Whitechapel Gallery, London, 30 September 2015 – 3 January 2016.

This autumn the Whitechapel Gallery presents the first UK survey of contemporary Palestinian artist Emily Jacir. Intertwining film, installation, photography, sculptural elements and performance, Jacir addresses the nature of what it is to be between spaces – physically, culturally and temporally. For the past two decades she has been exploring notions of memory, documentation, marginalisation and cultural displacement, tracing and shedding light on multiple histories in her work. Highlights include Material for a Film (2004–ongoing), for which Jacir brings together remnants from the life of Palestinian intellectual Wael Zuaiter, and ex libris (2010–12), a public project, book and installation of printed marginalia, addressing the looting, destruction and restitution of books. Immaculately curated and beautifully executed, this exhibition is contemplative and insightful.

Victoria Miro Gallery, London, 1 October – 7 November 2015.

This is the first of two shows at Victoria Miro this autumn that bring Kara Walker’s art to the UK. Walker draws on the historical layers and tensions of America’s chequered past, exploring oppression, colonialism, slavery and racial and gender relations. She investigates stereotypical visual representations of ‘low art’ – primitivism, graffiti and folk art – to reveal their distortions. Walker’s work is bold, clever and raw, marking her out as a key artist of her generation.

Serpentine Sackler Gallery, London, 1 October – 8 November 2015.

Now open at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is the first solo show of critically acclaimed American artist Rachel Rose, winner of this year’s Frieze Artist Award. Rose’s work explores our collective anxiety towards impending ecological crises, and the shifting relationship between nature, technology and humanity. She has created an installation of work to respond specifically to the architecture of the gallery, a Grade II-listed former gunpowder store, built in 1805. The exposed-brick vaulted powder rooms house two of her most recent videos, A Minute Ago and Palisades in Palisades (both 2014), the projections of which are interwoven in the surrounding space with cleverly layered sound pieces and soft blue carpeted walkways. The resulting polyphonic environment is captivating and powerful.

Various locations across East and South London, 2 – 4 October 2015.

Now in its third year, Art Licks Weekend endeavours to celebrate the critical contribution of emerging artists and grassroots projects to London’s cultural life. Ninety artist-run projects, curatorial platforms, pop-ups and young galleries will be opening up this weekend across Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Deptford, Elephant & Castle, Hackney, New Cross and Peckham. Art Licks Weekend offers the chance to really uncover and engage in London’s independent contemporary art scene. Highlights include:

Chisenhale Studios, Mile End: Open Studios and group exhibition MEIL with screenings and performances, showcasing work by artists from their emerging artist programme Into the Wild, Friday 6 – 9pm, Saturday & Sunday 12 – 5pm

Ingrid, Deptford: an artist-led project space in a domestic, intimate setting, Saturday & Sunday 12 – 6pm

Lewisham Art House, New Cross: Open Studios and Group exhibition ‘Caesura et Vide Supra’ Saturday & Sunday 11am – 6pm. Discussion ‘Haptic Thinking and Architecture’, Saturday, 4pm

Kiosk at Peckham Pelican, Peckham: Independent publishers fair, Saturday 12 – 7pm

Pangaea Sculptors’ Centre, London Fields: Autumn artist residents present the exhibition Taking Shape: Sculpture on the Verge Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11 – 6 pm

Nomad Art School, at Unit 3 Projects, Bromley-by-Bow: An open, permanent, free and itinerant art school, where artists offer their knowledge. Thursday 6 – 9pm, Saturday 12 – 4:30pm, Sunday 11 – 6pm

The Photographers Gallery, London, 2 October 2015 – 10 January 2016.

This fascinating new exhibition presents 11 international case studies exploring the use of photography as factual evidence in the event of crimes or acts of violence, from a drone strike in Pakistan to the Nazi concentration camps. It explores a rich and complex history of debate, contradiction and contestation in the medium’s application. The exhibition questions photography’s ability to convey objective reality and is an unusual insight into a broad range of historical and geopolitical contexts.

Rose de Lara is a graduate of Goldsmiths College, University of London and the Editorial intern for RA Magazine, @RAMag.