Being Human festival returns for second year

Being Human, the UK’s only national festival of the humanities, is back for another year and is now inviting applications from across the country for public event funding. The festival will once again bring together leading academics, artists, writers, filmmakers and others for eleven days of events in November to celebrate the richness and diversity of the humanities and their place in the national culture of the UK.

The festival, now in its second year, offers a vibrant mix of discussions, performances, talks and exhibits to uncover the breadth of research in the humanities. It will run from 12 to 22 November 2015 and is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. In 2014, the festival involved over 50 universities and hosted more than 160 events across the country.

Academics stepped outside the classroom last year to share their work and engage with the public. From philosophers in pubs, historians in coffee houses, classicists on social media, linguists prowling town centres – Being Human demonstrated the wealth and variety of humanities research in some unusual locations. In 2015, the festival promises to take over even more venues across the country.

Grants are now available to fund creative programming which engages the public with leading humanities research, including debates, performances, virtual activities and exhibitions. All UK universities and independent research organisations are invited to apply for these small grants to participate in the festival by holding their own public events and activities to showcase humanities research.

Festival director, Professor Barry Smith of the School of Advanced Study, said: ‘After last year’s success, we’re again looking forward to highlighting the huge amount of exciting work happening in the humanities by inviting universities, galleries and museums to show their way of exploring what it means to be human.’

For further information on how to apply for funding, click here.