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Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

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Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities

The Schwarzman Centre is a stage set for boundless creativity. Based at the University of Oxford, open to all.

We believe culture is for everyone and are building a programme that allows creativity to flourish. Inspired by Oxford research we’re connecting Oxford with outstanding artists, writers and thinkers from across the world. Many people from across the city and region are already involved as we create new opportunities and new experiences, but if you have an idea or suggestion for a future project or

event, we’d love to hear it. The Cultural Programme is part of the Humanities Division at the University of Oxford and works closely with TORCH (The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities) and Knowledge Exchange.

27/08/2026

Coming soon: Megalith

Rocks. Beats. Stone circles. Copper mining - and more...

This autumn, MECHANIMAL’s Megalith comes to Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Part interactive installation, part live performance, Megalith is a journey through 10,000 years of technology, bringing together deep-time techno, metamorphic soundscapes, Neolithic mining techniques, and projection design by award-winning Limbic Cinema.

Get yer strata on… ⚒️

Immersive experience | 24 October–2 November
Get hands-on: mine stone with antlers like a Neolithic miner, lie back and listen to the slow geological rumble of rocks, and explore a giant stone circle as light moves around you.

🕐 Free event - head to the Welcome Desk when you arrive to discover the day’s timings and book your free session.

Live performances | 30 & 31 October
See MECHANIMAL bring Megalith to life in a fun, loud and lyrical smash-fest.

🎟️ Performances are ticketed — book now via the link in bio.

📍 Oxford University Museum of Natural History
Please note: Megalith takes place at the Museum, not at the Schwarzman Centre.

Megalith is presented by the Schwarzman Centre and MECHANIMAL, in collaboration with the Museum of Natural History.

Mechanimal
Museum of Natural History, University of Oxford

24/08/2026

Final week to see Anna Ridler: A Perfect Language of Images in the Great Hall

What happens when we try to organise the world – and what can't be contained?

Artist and Oxford alumna Anna Ridler explores the creative and societal possibilities of artificial intelligence, building her own datasets to question how knowledge is made and shared.

Created in collaboration with Dr William Poole from Oxford’s Faculty of English, the digital artwork brings together three pieces inspired by the ideas of 17th-century Oxford scholar John Wilkins and writer Jorge Luis Borges.

Connecting centuries-old attempts to classify the world with contemporary machine learning, A Perfect Language of Images explores our desire to create systems that make sense of everything – and the gaps and contradictions they reveal.

📍 Until 31 August, Great Hall, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
🎟️ No booking required - drop in.
🔗 Discover more: https://f.mtr.cool/vuczcjopvk

📸 David Levene

20/08/2026

Your September plans, sorted. 📆

We’re looking forward to a month of unforgettable moments, from live music and dance to new theatre and immersive audio experiences – swipe through to explore what’s coming up. 👉

Víkingur Ólafsson: Piano Recital
19:30, 9 September
📍Sohmen Concert Hall [Sold out]
Víkingur Ólafsson

Find your next must-see performance and book now via the link in bio. 🔗

MANWOMAN
19:00, 16 September
📍Theatre

Directed, choreographed, and performed by Vangeline vangeline
Costumes by Machine Dazzle – Machine Dazzle
Photographer Michael Blase – Michael Blase
Photographer Nic Wong – Nic
Composer Ray Sweeten – Ray Sweeten
Lighting Designer Poe Light – Ayumu Poe Saegusa

When the Blackbird Sings
23rd September–11 October
📍Promenade performance beginning in Blackbird Leys

Creation Theatre Leys Blackbird

Burning Down the House
25 September–10 October
📍Theatre

Phase Pattern Pulse
25 September–11 October
📍Black Box

John Best_._.David Sheppard Colin Currie

19/08/2026

From the first performances on our stages to conversations bringing together voices from Oxford and beyond, our opening season was full of unforgettable moments – revisit some of them with us. ✨

Thanks to everyone who joined us. We can't wait to welcome you back soon.

Subscribe to our newsletter to be among the first to see what's coming up, unlock special offers, and more: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/newsletter-5tkn

14/08/2026

Looking back at our inaugural season: Unfinished Revolutions ✨

Across a season of performance and conversation, artists, Oxford researchers and audiences came together to explore freedom, democracy, identity and belonging – and to ask what it means for a revolution to remain unfinished...

Marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Unfinished Revolutions invited new perspectives on familiar histories and explored the different ways the past continues to shape the present.

Thank you to everyone who joined us and made our opening chapter one to remember. 💫

🔗 Tap through to explore moments from Unfinished Revolutions and read the full story: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/unfinished-revolutions-reflections-on-our-inaugural-cultural-season-ryh7

12/08/2026

With eyes turning to the skies this week for the solar eclipse and Perseid meteor shower, it’s a moment to consider our place in the universe – and the planet we share. 🌍🌌

What happens when we zoom out – beyond cities, countries and borders – and see ourselves from a different perspective?

These questions of connection and identity are explored in Orbiting Orbital, coming to the Schwarzman Centre this November. Award-winning composer and musician Nitin Sawhney and Booker Prize-winning author Samantha Harvey join forces for a powerful new multidisciplinary work inspired by Harvey’s acclaimed novel Orbital, bringing together new poetry and music with drawings by Antony Gormley and photography by Mary McCartney.

Moving between the personal and the planetary, Orbiting Orbital explores what it means to live, feel and belong in an interconnected universe.

Nitin Sawhney
Fantasia Orchestra

Nitin Sawhney: Orbiting Orbital
6–7 November, 19:30, Sohmen Concert Hall
🎟️ Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/nitin-sawhney-orbiting-orbital-ntvf

Image: Antony Gormley

Part of Utopia Now!, our season exploring the role of the arts in making a better future possible.

05/08/2026

🚌✨ Step aboard and see Oxford like never before...

From 23 September – 11 October, When the Blackbird Sings invites you on an immersive journey through Oxford’s past, present and future, where the bus becomes part of the stage, and the city itself becomes the set.

At the heart of the story is Paulette, who leaves Jamaica for Oxford in 1966, determined to make a difference. As your journey unfolds, you’ll meet remarkable pioneers and passionate changemakers, discovering the people and moments that have shaped the city - and perhaps your own perspective too.

Written by Natty Mark Samuels, Helen Eastman, and Afsaneh Gray, and directed by Erica Whyman, this unique promenade production begins in Blackbird Leys and concludes at the Schwarzman Centre.

🚌 Performance dates: 23 September – 11 October
🚌 Return shuttle bus to Blackbird Leys available after the performance.
🎟️ Book now via the link in bio.

Artwork by Bry Leighton
whyman
Helen Eastman

Creation Theatre
Leys Blackbird

LivePerformance SchwarzmanCentre PromenadeTheatre

30/07/2026

Lunch plans? 🍽️

Whether you're looking for a mid-morning snack, a light lunch, or an afternoon treat the Schwarzman Centre has you covered.

Choose from a range of hot and cold lunch options, build your perfect bowl at the salad bar, and explore what's on today's menu.

Open to all - drop in and enjoy.

Opening hours:
☕️ Coffee bar: 8am-4pm
🍽️ Café: 8am-4pm (hot food/salads/soups until 2pm)

27/07/2026

☀️ Breakfast just got better at the Schwarzman Centre.

Join us on any weekday throughout July and August and enjoy a complimentary filter coffee or tea with your breakfast.

From healthy yoghurt with berry compote and avocado & halloumi rolls to a hearty Full English, there’s something for everyone – with all breakfast dishes under £10.

Simply show this post at the counter when you order to claim your free drink. We look forward to welcoming you!

📍Schwarzman Centre Café
🕑Weekdays, 08:00-10:00 | July & August

Breakfast Coffee VisitOxford

21/07/2026

What stories can the body tell without words?

This September, New York-based choreographer and performer Vangeline brings MAN WOMAN to the Schwarzman Centre.

Inspired by Eikoh Hosoe's photographs of Butoh's early pioneers, this visually striking performance reimagines the Japanese avant-garde dance form through a contemporary feminist lens.

Combining Vangeline's distinctive movement language with costumes by visionary q***r artist Machine Dazzle, MAN WOMAN explores transformation, identity and the body's ability to cross boundaries.

Stay after the performance for a conversation with Vangeline and Dr Alice Baldock on gender, memory and q***r aesthetics.

Want to experience Butoh for yourself? Join Vangeline's full-day Butoh Workshop on 17 September at the Old Fire Station, Oxford. Book the performance and workshop together to save 20%.

MAN WOMAN: A Butoh Fairy Tale by Vangeline
📍 19:00, 16 September | Theatre
🎟️ Book now: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/man-woman-jg6y

Vangeline Theater / New York Butoh Institute
Old Fire Station, Oxford

📸 Michael Blase, Nic Wong

Part of Utopia Now!, a season exploring the role of the arts in imagining a better future.

Address

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre For The Humanities Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Woodstock Road
Oxford
OX26GG

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 8pm
Tuesday	8am - 8pm
Wednesday	8am - 8pm
Thursday	8am - 8pm
Friday	8am - 8pm

Website

https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/

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