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.

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
Adults and children enjoying a storytelling session.
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
Image of a small proportion of the Sun, which is lit up in golden yellow at the surface and moves to darker colours away from the surface. A golden plume of a coronal mass ejection is coming out of the Sun and flowing parallel to it.
Exhibitions

Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition

See the world's greatest space photography at the National Maritime Museum
Open daily until summer 2025 | 10am-5pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
A man dressed in period sailor costume leads a tour of the National Maritime Museum, with kids and parents following behind
Talks and tours

Character Encounters at the National Maritime Museum

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
Close-up shot of a person's hands as they use a felt-tip pen to draw an intricate pattern on a small piece of wood
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
A group of four with adults and children participating in a craft.
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 29 March | 12.30pm - 2.30pm
Ticketed | Free
National Maritime Museum
The gold hilt of a sword against a dark fabric background. The outline of a human skull has been digitally superimposed on to the right side of the hilt, creating an unsettling central motif
Exhibitions

Pirates

Explore the myth, discover the truth: Pirates at the National Maritime Museum is now open
Open daily until 4 January 2026 | 10am-5pm
Adult: £15 | Student: £11.25 | Child: £7.50
National Maritime Museum
A young boy lifts the lid of a cardboard box during a craft activity at the National Maritime Museum
Family fun

Easter holidays at the National Maritime Museum

Join our range of fun family activities taking place at the National Maritime Museum this Easter
6-20 April 2025 | Activities every day
Free | Drop-in
National Maritime Museum
Star trails stretching above metal columns
Talks and tours | Member events

Flamsteed Lecture: Fantastic Binaries and How to Find Them

Did you know astronomers estimate that between a third and a half of all stars are in binaries? Join Dr Ingrid Pelisoli and discover more
Monday 14 April 2025 l 7:15pm
Flamsteed Members: FREE | Guests of Flamsteed Members: £15 | Royal Museums Greenwich Members: £12
National Maritime Museum
Blackbeard's treasure by Iszi Lawrence
Family fun | Member events

Members' Family Lecture: Blackbeard's Treasure

Join children’s author Iszi Lawrence as we explore her historically accurate pirate adventure for kids!
Saturday 26 April 2025 | 11.00am - 12.30pm
Free | Family Members only
National Maritime Museum
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
Next date: 17 May 2025 | 11am-1pm
Free
National Maritime Museum
A child holds her mother's arm as they both peer curiously at a small crab held in front of them
Events and festivals

World Ocean Day

A family-friendly celebration of our ocean at the National Maritime Museum
Saturday 7 June 2025
Free
National Maritime Museum
Events and festivals

Teachers' Evening 2025

Celebrate the end of term at the National Maritime Museum and find out about schools sessions, resources, CPD and project opportunities at all Royal Museums Greenwich sites.
Thursday 3 July 16:30 - 19:00
FREE for UK school teachers and educators
National Maritime Museum