026 | 6.30-7.30pm
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Flamsteed Lecture: Great Comets and Great Disappointments

A Flamsteed Astronomy Society lecture with Nick James, Head of Comet Section, BAA
Monday 9 February 2026 | Doors open at 6.30pm, event starts at 7.15pm
Flamsteed Members: FREE | Guests of Flamsteed Members: £15 | Royal Museums Greenwich Members: £12
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Museum Lates

Queer History Night

Researchers and artists share their journeys into the museum archives as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.
Thursday 12 February 2026 | 6-9.30pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Flamsteed Astronomy Society: History of Astronomy

Join the Flamsteed Astronomy Society for their monthly History of Astronomy lecture
Tuesday 17 February 2026 | Doors open at 6.30pm, event starts at 7.00pm
Flamsteed Members: FREE | Guests of Flamsteed Members: £15 | Royal Museums Greenwich Members: £12
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' exclusive talk: Lunar New Year

Join us in the Members' room for this exclusive talk
Saturday 21 February 2026 | 3-4pm (sold out)
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' treasures tours

Explore the treasures of the National Maritime Museum with one of our expert guides
Thursday 12 February, Saturday 14 March, Tuesday 14 April and Sunday 17 May 2026 | 11am
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | BSL tours

BSL Tour: Amazing Animals in Maritime History

Join historian and guide John Wilson at the National Maritime Museum, for a British Sign Language (BSL) tour about remarkable animals
Tuesday 3 March 2026 | 2pm-3pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Cosmic upheavals: the discoveries that shaped our worldview

Join Sarah Alam Malik to discover how humanity’s relationship with the Universe has changed through the centuries
Thursday 12 March 2026 | 6.30-7.30pm
Free for Members | £5 for non-Members
National Maritime Museum
Talks and tours | Member events

Members' lecture: Wilful murder? – the sinking of the Lusitania

Join author and historian Diana Preston as she relates the final fatal voyage of the Cunard liner, Lusitania
Thursday 16 April 2026 | 6.30-7.30pm
Free for Members
National Maritime Museum