We’re delighted to announce this year for the first time, the Arts & Humanities Research Institute (AHRI) has been awarded joint hub status with Queen Mary University of London for the 2019 Being Human festival. The 2019 Being Human programme reveals this year’s main theme is Discoveries & Secrets  and begins on 14 November 2019. 

During the festival, AHRI academics will open their research to a number of different audiences with events across London. The AHRI will host five events, which will showcase the interdisciplinary and socially engaged research carried out across the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s and beyond. All activities part of the hub will follow the hub theme, This Time its Personal, bringing humanities research to life through creative engagement activities.

The hub programme will include the following activities, held at both King’s College London and externally:

• Flying Circus Airlines: A Little Show About Immigration Controls – visitors are invited to join ice&fire theatre company who present a fun, irreverent and accessible excavation of the complex themes of freedom of movement versus the politics of exclusion. It is created by playwright Amy Ng and Olivier award-winning director Donnacadh O'Briain in collaboration with Dr Sarah Fine, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at King's College London. 
• (Beat)Making in the North African Cool! – Led by Dr Cristina Moreno Almeida and well-known Moroccan rapper and producer Dizzy Dros, participants will learn about the history and culture of Hip-Pop in North Africa. The workshop will also include an opportunity for participants to create their own Hip-Pop beats from scratch. 
• Discovering Home: A Dance and Philosophy Workshop is an interactive workshop, led by choreographer Sivan Rubinstein and Dr Sarah Fine, drawing on philosophy, dance, music and visual art. Together participants will create a piece about their different experiences and understandings of the concept of home.
• The Arts of Storytelling: Weaving Tales Between East and West explores how stories have travelled across languages and cultures, are woven into and shape our identities and communities.. Participants will be joined by Dr Rachel Scott, a researcher from King's College London and a local community arts group, East London Textile Arts – where they can share their own travelling tales, and engage with their creative side by making their own textile art.
• Lost and Found Words invites 7-11 year old children, teachers, parents and carers on a journey of discovery through language. The workshop is led by Philip Davis of Write Inspired and by the members of the Language Acts and Worldmaking project. 

Alongside this, Queen Mary University of London will host an additional six events as a joint collaborative venture between King’s and Queen Mary.

 

About Being Human

The Being Human Festival is the UK’s only festival of the humanities. It is led by the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. The festival is held in November each year, bringing together universities, museums, galleries and libraries to stage stimulating and engaging activities that make research accessible and strengthen the relevance of the humanities to local and international issues.

The Being Human Festival takes place from 14 to 23 November 2019. 

For further information about the festival, please visit https://beinghumanfestival.org/ and follow the latest news on Twitter @KingsAHRI and @QMUL.