Things to do/see/listen to in November 2026 Exhibitions, albums, concerts, movies, and TV shows to get you through the most melancholic month of the year without falling into hibernation

November has a special talent for making us want to hibernate, even if we are not bears living in Yellowstone National Park. By five o’clock, it is dark, and between jackets, boots and scarves, the idea of leaving the house starts requiring the same level of organisation as a polar expedition. The sofa is calling, the blankets are answering, and the temptation to cancel every plan in favour of watching a TV series with a steaming cup of herbal tea in our hands is becoming increasingly real. And yet, before officially declaring the social season closed, it is worth taking a look at what is happening beyond our four walls, because the November 2026 cultural calendar has plenty of tricks up its sleeve. There are artists turning thread into a political language, singer-songwriters trying to stitch their wounds back together, and live concerts where music becomes a form of dissent, but also pure magic. Meanwhile, on screen, spies with unmanageable love lives, romantic entanglements and multimillion-dollar divorces confirm that other people's chaos is always excellent entertainment. Here is what to do, see and listen to in November 2026, before the month finally convinces us to hide under the duvet and never move again. 

Things to do/see/listen to in November 2026

The exhibition: Sheila Hicks – Milan

From 17 November 2026 to 14 February 2027, Milan's PAC – Padiglione d'Arte Contemporanea presents In the Thread of Love, the first Italian retrospective dedicated to Sheila Hicks, an artist who has taken textile art far beyond the realm of doilies and living-room decorations. More than one hundred works explore a practice in which threads, fibres and colours become tools for discussing identity, marginalisation, emancipation and collective memory. Her installations move between intimacy and monumentality. Fibres become living matter, while colours acquire an almost physical presence, inviting us to see textiles not as a pliable material but as a language capable of reshaping space and challenging the hierarchies between art and craft. For anyone heading to Florence, meanwhile, there is still time to visit Frammenti non dimenticati. Firenze, 1966 until 22 November at the Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, located at Via della Scala 16. The exhibition reconstructs the wounds left by the 1966 Florence flood through photographs, documents and archival objects, and presents Francesco Botticini's Saint Sebastian before its restoration, supported by the Officina. It is a meeting point between the city's collective memory and its artistic heritage, reminding us that artworks, just like people, bear the marks of everything they have lived through. These memories also inspired Angeli di Firenze Eau de Parfum Edizione Limitata.

The album: Un Tripudio di Pelle e di Baci – Margherita Vicario

On 20 November, Margherita Vicario returns to music with Un Tripudio di Pelle e di Baci, a new album featuring thirteen tracks, preceded by the single Ho chiesto aiuto. After splitting her time between music and cinema, the artist returns to a deeply personal style of songwriting that puts loneliness, the desire for closeness and the need to start over at its centre. The title feels like a response to an era in which we know exactly how to tell our stories online, but struggle a little more to say out loud that we are not doing well. Here, asking for help is not a failure to be concealed beneath a motivational caption, but a way of letting other people in. Balancing independence with the need for human connection, the album explores vulnerability without turning it into an aesthetic accessory. Because becoming the best version of ourselves is not always the answer. Sometimes, simply figuring out how we feel would be enough. If you love Italian female singer-songwriters, mark 27 November on your calendar, too. That is when Kintsugi, the new album by Elisa, comes out, taking its name from the ancient Japanese technique of repairing ceramics with gold to highlight their fractures. And if you are already feeling the Christmas spirit in November, add Worst Christmas Ever! by Sufjan Stevens to your record collection. This Christmas album features sixteen tracks drawn from his festive repertoire, alongside the previously unreleased On This Christmas (It Only Gets Better). It arrives on 6 November.

The concert: José González – Milan

On 17 November 2026, Milan's Alcatraz welcomes José González for the Swedish singer-songwriter's only Italian date. The occasion is part of the tour supporting Against The Dying Of The Light, an album released on 27 March, alongside some of the most beloved tracks from his back catalogue. What should you expect? Not exactly a night of moshing until you lose a shoe. Quite the opposite, in fact. An acoustic guitar, a measured voice and a rhythm that seems to come from somewhere much calmer than our nervous system. His music moves between indie folk, minimalism and intimate songwriting, with arrangements that leave room for silence rather than filling every available inch. Live, this stripped-back approach can become an immersive experience, built around subtle rhythmic patterns and melodies that grow without constantly needing to raise their voices. Still craving live music? Mark 6 November for Placebo at Unipol Forum in Assago; 20 and 21 November for Muse at Milan's Unipol Dome; and the two dates of Kneecap's Fenian Tour, which will stop at Alcatraz in Milan on 24 November and Teatro Cartiere Carrara in Florence on 25 November.

The film: Wild Horse Nine

Wild Horse Nine arrives in cinemas on 5 November 2026. The setting is Chile in 1973, on the eve of the coup against Salvador Allende, where two CIA agents are sent from Santiago to Easter Island. Chris, played by John Malkovich, is a cynical veteran with a heavy past; Lee, portrayed by Sam Rockwell, is tasked with keeping an eye on him, although he might have something to hide himself. The cast also includes Steve Buscemi and Parker Posey, two more familiar faces perfectly suited to a world where trusting anyone never seems like a particularly good idea. Against a backdrop of postcard-worthy landscapes, enigmatic statues and state secrets, McDonagh weaves together dark comedy, political thriller and historical drama, bringing absurdity and responsibility, uncomfortable jokes and collective wounds into the same story. Martin McDonagh's new film shows us that spending a lifetime lying on behalf of those in power and then deciding to write your memoirs is not exactly the most discreet way to retire.

The TV series: War

On 27 November 2026, the twists and turns of War arrive on Sky and NOW. This British legal thriller is set in London's upper echelons, where even breaking up can become a matter of state, or at least a public-relations nightmare. At the centre of the dispute are Morgan Henderson, a tech mogul played by Dominic West, and Carla Duval, a film star portrayed by Sienna Miller. Two rival law firms are competing to handle the case, ready to turn a separation into a battle of strategies, leaks and reputations in need of saving. Because when there is enough money, power and secrecy involved, the question is no longer who gets to keep the holiday home by the sea, but who manages to control the narrative. And while the lawyers play chess with their clients' lives, viewers can enjoy the disaster from a privileged position, preferably without being called to testify. Packed with scandals, ambition and legal intrigue, the series promises to explore a world where public image is almost as valuable as the truth, and nobody is truly innocent, especially when the bill comes due. The first two episodes will be available at launch, followed by a new episode every Friday.