Date: Tuesday 21 January, 13.00-14.00, with lunch provided from 12.30 (Lunch and refreshments provided)
Location: Colin Matthews Room, Radcliffe Humanities (and online via MS Teams)
This is an invitation to attend a session to brainstorm ideas for a Cultural Programme Season on Medieval Afterlives. Prof. Marion Turner (English), Prof. Henrike Lähnemann (MML), Prof Nancy Thebaut (History of Art), and Prof. Elizabeth Eva Leach (Music) are already collaborating with the Cultural Programme on possible opportunities for the season and we are keen now to extend an invitation to others to join the conversation.
The aim of the session is to explore and test the potential for the season and bring together researchers who could be involved in shaping and delivering it.
The focus of the season will be on contemporary creativity, while also centring Oxford’s extraordinary medieval resources where appropriate – our manuscripts, instruments, objects, architecture, and spaces. This season might engage with novelists, poets, musicians, graphic artists, puppeteers, playwrights, actors, composers, designers, children’s book writers, textile workers, cartoonists, computer game programmers, AI technology, and more.
We would like the season to be ambitious and international while also engaging grass-roots, local communities, especially schools and young people. It will be wide-ranging, inclusive, accessible, innovative, and fun.
We also want to be open about the dark side of medieval appropriations in recent years, especially by the far right, and to examine and counter these narratives. While we want to bring in high-profile writers and artists, we also want to celebrate the creativity of everyone, including students. The season would be likely to take place circa 2028.
One overarching question might be whether this kind of contemporary creativity is an end in itself, or a gateway to the medieval past.
Please come along to this initial group meeting for all interested parties, which will be structured around the question:
What has medieval research to do with contemporary creativity?
If you have something you would like to share or discuss in advance, please feel free to reach out to the researchers who are already involved or the Cultural Programme via justine.shaw@humanities.ox.ac.uk.
Please RSVP to: culturalprogramme@humanities.ox.ac.uk with ‘Medieval Afterlives Workshop’ in the subject line by 7 January 2025.
We hope to see you on 21 January 2025
John Fulljames
Elena Urioste is a violinist and co-director of Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective with many strings to her multi-talented bow, including being a qualified yoga instructor. Elena will be hosting the Early Morning Yoga class as part of the Music and Wellbeing Day with Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective on 28 February 2025. We asked Elena about the connection between yoga and music.
How has yoga supported your wellbeing as a musician?
Over the course of my regular yoga practice, I have not only noticed changes in my outward appearance, but I have been able to adjust some physical habits that I had built up over the years from my violin playing. Additionally, as it is no small feat to survive 90 minutes of yoga in a scorching hot room without falling over or crying, the hot yoga sequence builds mental determination like you wouldn’t believe, as well as the ability to overcome almost any seemingly impossible situation.
My yoga and meditation practices are largely responsible for the sense of calm I am now able to access in even the most harrowing of performance circumstances. This is not to say that I am immune to pre-concert jitters, but I now know how to work with my nerves as opposed to battling against them.
How did you get into yoga?
I began practicing hot yoga in the summer of 2009, and from my very first class, I was hooked. Hot yoga is a fixed set of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises that are performed in a heated room (105℉/40.5°C, 40% humidity) and each class lasts for 90 minutes. Insane? Possibly. Effective? Definitely.
I have since expanded my yoga repertoire to include other styles – among them Kripalu yoga and mindful, alignment-based vinyasa – as well as building a regular meditation practice. All of which has offered broader insight into a true mind-body-spirit connection.
Why do you recommend yoga for musicians and performers?
It is my personal belief that all musicians would benefit from a regular yoga practice. Posture awareness, breath control, a gradual development of mental strength and clarity, an increase in self-compassion… the benefits that yoga can introduce to one’s life are truly invaluable.
Many musicians, in their quest to fulfil the intellectual and emotional sides of their craft, overlook the more athletic components, which is perhaps less often discussed, but in many ways just as relevant to effective music-making. An athlete would never launch into his or her physical acrobatics without properly nurturing and preparing the body; similarly, musicians should consider what an immense physical undertaking it is to play an instrument. Proper blood circulation and limber muscles are vital, given the amount of time we spend making strenuous, repetitive motions.
Having had a myriad of physical issues with my violin playing for many years, I am immensely grateful for the better understanding of the human body that yoga has imparted to me, and I find it a fascinating ongoing study.
Techniques and wisdom that I have absorbed in the yoga room creep into my violin teaching as well, and I often find myself encouraging students to spend as much effort thinking about the way their breath flows from their lungs, through their bow arms and onto the strings as they do agonising over their intonation.
All musicians should learn to treat their bodies with the awareness and respect they deserve, and to find joy in their physical connections to their instruments — and ultimately, to the music itself.
Inspired to try yoga for your wellbeing? You can book tickets to Elena’s Early Morning Yoga session and take a look at the other events as part of the Kaleidoscope Music and Wellbeing Day.
On the theme of dreams and echoes in the Adventures in Consciousness season, six early career digital artists will be displaying their prototype digital immersive works at a public showcase at the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub, Jesus College, a dynamic new space in the heart of Oxford, designed to bring together the brightest minds and the curious to discover, explore, use and benefit from the latest advances in digital technologies.
Taking place on 19 and 20 November, Immersive Assembly Volume 4: Dreams and Echoes is a public showcase of the fourth annual talent development programme from international arts commissioner, Mediale – a multi-disciplinary residency focusing on learning, peer critique and developing new ideas and collaborations in and around immersive art and technology.
Six UK-based artists have been developing projects which invite us, the audience, to explore the potential of immersive media in interrogating consciousness and enabling new interpretations of ‘reality’. There is an opportunity, as part of the process to explore neuroscience, mental health, access and medical science research expertise, as well as pioneering AI and ethics research, and globally leading immersive art. This has all been developed since May 2024.
Taking inspiration and understanding from world-leading academic research from Oxford University the artists involved artists have been considering the role that immersive experiences can play in the exploration of what consciousness means now, and what it could mean in the future.
Vladyslav Vyazovskiy Professor of Sleep Physiology, University of Oxford says, “I love to collaborate with artists. Artists and academics have a lot to share about what we study. We are both dealing with the unknown, just from different angles. There is data and then there is interpretation. The very same thing can mean different things to different people depending on how you look at it. So I see great opportunities for sharing learning by working and collaboration with artists”.
Professor Russell Foster, of Circadian Neuroscience and the Head of Department of Ophthalmology, at the University of Oxford says, “Fundamentally, what I’m excited about and trying to understand is how the core mechanisms of sleep and 24-hour circadian rhythms are generated and regulated within the central nervous system, and then to use this information to find ways to improve our quality of life. I believe strongly that working with artists can also help to achieve this vision. We are all, in our different ways, trying to find ways to understand the world we live in, if artists and scientists collaborate, we have a greater chance of achieving this vision.”
There will be supporting academics including Patricia Kingori, Senior Research Fellow; Professor in Global Health Ethics; Wellcome Senior Investigator; at Somerville College. Patricia is a sociologist whose primary expertise lies in exploring the everyday ethical experiences of frontline workers in global health. Also visiting will be Matthew Parrott, Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St Hilda’s College, Oxford and an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Matthew’s research focuses primarily on questions in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science, and the philosophy of psychiatry, which extends to issues in epistemology and the philosophy of science.
If you would like find out about the prototypes in detail and book your free tickets please click the link here: Immersive Assembly Volume 4: Dreams and Echoes. Ticket sales will close 3 hours before the event. There may be a limited number of tickets available on the door on a first come, first served basis.
IA4 is supported by the Cultural Programme at Oxford University, the Cheng Kar Shun Digital Hub at Jesus College Oxford, and Mediale’s talent development focus supported by Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation funding.
Oxford University’s Cultural Programme is proud to announce a diverse and exciting new classical music series featuring performances from Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, the Castalian String Quartet, and Instruments of Time and Truth.
The concerts, part of Oxford University’s Cultural Programme, will take place in venues around Oxford between Nov 24th and May 25th before the programme moves to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in 2026. The new centre will feature several state-of-the-art performance spaces, including a 500-seat concert hall.
Fresh from their Oxford International Song Festival performance, the Castalian String Quartet perform in the Holywell Music Room on Nov 26th, Jan 30th 2025 and May 9th 2025. Since forming in 2011, the Castalian String Quartet has emerged as one of the most exciting and in-demand quartets on the world stage. In 2019, the Royal Philharmonic Society named them Young Artist of the Year, and in 2022, they released their first studio recording, Between Two Worlds, to five-star reviews. The renowned quartet are resident at Oxford University, thanks to support from the Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust.
On Feb 28th, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective is curating a day dedicated to wellness and the transformative power of music. The day opens at 7.30 am in Blackwell Hall at the Weston Library, with a one-hour, open-level yoga flow for musicians. A pre-concert panel discussion in the Sheldonian Theatre at 6.00 pm explores the all-important topic of wellness and physical and mental health for musicians and performers. It is followed at 7.30 pm by a concert where audiences can sit close to the performers on relaxed floor cushions or chairs for an intimate musical experience. This unique setting, combined with new arrangements by Kaleidoscope’s founder, Tom Poster, promises a musical experience that connects audiences to the performers and the music.
On May 7, 2025, the Cultural Programme and the Bodleian Libraries present the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, under the direction of John Butt, and with the Choir of New College Oxford. This performance marks the 300th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s 1725 Ascension Day Cantata Auf Christi Himmelfahrt allein, coinciding with the arrival of the autograph manuscript of the cantata at the Bodleian Libraries. This manuscript, one of only four of the composers in the UK, presents a rare and privileged opportunity for audiences to experience the manuscript come to life through music.
The series concludes on June 13, 2025, marking another anniversary, this time 300 years since the founding in 1725 of the Concert Spirituel, which became the primary promoter of concerts in Paris during the 18th century. Instruments of Time & Truth will perform instrumental and vocal music heard at the Concert Spirituel in the 1770s by François-Joseph Gossec, Jean-Baptiste Davaux, Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, and Amadeus Mozart. This concert goes on sale on Sunday 1 December.
To find out more about the Classical Music Series, including ticket prices and any available student discounts or group rates, and to purchase tickets for events, please click on the event and book tickets from the relevant page.
Set your alarms for our Conscious Sleep Symposium Day on Wednesday 20 November, where we take a journey into the history of sleep from the Victorian Age to the modern era with our panel of expert academics. Plus a hands-on session exploring the scents used to aid sleep and closing with a special live DJ set from Michael Diamond.
With an epidemic of sleeplessness sweeping the globe Professor Sally Shuttleworth places these concerns in historical perspective in Overwork and Sleeplessness in the Victorian Age. Dr Holly Fletcher introduces early modern understandings of sleep circa 1500 – 1750 in relation to both physical and mental health.
We turn to the 20th Century with Dr Kristin Hussey who explores the history of shift work and in particular working at night whilst Dr Tiffany Watt Smith looks at our attempts to study and rationalise the sleeping body. DJ and medic Michael Diamond and music psychologist Eric Clarke delve into the musical and psychological factors that underlie music’s capacity to shape our consciousness.
Dreams and sleep have inspired numerous authors and poets and Professor Ankhi Mukherjee asks us; what is it to write in, of, or like a dream? While Professor Matthew Bevis, inspired by the poet Alice Oswald, ponders the action of waking.
Get scent-ient with Dr Anna Fielding who hosts a hands-on practical session exploring scented ingredients that were used in the 16th and 17th centuries to aid sleep, purify bedchambers, and deter pests. Create your own historical linen powders and sweet-smelling bags to take home.
Be the first to try out new prototype digital immersive experiences for free, meet the artists and find out where these projects are going next with the Immersive Assembly Vol 4: Dreams & Echoes Showcase. Mediale has brought together six of the UK’s most exciting emerging digital artists with Oxford University academics to develop three brand new prototypes inspired by dreams and echoes.
Round the day off with Michael Diamond’s DJ set, waking us up with an energising dance party and then lulling us to a blissful sleep with dreamlike sounds. Tickets have just gone live and are free but booking is required.
If you would like to know a little more about the Conscious Sleep Symposium Day, watch this short video from Professor Sally Shuttleworth who gives a superb overview of what to expect. You can also find out more about the individual talks and events on the Conscious Sleep event page. We look forward to seeing you on the 20 November 2024.
A renowned string quartet whose performances have been described as ‘full of poetry, joy and sorrow’ will be continuing their residency at Oxford University thanks to renewed support from the Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust.
The Castalian String Quartet became the Faculty of Music’s inaugural Hans Keller String Quartet in Residence in 2021. The appointment has seen them deliver an annual concert series, undertake a range of diverse creative projects and feed into education and outreach initiatives aimed at inspiring the next generation of performers and composers. A new gift from the trust will now enable their residency to continue until 2027.
John Fulljames, Director of the University’s Cultural Programme, said: ‘We’re delighted that support from the Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust is enabling the Castalians’ Oxford residency to continue. Our partnership with the Castalians enriches the chamber music programme at Oxford, supporting research, teaching and student experience and enables audiences from across the city to enjoy the Castalians’ world-class performances.’
Deepening engagement with string quartet music in Oxford
Since forming in 2011 the Castalian String Quartet has emerged as one of the most exciting and in-demand quartets on the world stage. They were named Young Artist of the Year by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2019 and released their first studio recording, Between Two Worlds, to five-star reviews in 2022. Several prominent composers have written works specifically for the Castalians which have then been performed in Oxford, including Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Awake and Charlotte Bray’s Ungrievable Lives.
Audiences will have the chance to hear the quartet perform live in Oxford as part of their extended residency. The concerts, which will form part of the Cultural Programme, will initially take place in venues around the city before moving to the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities in 2026. The new centre will feature several state-of-the-art performance spaces, including a 500-seat concert hall. Targeted activities and events will also enable new audiences from beyond the traditional concert setting to participate and hear the quartet perform.
As well as playing publicly, the quartet will continue to offer coaching and composition workshops for Oxford students and other young performers in the local area. They will also support academic research taking place within the Faculty of Music, including through pre-concert talks and seminars that cover topics relating to the work of the faculty’s academics.
Advancing art and music education
The Hans Keller String Quartet Residency was established in memory of the musician, writer and broadcaster Hans Keller (1919-1985), for whom the string quartet was the most purely musical form of composition. Keller made a significant contribution to the development of string quartet music in the second half of the twentieth century, having coached many of the leading British ensembles of the time, inspired composers to write in this form, and broadened and educated the audience for chamber music through his work at the BBC.
His wife, the artist Milein Cosman (1921-2017), established the Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust in 2006. Her aim was to advance art and music education, support musicians and artists, and preserve and promote her own work and that of her husband.
Hans Keller playing viola in string quartet. Drawing by Milein Cosman © The Cosman Keller Art & Music Trust
Current chair of the trust Alison Garnham said: ‘The Castalian String Quartet has exactly the kind of deeply individual, intimate and improvisatory quality to their playing that Keller most admired, and we are delighted to be helping bring their revelatory artistry to more young musicians.’
The Castalian String Quartet’s first concert of the 2024/25 season will take place on Saturday 19 October as part of the Oxford International Song Festival, with further events scheduled for 26 November, 30 January 2025 and 9 May 2025.
Featuring over 20 public events throughout October and November, Adventures in Consciousness is an inspiring season that explores consciousness and what it means to be human. Produced and curated by The Cultural Programme in partnership with Medical Humanities academics across the University of Oxford, events occur at various locations throughout Oxford from October 10 to December 1, 2024.
At the heart of the season is a series of five symposium days, each exploring one of five themes: Sleep, Perception, Health, Flourishing, and the Planet. Including talks, panel conversations, workshops, and creative activities, the free events will bring together University of Oxford academics, world-leading specialists and artists to explore concepts including planetary consciousness, human flourishing, the link between creativity and health, what happens when we sleep, and how we all perceive the world differently.
The season opens with Ruby Wax, who brings her one-woman show I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was to Oxford Playhouse on Thursday, October 10. After a complete sell-out first run in 2023, this is Ruby Wax’s rawest, darkest, funniest, and most compelling stage show yet.
Following sell-out runs in New York, Sydney and Cannes, Oxford will host the UK premiere of Evolver, an immersive VR experience created by the award-winning Marshmallow Laser Feast, from Friday, October 25, to Thursday, November 14. Evolver’s unique journey unfolds with narration from Cate Blanchett alongside opening music from musician and producer Jon Hopkins. The score also features music by Oxford’s Jonny Greenwood.
A 90-minute cinematic presentation of Max Richter’s Sleep, which has become a modern musical phenomenon, will be followed by an exclusive conversation with Max. Audiences are invited to ‘come as you are’—whether in pyjamas or their favourite comfy clothes.
World renowned British photographer Tim Flach presents the compelling exhibition More Than Human, featuring a series of striking animal portraits exploring the profound link between animal and human consciousness.
To close the season on Friday, November 29, one of the nation’s favourite poets, Lemn Sissay OBE, will perform excerpts from his Sunday Times bestselling memoir My Name is Why which documents his experiences of growing up in the care system. This moving, frank, and timely performance meditates on a life spent asking questions and the redemptive power of creativity.
Other highlights include:
- A 21st Century Tea Dance. Hosted by the Olivier Award-winning Kit Green, renowned for their work in comedy and theatre and exploring themes of ageing and care, this event promises lively interactions and delightful social moments with tea, dancing and cake.
- After six sold-out shows worldwide and numerous festival appearances, the Museum of Consciousness returns to its home at Oxford University. Local and international artists and performers will combine to alter states of consciousness through the power of sound alone.
- Appearing alongside the dinosaurs and beautiful setting of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History, award winning spoken word collective Hot Poets will perform their show Poetry, Science and Saving the World. Their poetry, partnerships and storytelling power have supported diplomatic sign-off for a major re-greening project in Egypt, helped fund a new forest in Kenya and co-funded a UK regenerative farming project.
- Sagacity: Periodic Table of Emotions, Part of Oxfords’ Light Festival, invites audiences to interact with a colourful installation to measure the city’s mood.
Professor Erica Charters, Academic Lead, Medical Humanities Network, University of Oxford, says:
‘The Medical Humanities Research Hub at the University of Oxford are delighted to partner with the Cultural Programme on the Adventures in Consciousness Season, which draws on medical humanities to showcase an exhilarating range of events on the theme of consciousness, capturing the intellectual diversity required to tackle this topic, cutting across the sciences, technology, the humanities, and the creative arts.’
Josie Bamford, Executive Producer of the Cultural Programme, comments:
We’re so excited to present the Adventures in Consciousness season – a programme of incredible artists and creatives coming together with world leading thinkers to explore Consciousness through a range of lenses including sleep, health, flourishing, perception and the planet. The broad programme offers something for everyone from the World’s best immersive installations, to exhibitions, walks, talks, meditation and live performance. Come and join us and reflect on what it means to be part of a Conscious Planet.’
To find out more about the Adventures in Consciousness season and to purchase tickets for events, please visit: www.oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk
Exhibition dates: 25 October – 14 November 2024
Press view: Thursday 24 October
The highly anticipated UK premiere of EVOLVER: An Immersive Journey Of Life And Breath, has been announced in collaboration with the Cultural Programme at Oxford University.
Following its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival and fresh from its French Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, London-based experiential artist collective Marshmallow Laser Feast brings EVOLVER, their extraordinary, collaborative virtual reality experience, to Oxford from Friday, 25th October to Thursday, 14th November.
A pop-up unit on Little Clarendon Street will be transformed into an immersive gallery space, with hourly slots available to experience EVOLVER from 12 noon to 8pm daily.
EVOLVER is an immersive journey through the breathing body, narrated by Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. Commencing with a 10-minute binaural audio meditation to allow audiences to decompress whilst viewing large-scale projections, this site-specific presentation of EVOLVER invites twelve participants at a time to explore structures hidden far beneath the skin through an all-encompassing virtual reality trip around the human form. This deep dive takes viewers through a sequence of breathing, visualising the essence of life as air travels from the mouth into the lungs, whirling like a tornado, before circulating around the complex rivers and tributaries of our cardiovascular system and back into the natural world.
EVOLVER is part of the Adventures in Consciousness Season, a series of events led by the Cultural Programme at Oxford University that draws on medical humanities to showcase an exhilarating range of events on the theme of consciousness. This season captures the intellectual diversity required to tackle this topic, cutting across the sciences, technology, the humanities, and the creative arts. The full programme takes place from 10 October until 1 December and will be announced by the end of September.
Artist and director, Ersin Han Ersin of Marshmallow Laser Feast says: ‘In this and other works we have created, we are seeking to highlight our connection with the wider systems of nature through the experience of art. The oxygen trees exhale flows into our tree-like lungs, flowing from our heart centre outward through fractal branching arteries to feed every cell in our body. Placing the audience in the centre of these nested ecosystems, we aim to bring them closer to an understanding of our interconnectedness.’
Josie Bamford, Executive Producer at the Cultural Programme, says: ‘Following rave reviews from the Cannes Film Festival to exhibitions across Australia, South Korea and New York, Oxford audiences can now participate in this fascinating experience. As the headline event in our new ‘Adventures in Consciousness Season’, I am sure this will be an opportunity for everyone to learn more about themselves and the world around them. This is a key ambition for the Cultural Programme, and I cannot wait to experience it for myself!’
EVOLVER is created by the internationally renowned experiential artist collective, Marshmallow Laser Feast and co-executive produced by the late Edward. R. Pressman and Sam Pressman of Pressman Film, Terrence Malick, Dirty Films‘ Coco Francini, Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton, the famous French studio Atlas V and Orange.
The opening music is from musician and producer Jon Hopkins. The score also features music by Jonny Greenwood, Meredith Monk, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yair Elazar Glotman, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe and Howard Skempton.
Ticket details:
Monday – Thursday: £15 per person
Friday – Sunday: £20 per person
Students, U25s and U18s: £10 per person
Age guidance: 11+, Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult
Tickets are available to book via: oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk
Around 5000 people joined in the fun at Blackbird Leys Park on a gorgeously hot summer day in July this year. The annual Leys Festival was back and bigger than ever with lots of activities for people to join in with and an array of fabulous local talent performing on stage.
This family event, created and planned by over 60 passionate residents and community organisers from Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys, isn’t just any festival – it’s one of Oxford’s most beloved free community events. Celebrating the incredible bonds and positive relationships fostered within Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys, this year’s theme, ‘Building Bridges,’ highlighted the unity and energy invested in connecting different generations and cultures within this vibrant community.
From mural painting to face painting, from tug of war games to football coaching, a fun time was had by all, and thanks should go to all the volunteers who helped to make the festival a success.
This was the first time the Leys Festival was supported by the University of Oxford, collaborating with the community to create and run their own festival and the intention is for this to be a productive and positive partnership.
Unlimited is partnering with 12 UK organisations, including the Cultural Programme, to offer 17 awards to disabled artists. These awards will provide a total of £628,000 to commission artists nationally and internationally. The Cultural Programme will match funds against £20,000 from the scheme, making a total of £40,000 available to commission work.
Unlimited’s mission is to commission extraordinary work from disabled artists until the whole of the cultural sector does. This work will change and challenge the world. As the world’s largest commissioner of disabled artists, they have been dedicated to this work since 2013.
This year, they are focusing on artworks that engage communities in meaningful ways, challenge audience perceptions, and enhance visibility for disabled artists. They are looking for projects that are designed to be seen, offering dynamic and interactive experiences to broad audiences.
Working in partnership with organisations across the cultural sector is key to their long-term mission of not existing. Together they aim to support disabled artists in creating new work that captivates, inspires, and fosters deeper understanding and appreciation.
In partnership with British Council, they are offering five International Awards of up to £50,000 for artists to form collaborations across the world.
Partners based in England are Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and Bradford Metropolitan District Council, Liverpool Biennial, Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Oxford University Cultural Programme, Sadler’s Wells, Southbank Centre, and Wellcome Collection. In Scotland: Imaginate and Summerhall Arts. In Wales: Span Arts and Tŷ Pawb.
Made possible with the support of Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, and Creative Scotland, Unlimited UK will offer 12 UK awards ranging from £15,000 to £60,000. These awards will support the creation of extraordinary new work in combined arts, dance, live performance, outdoor arts, socially engaged work, visual arts and more.
Isabella Tulloch Gallego, Programme Manager Commission at Unlimited:
“We’re incredibly excited to award £628,000 in this round of commissions. By working in partnership with a range of organisations this year, we can offer even wider support to disabled artists through our shared investment. This year’s awards reflect not only a national but also an international commitment to challenging and changing the world. We eagerly anticipate the incredible work this investment will inspire.”
Nikki Locke, Senior Relationship Manager, Culture Responds to Global Challenges at British Council:
“We’re delighted to support the Unlimited Partner Awards, which builds connections between disabled artists across the globe. Our long-standing partnership with Unlimited is an essential part of the British Council’s commitment to support the international disability arts sector. Previous collaborations have been ambitious, high quality and disabled-led – elevating unique and thought-provoking perspectives and challenging societal attitudes towards disability. The global arts sector needs to shift to create greater access and inclusion for disabled people. We believe that finding new ways of connecting with and understanding each other through the arts can be a catalyst for change.”
Josie Bamford, Executive Producer of Oxford University Cultural Programme:
“Oxford University Cultural Programme is an ambitious programme that is building towards the opening of the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, at which point it will be based within the suite of cultural spaces that will exist within the centre. We are delighted to be collaborating with Unlimited on this brilliant award and we are so excited that the outcome of this will be one of the earliest pieces of work to be performed in the new Schwarzman Centre, marking and celebrating from the very beginning, our commitment to disabled artists and disabled led companies.”
Previous commissions have varied widely in both artform and scale, reflecting the company’s commitment to Unlimited possibilities and radical creativity. In the UK, they have awarded projects such as a bold theatre production exploring disabled LGBTQ+ experience in the Scottish Highlands, and a powerful one-woman dance show inspired by Black hair culture. Internationally, Unlimited awards have championed equity and representation, supporting a groundbreaking collaboration between disabled women in Scotland and Mexico to rework archival footage, and an impactful light and projection experience featuring music, poetry, dance, and sign language in England and China.
The application portal is now open and will accept submissions until Monday 30 September.
Find out more about how to apply
The Leys Festival, celebrated over the years as an important free event provided by and for the local community, returns this year at Blackbird Leys Park on Sunday 28 July from 12pm-7pm.
Created and planned by over 60 residents and community organisers from The Leys (Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys) alongside a small team from Oxford University’s Cultural Programme, this year’s festival will feature a range of fun activities including a football coaching session for children from members of the newly promoted Oxford United FC coaching staff.
Embracing the theme of ‘One People One Place’, the event will include a Music and Dance stage featuring local talent, a special ‘Speakers Corner’ inviting people to speak or share a poem, and a ‘Memory Garden’ to share stories about people who have made a positive contribution to the Leys.
There will also be a selection of food stalls serving delicious meals throughout the day, cooked by residents showcasing the diverse cultures and heritage of the Leys. There will also be an opportunity to hear the stories behind the recipes and find out how these dishes are made. All dishes will be available for £5 and under.
There will be an opportunity to ‘build bridges’, by joining a team to create decorative structures from recycled materials or simply to add your own personal artistic touch.
Traditional games will also feature, including a tug-of-war, an inclusive rounders tournament, face-painting, roller-skating classes, and craft activities. Organisers have made sure to cater to everyone, with a bouncy castle and soft play area for smaller children and a quieter garden area close to the Bowls Club serving refreshments along with an opportunity for people to learn how to bowl.
Finally, an innovative new painted mural will come to life throughout the day, designed and painted by MES Crew, a collective of local artists and designers, inspired by ideas and suggestions from across the Leys. There is still time for community members to get involved as the festival organisers are also calling out for any donations of scrap fabric to create community bunting and scrap wood, pallets, ladders, bicycle wheels, and wooden chairs for the bridges. Anyone interested in helping or donating, or getting involved as a volunteer on the day, is encouraged to send an email to leyscommunityevent@gmail.com.
The Leys Festival celebrates the ways that residents and local organisations in Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys look after each other and the wider community. The theme of ‘One People, One Place’ is being used to reflect the flourishing of positive relationships between different generations, and between people of diverse cultures and heritage. This is the first time the event is being supported by the University of Oxford, to collaborate with the community to create and run their own festival and the intention is for this to be a productive and positive partnership.
Millie Khisa, Resident and one of the Producers says:
‘It has been wonderful to see so many people from the Leys and beyond come together week after week all excited about this celebration event.’
Ewa Gluza, one of the organisers for this year’s event, says:
‘I have the honour of working at “Gown” – Hertford College, but I live in “Town” (Blackbird Leys). Over the many years since I started living in Blackbird Leys, I have always tried to build bridges between ‘Town and Gown’ through numerous projects. This year’s Leys Festival is a significant step forward in promoting new collaboration between the Leys area community and the University of Oxford. I’m excited about the opportunity to help make a lasting positive impact in our district.
Erica Whyman, Creative Lead for this year’s event, says:
‘It has been a privilege to work with so many brilliant residents of the Leys, who have opened my eyes to the rich cultural history and the amazing creative energy of this place. It has been inspiring to see how energetic and dedicated so many people are to serving their community and I hope this Festival is a chance to celebrate that. The University is an important part of making this happen and this event is a great statement of intent.”
Natty Mark, one of the organisers and performers, says:
‘Beginning a new chapter in the Leys Community and Oxford University interaction, we invite one and all to the Leys Festival on July 28th.’
Stuart Parsons from Oxford Blackbirds FC says:
‘This is going to be great for the community. Hoping for this to be the start of something great for all of the families on the estate and continues for years to come!’
Prof. Alexander Betts, the Local and Global Engagement Officer at the University of Oxford, said:
“We have really enjoyed working with local residents to support the Leys Festival which reflects our commitment to supporting local people in and around Oxford as well as celebrating the variety of cultural influences within this diverse community. Over the past year, the University has been trying to strengthen our relationships with communities across the Leys, including by partnering with local schools and community organisations. We’re really keen to ensure that this Festival is just the start of a much deeper long-term collaboration.”
For further details, please visit:
https://oxfordculturalprogramme.org.uk/event/the-leys-festival/
Ends
The challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers based in Oxfordshire were brought to the fore by a new exhibition timed to coincide with National Refugee Week which took place from 17-23 June.
Windows: An Exhibition showcased individual stories and experiences of people whose voices are often unheard. The artists included families, young unaccompanied asylum seekers and adults from Oxford, Witney and Banbury.
The group created diverse, moving and exciting pieces that highlighted different experiences across a range of artforms including photography, collage, clay modelling, mural art and theatre.
Asylum Welcome, a registered charity based in Oxford and The Cultural Programme, part of the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford, worked with refugees and asylum seekers to co-create the exhibition which took place at Oxford Town Hall from 10-28 June 2024.
The exhibition also coincided with the Sanctuary Fair, a free, all-day drop-in event connecting refugees, students, and the local community. This year’s Sanctuary Fair was organised by Asylum Welcome in partnership with both Oxford universities and the City and County Councils and took place at Oxford Town Hall on Thursday 13 June.
Marking the launch of Oxford Refugee Week, the aim is to raise awareness of the importance of sanctuary and showcase what is happening locally to connect refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants with students, members of the local community, and service providers. The Sanctuary Fair will feature a panel discussion, interactive workshops, exhibitions, live music, and a range of community organisation stalls. It promises to be an informative and engaging event that celebrates the diversity of the city
