2025 Being Human Festival Programme Preview

The UK’s national festival of the humanities returns this year from 6-15 November, connecting audiences with the latest humanities research through hundreds of free events and activities.  

With support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, we have awarded 23 funding grants to universities and researchers to engage, inspire and collaborate with communities across the UK.  

With our 2025 theme Between the Lines, we invite researchers to explore boundaries, crossings, and intersections, as well as the hidden spaces in between. Here are some early festival highlights and a snapshot of what to expect at this year’s Being Human Festival.

Festival Hubs

Our Festival Hubs are led by universities offering a range of opportunities for audiences to take part and engage with humanities research. This year we are excited to work with...

University of Bristol

Through interactive events and activities, the University of Bristol presents stories and histories which have shaped the city. Their headline event Dance as Memorial, uncovers the journey of African heritage people in Bristol through dance, music and movement. Audiences can also learn about early modern printing and how to operate a historic printing press; delve into the subject of fainting in art and culture through creative writing; and try sensory beer tasting to music at a local pub.

University of Hertfordshire  

The University of Hertfordshire will explore identities that straddle boundaries and slip between borders. Families can create their own witch bottle and learn the history of these unique objects, and join a park tour to craft a pocket sculpture from found materials. Audiences can also go behind the scenes of horror films in a prosthetics and make up workshop; consider the comic book as a platform for change, creating their own comic strip about an issue they care about; and much more!

Cardiff University and Swansea University

Cardiff University and Swansea University lead a collaborative hub this year, seeking to amplify marginalised voices using their events programme as a call to action – encouraging a more inclusive and equitable society. Stitch stories of motherhood in a quilting workshop; discover political satire in sessions for children and young people; revisit the Section 28 law and its impact through an interactive walking tour; and take part in many more events taking place across Cardiff, Port Talbot and Swansea.

University of Surrey

Listen, play, craft and read across borders and beyond boundaries with the University of Surrey. Their programme aims to recover and bring to life Surrey’s hidden histories through literature, visual art and music. Celebrate the life and legacy of Victorian artist Mary Watts; listen to messages of hope and resilience through live music composed by Holocaust survivors; uncover objects and symbolism from queer history in a fashion workshop; and explore themes of displacement and community in creative writing sessions and more.

De Montfort University

De Montfort University presents a series of interconnected events celebrating Leicester’s cultural diversity. Draw domestic objects exploring identity, memory and feelings of belonging; create and curate anti-racist postcards with comic art imagery; join an intergenerational writing workshop for women from the South Asian diaspora - all culminating in a final exhibition at High Cross Shopping Centre featuring objects, photographs and artworks co-created throughout the festival.

Between the Lines, Across the UK

Alongside our Festival Hubs, we have a wide range of exciting events, workshops and exhibitions from festival organisers showcasing the latest humanities research. Here is a flavour of what’s coming up across the UK...

The University of Plymouth presents The Human Rights of the River Plym – a guided walk and co-created film with primary school pupils responding to the question ‘What would the river say?’ Watch the 360-degree film at an exclusive screening in an immersive dome cinema.  

Discover Ukrainian war poet Yaryna Chornohuz through performance and creative writing workshops led by the University of Exeter. Events will be open to Ukrainian refugees, Royal Marine trainees, and people interested in poetry and the war in Ukraine.

Walk in the medieval footsteps of Margery Brews and Sir John Paston with researchers from the University of East Anglia, delving into passion, plague and protest in Norwich. Learn about local heritage through games, interactive maps and role-playing activities!

Join Goldsmiths at The Albany for their Festival of Migration, a day of creative responses to the movement of people across borders past, present and future. This celebration will challenge our understanding of migration through exhibitions, workshops, food and a citizens of the world choir performance. Share in the experiences that shape us, our communities, and our places.

Tate Britain will work with local families to co-curate a new interactive exhibition interpreting the gallery’s collection and spaces, and will share ongoing research on how to create more accessible galleries.  

Take part in a vibrant celebration of Caribbean food, culture, and heritage at Cambridge Street Collective with University of Sheffield. Enjoy hands-on cooking workshops led by chefs, explore a powerful art exhibition by visual artist Jacqui Cooke, and immerse yourself in the rhythms of Soca, Zouk and Reggae!

Design your own board game and discover how they can be an effective tool for teaching and engagement. Researchers from the University of Bradford will host an exhibition and discussion about board games co-designed by sanctuary seekers living in Bradford.

Researchers from the University of Manchester present Congas Rejoiced! - a series of Latin American music workshops for Year 6 pupils and a live performance from Puerto Rican percussionist Carlos Maldonado. This programme reveals Latin American music’s influence on Manchester’s 80’s dance music scene, highlighting the potential of cultural fusion in shaping a modern and multicultural Britain.

Liverpool John Moores University will uncover the hidden histories of spices through children’s craft workshops, gardening, performance and reading corner. Spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves travelled the world and seeded hundreds of stories – including the forgotten history of Liverpool’s links with ginger.

Create textiles and share experiences on women’s health and care in a boundary-breaking research project with Northumbria University. This exhibition and mini quilt making workshop responds to women’s experiences, stigma and changes within the care system.

Explore Scotland’s hidden Learning Disability Heritage with Edinburgh Napier University, using photography as a tool for empowerment.  

Also in Scotland, researchers from the University of Glasgow reveal material traces ‘between the lines’ of heritage books. Expect a pop-up exhibition, treasure hunt, make your own book activity and more!  

With much more still to be announced, the full festival programme will be revealed this September. Sign up to our mailing list to stay in the loop with all the latest news.  

Submit Your Event!

There’s still time to get involved and be part of this year’s festival. Our unfunded event submission deadline is 5pm on Friday 4 July. Find out more here.