BONE CARVINGS OF THE RUSSIAN NORTH AND CONTEMPORARY RUSSIAN ART

Two exhibitions at the Usher Gallery, Lincoln, which form phase one of a cultural exchange begun in 1994 between Lincolnshire and the Arkhangelsk region in Russia. Details: Janita Elton, exhibitions officer, 01522 527980.

UNTIL OCTOBER 1

SHIBATA ZESHIN: MASTERPIECES OF JAPANESE LACQUER FROM THE KHALILI COLLECTION

Some 70 works by one of the finest exponents of lacquerware in the 2,000-year history of this Japanese art form are at the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh. They include writing boxes, sake cups, fan paintings and decorative panels. Free. Details: 0131 225 7534.

UNTIL JUNE 29

LES SIXTIES: GREAT BRITAIN AND FRANCE 1962-1973 - THE UTOPIAN YEARS

A Festival exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery comparing how French artists and photographers were influenced by Britain’s pop art culture, and their British counterparts by new French cinema (Jean-Luc Godard, Truffaut) and fashion designers (Courr ges, Ungaro). The political radicalism of Paris’s poster art, the psychedelic graphics of British poster designers, and the irreverent graphic satire of London (Private Eye) and Paris (Charlie Hebdo) are also on display. Free. There is an accompanying conference, June 5, and talks. Details: 01273 292850.

MAY 4-5

BIG BANG! A DRUMMING WEEKEND

A celebration of the beats of four continents at the Barbican Centre, London EC2. On May 4, 7.30pm, the concert programme will include Brazilian maestros, Airto Moreira and Nana Vasconcelos, London’s Afroblok, and Kianzo (drummers and dancers from the Ivory Coast). The free foyer programme includes: Roberto Pla’s Salsa Band, Orphy Robinson (a funky fusion of contemporary jazz and world percussion), Joji Hirota and Kakutsitsi (spectacular Japanese drumming) and master drummers from Ghana. Details: 0171 638 8891.

MAY 5-10

ART WITHOUT FRONTIERS

The Refugee Council has mounted an exhibition about life in exile and the positive contribution refugees have made to the UK at the Standpoint Gallery, 4 Coronet Street, London N1. It features Turkish illustrator and sculptor, Kagan Guner; Bosnian painter, Moroslav Smiianic; photographers, Howard J Davies and Maggie Lambert; and Mohini Chandra, a multimedia artist. Details: Anne Thomas, 0171 820 3044.

MAY 10-18

BT ENVIRONMENT WEEK

Youth groups and students aged 11-21 will be busy cleaning graffiti off school walls, scattering wildflower seeds over suitable unused pieces of ground, repainting the Scout hut, and lots more, in a nationwide drive to take positive action for the environment organised by the Civic Trust. Registered projects have the chance to win a share of Pounds 50,000 worth of awards set aside by BT. Details: 0171 976 (England), 0141 248 6864 (Scotland), 01232 403779 (Northern Ireland), and 01222 458540 (Wales).

MAY 12-16

DRAMA WORKSHOPS

Spring Gardens Arts Centre, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, is running workshops for schools and colleges, 10am-4pm, covering: warm up, acrobatics, theatre-based skills, repertory, commedia dell’arte, and integrating theatre skills, design and music. Tickets: Pounds 7. Plus a teacher’s inset, May 12, 10am-4pm, and, on May 17, 8pm, Scarabeus Theatre’s performance of Fata Morgana: Vision of the Skywalkers with stilt dance, acrobatics, aerial work and striking visual images. Tickets: Pounds 6, Pounds 4 concessions. Details: 01494 464800.