Join us at the National Maritime Museum with The Road to Nowhere as they present an interactive programme decolonising our relationship to water and looking at how our identities are as fluid as the sea.

Founder Dalia Al-Dujaili invites guest speakers and curates a workshop exploring South and South West Asian migration paths across bodies of water, asking how waterways have been exploited in the same ways as indigenous lands. We will also look at mass migrations across oceans, waterways as facilitators of cultural exchange, as both dangerous and fortuitous for migrants, and what the sea connotes for the diasporic identity.

Find out more about the Crossing Seas in Search of Identity events below.

Events

Talk: Hope in Crossing Seas

Friday 6 October | 6.30pm-7.30pm 

Join artist Tamara Al-Mashouk and Babylon Migrants Project founder Ali Ghaderi as they speak through what seas and oceans mean to them amidst waves of avoidable tragedies in the seas, and the hostile environment around us.

Hosted by Dalia Al-Dujaili, the panel will explore how we can begin to reimagine seas as sites of healing rather than tragedy. We will also explore how oceans have historically acted as both facilitators and inhibitors of movement, and what this means for the people that cross them, and we will look at privilege and seafaring spaces accessibility.

Learn more and book

Workshop: Every Journey Leaves Traces

Saturday 21 October | 2-4pm

Artist Amanni Hassan Hollands leads a craft workshop exploring various prompts on land-dwelling and seafaring communities from the United Arab Emirates. Through the act of palm leaf weaving, participants will begin to uncover aspects of cultural exchange along the ancient sea-trading routes. From India to Venice, the journey involves silks, spices and pearls; songs, stories and poetry.

Learn more and book

Talk: What and who are Bodies of Water?

Friday 3 November | 6.30pm-7.30pm

Join Dalia Al-Dujaili in conversation with authors Sabrina Mahfouz and Nina Manandhar, as they explore what it feels like growing up between two cultures, and examine what it means to belong.

Learn more and book

About the curator and host: Dalia Al-Dujaili (pictured)

young woman sitting on a bench with trees in the background

Dalia is an Iraqi-British freelance writer, editor, and producer based in London. She tells stories on emerging creativity from the SWANA region and diaspora, on migrant narratives, and reports on community-led stories from the margins with bylines in The Guardian, WePresent, Huck, The New Arab and more.

Collaborations include Nike, Converse, TATE Galleries, BFI, the Barbican, and she has recently co-written a book with The Middle East Archive. She is the founder of The Road to Nowhere magazine – as seen in Dazed, GQ Middle East, Port and It’s Nice That – which showcases new creative and cultural writing, art, and photography about second-generation immigrants, diaspora, and migration narratives.

Dalia is also the Producer of Refugee Week 2023 and has worked with migrant charities such as Paper Airplanes, Restless Beings, Counterpoints, Gaza Library, the IRC and The Migrant Rights Network.

What’s On

More events at the National Maritime Museum.

Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Exhibitions

Astronomy Photographer of the Year

See the world's greatest space photography at the National Maritime Museum
Open daily until July 2025 | 10am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Women of the RNLI
Exhibitions

Women of the RNLI

Celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea at the National Maritime Museum
2 March – 1 December 2024
Free
National Maritime Museum
Saturday Art Club
Workshops

Saturday Art Club

Join the weekly creative drop-in for young people aged 13-16 during term time at the National Maritime Museum
Saturdays from October 2024 - April 2025 | 10am-1pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Character Encounters
Talks and tours

Character Encounters

Visit the National Maritime Museum every Saturday to discover a different character from history with their own fascinating story to tell
Every Saturday
Free
National Maritime Museum
SENsory Sailors
Family fun

SENsory Sailors

Come along and enjoy this brand new sensory play session for children under 13 years with special educational needs
Once a month on Saturdays | 11am-12.30pm
Free | Pre-booking required
National Maritime Museum
Discover Sundays
Family fun

Discover Sundays

Each Sunday come and explore the Museum's collection through hands on creative activities
Term time Sundays | 11am - 1pm | 2pm - 4pm
Free | Drop-in
National Maritime Museum
The case for dark matter
Talks and tours | Member events

The case for dark matter

A Flamsteed Astronomy Society lecture by Dr Matthew Bothwell
Monday 14 October 2024 | Doors at 6.30pm, event starts at 7.15pm
Flamsteed Members: FREE| Guests of Flamsteed Members: £15 | Royal Museums Greenwich Members: £12
National Maritime Museum
Play Tuesdays
Family fun

Play Tuesdays

Bring your under 5 on a different adventure every week! Explore the Museum together through song, dance and stories
Term time Tuesdays | 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm
£4 per child and accompanying adult | Under 6 months free
National Maritime Museum
LGBTQ+ Family Network
Family fun | Identity

LGBTQ+ Family Network

A safe space for local LGBTQ+ families to meet one another, get involved in creative activities for all ages and explore the stories within the collection
23 November | 11am-1pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
Trafalgar Day Members' tour
Talks and tours | Member events

Trafalgar Day Members' tour

Enjoy an exclusive tour of the Nelson, Navy, Nation gallery at the National Maritime Museum with curator Dr Katherine Gazzard
Monday 21 October 2024 | 2pm-2.45pm and 3pm-3.45pm (SOLD OUT)
Free | Members only
National Maritime Museum
October half term at the National Maritime Museum
Family fun

October half term at the National Maritime Museum

Free craft activities, science games and family-friendly tours: there's something different happening every day at the National Maritime Museum this half term!
26 October - 3 November 2024
Free
National Maritime Museum
Safe Harbour
Family fun

Safe Harbour

Safe Harbour is a series of free workshops created to provide a safe space for foster and adoptive families with children under 13 years
Monthly: Next date 19 Oct 2024 | 12.30pm - 2.30pm
Ticketed | Free
National Maritime Museum
The Ghosts of Greenwich - storytelling session for young people
Family fun | Member events

The Ghosts of Greenwich - storytelling session for young people

Hear some spooky stories from around Greenwich and learn how to craft your own tales in this Halloween workshop
Friday 1 November 2024 | 11am-midday, 1.30pm-2.30pm and 3pm-4pm
Free | Members only
National Maritime Museum
BSL Tour: Amazing Animals in Maritime History
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
Saturday 15 February 2025 | 1.15pm-2.15pm
Free
National Maritime Museum