Celebrate Diwali on site at the National Maritime Museum with a programme of workshops, performances and a lantern parade to draw the day to a close. 

Workshops for the whole family

Stories of Light

11am | 2pm

Voyagers Gallery, ground floor of the National Maritime Museum

Come and hear stories inspired by the themes of the Diwali celebration. Storyteller Debbie will take you on a journey celebrating community, connections and light.

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Lantern making

11.00am - 12.30pm | 1.00pm - 3.30pm

Learning Space, ground floor of the National Maritime Museum

Create your own Diwali lantern in this crafty workshop for the whole family. Be inspired by the celebration and make something magical to take on the lantern parade at the end of the day.

Suitable for all ages and abilities.

Create your own Diwali decoration

11.00am - 1.00pm | 1.30pm - 3.30pm

Propeller Space, ground floor of the National Maritime Museum

Inspired by the festival of light, create your own Diwali decoration to hang at the Museum or to take home to bring some joy into your house.

Suitable for all ages and abilities.

Lantern parade

Meet at 4pm outside the Parkside Café, near Ship in a Bottle

Bring your lanterns and join the lantern parade through Greenwich Park to celebrate the drawing to an end of the Diwali festival at the National Maritime Museum.

Performances 

11.30am | 2.30pm

Taking place on the Great Map.

Look out for performances from the Bhavan Gallery, Bollywood Co, and 4x4 Bhangra.  

Families will have the opportunity to participate in dance workshops and learn a few of the moves, ready to join in with performances!

Performances will be repeated, with one set in the morning and one set in the afternoon so that no one misses out!

Odissi Performance, The Bhavan

Odissi is an ancient dance form that originated in the eastern state of India, Odisha. The dance is also a narrative recited by dancer through expressions, gestures. Initially Odissi was developing as a temple dance performed by maharis (temple dancers) for the Lord Jagannath. Almost extinct during the British Raj, it was reconstructed and reborn in 20th century.

Katrina Rute, a versatile dancer and Odissi teacher in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, will be presenting an ashtapadi Dashavatar from Gita Govinda, a book of poems written by the poet Jayadeva. Dashavatar depicts the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu. 

4x4 Bhangra

4x4 Bhangra Dancers know as the #Kings Of Bhangra are high energy bhangra performers who aim to promote bhangra, the folk dance from the Punjab in Northern India, and to work with young people through the arts.

The Bollywood Co

The Bollywood Co. (BollyCo) is London's premier South Asian Dance Company specialising in Dance & Entertainment. Featured in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the upcoming Marvel's Eternals, this group brings the vibrancy and colour of Bollywood to Hollywood. 

Demonstration

Rangoli demonstration

Come and watch the development of a rangoli in the Museum. Watch how a rangoli develops, discover the skill that goes into the creation, and ask questions of the rangoli artist. View the completed rangoli across the rest of the day.

ReThink Space, Sammy Ofer Wing

To celebrate Diwali the National Maritime Museum is releasing a whole host of resources to add to festivities at home.

Scroll down to find out more.

Watch a Diwali performance at the Queen's House

Epika Dance is an International Bollywood Fusion Troupe based in London recognised for their unique fusion of Indian (Bhangra, kathak, garba, gidha and Bollywood), Japanese and Hiphop styles. Epika stands for Empowerment, Passion, Inspiration, Knowledge & Ambition. The company was Founded by Emiko Jane Ishii who trains people to become leaders in dance that will also help to inspire and evolve the future of dance.

Watch these three performances from Epika, filmed at the Queen's House, to celebrate Diwali. Performances include Bhangra and Giddha, Bhangra hiphop fusion and Kathak.

Rangoli making

Watch a Rangoli being created on the floor by members of staff from the National Maritime Museum.

Kindly created by VSA Gayatri Navaratna with VSA Barsha Pokhrel (edited by VSA Gayatri Navaratna) 

Check out the Diwali zine

This special publication is made up of submissions from South Asian communities in London and around the world.

'I created this zine to celebrate the persistent creativity of queer communities and how we keep traditions alive while cultivating our own,' says editor Anju Kasturiraj. 

Anju is the Community Facilitator for the Migrations, Heritage and Belonging project at Royal Museums Greenwich. As well as the Diwali zine, she's also recorded a podcast in conversation with Hansika Jethnani, a queer poet and activist. Listen in to find out more about Diwali, religious violence, and queer interfaith spaces.

Read the zine

Listen to the podcast

Explore connections between London's docks and India

Meet Raj Fernandes, a dockworker living and working in London in the nineteenth century. Learn about the cargoes brought into London, the pay and working conditions along the docks, and Raj’s own story of life in London as a Lascar and the diverse communities he lived amongst in sailor town.