Being Human festival: free humanities events
Being Human is the UK's national festival of the humanities, 5 to 14 November 2026, on the theme Crossroads. Universities open their doors with free talks, walks, workshops and exhibitions, and a few events you can join online. Picked from the festival programme; check each event's page for booking.
22 upcoming events, 4 of them you can join online
Coming up
Events 1–20 of 22, soonest first
Wednesday 4 November
- 6:00 PM-8:00 PM in the UKIn person
Mapping the Anthropocene: Exhibition Late and Panel Discussion
University of Edinburgh · Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh
A late opening of the Mapping the Anthropocene exhibition with a panel of artists and a National Library of Scotland map curator on how maps can make climate and economic data easier to grasp. Free…
Thursday 5 November
- Thu, 05 November 2026 to Sat, 14 November 2026, time on the event pageOnline
The Mind in the Mirror
School of Advanced Study, University of London
An online exhibition of how people across history have pictured the mind, memory and mental health, from medieval diagrams to modern brain scans. There is also a live online conversation with the…
- Thu, 05 November 2026 to Sat, 14 November 2026, time on the event pageOnline
At the Crossroads of Music and Machine: The Story of the Player Piano
University of Surrey
An online exhibition about the player piano: how the instruments worked, the music made for them, the people who played them and the piano rolls that survive. Made with the Pianola Institute and the…
- 12:30 PM-1:30 PM in the UKIn person
Discovering the Past through Literary Bedfordshire
University of Bedfordshire · The Higgins Bedford, Castle Lane, Bedford
A lunchtime talk on writers linked to Bedford over the centuries, from John Bunyan to forgotten names, drawn from the Literary Bedfordshire research project. The audience is invited to add writers…
- 1:30 PM-3:30 PM in the UKIn person
Creative Policymaking, Creative Bureaucracies?
Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London · Lethaby Gallery, 1 Granary Square, London
A panel chaired by Professor Lucy Kimbell on the growing use of design and arts methods in government policymaking, and what is gained and risked when policy is expected to be creative. Free, part of…
- 5:00 PM-7:00 PM in the UKIn person
Older LGBT+ Housing and Care at a Crossroads
University of Surrey · International Longevity Centre, The Foundry, 17 Oval Way, London
A short animation, talks from The Life House Project and an interactive theatre workshop on how older LGBTQ+ people think about housing, care and community in later life. Suitable for adults (16+).…
- 5:00 PM-8:00 PM in the UKIn person
Crossroads of our Buried History
UCL · Starts at Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Road, London
A walk from Whitechapel to Shadwell with UCL archaeologists, taking in the Silk District dig, the Cable Street battle site and St George-in-the-East, ending at a pop-up exhibition of the finds. No…
- 5:00 PM-7:00 PM in the UKIn person
Writing Liverpool Lives
University of Sussex · Liverpool Central Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool
A creative writing workshop built around the life stories of people of colour who lived near Liverpool's docks between 1870 and 1939. No booking needed. Adults who enjoy creative writing or are…
- 5:30 PM-7:30 PM in the UKIn person
Fact versus Fiction in the Gaming World
Cardiff University · Cornerstone, Charles Street, Cardiff
Cardiff researchers and game writers discuss how video games handle history, realism and inclusive storytelling, then attendees try pitching their own history-themed game ideas. Suitable for ages…
Saturday 7 November
- 10:30 AM-12:30 PM in the UKIn person
City at the Crossroads - a David Oluwale Walking Tour
Leeds Beckett University · Leeds City Museum (front steps), Millennium Square, Leeds
A two-hour guided walk through places tied to the life and death of David Oluwale, a Nigerian man who came to Leeds in 1949, ending at Yinka Shonibare's Hibiscus Rising. A second tour runs 1:30pm to…
- 2:00 PM-4:00 PM in the UKOnline
Poetry Writing at the Mythological Crossroads
The Open University
An online creative writing workshop that uses the Greek myths of Oedipus and Antigone to think about crossroads. You write in the voices of the characters and the places they pass through. No…
Sunday 8 November
- 10:00 AM-2:00 PM in the UKIn person
Being Human, Sensing Nature: A Creative Walk in Durham's Green Corridor!
Durham University · Crook Hall Gardens, Frankland Lane, Durham
A 3.3-mile creative walk from Crook Hall to Finchale Priory, writing haiku, recording sounds and taking photos along the way, with a coach back and refreshments. Repeated on 14 November; run with…
- 10:30 AM-12:30 PM in the UKIn person
At the Crossroads of Manchester and Salford: A Walking Tour
University of Salford · Starts at Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester
A 1.7-mile guided walk from Manchester through Ordsall and Chapel Street into Salford, looking at how the area has changed since the Industrial Revolution. Walkers' photos feed into a later…
- 11:00 AM-4:00 PM in the UKIn person
What Time is Now? - A Whitaker Museum Takeover
Manchester Metropolitan University · The Whitaker Museum, Haslingden Road, Rawtenstall
A drop-in day of storytelling, dance, printmaking, object handling and a guided tour exploring time, memory and local history through the museum's collections. Open to all and suitable for different…
Monday 9 November
- 6:30 PM-9:30 PM in the UKIn person
The Black Jacobins Play for Our Times
University of Glasgow · Silk Street Music Hall, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London
Staged readings from Talawa Theatre's 1986 adaptation of C. L. R. James's history of the Haitian Revolution, with an introduction to the play's background and an audience discussion. Aimed at adults…
Tuesday 10 November
- 1:00 PM-2:00 PM in the UKIn person
Dundee History and Culture Walking Tour
University of Dundee · Starts at the Lemmings statue, Perth Road, Dundee
A one-hour walk through Dundee's creative history, from comics landmarks and DC Thomson to the birthplace of Lemmings, finishing with a motion capture demo at Abertay University. Free, part of the…
- 6:00 PM-8:00 PM in ParisIn person
Some Like it Hot
University of London Institute in Paris · 9-11 rue de Constantine, Paris
A talk on how jazz was sold in interwar France through tea dances and small dance halls, challenging the idea that it simply arrived with American troops in 1918. Times are Paris time (CET). Free…
Wednesday 11 November
- 2:00 PM-4:00 PM in the UKIn person
Hidden Histories of St Andrews and Transatlantic Slavery
University of St Andrews · Starts outside St Katherine's Lodge, The Scores, St Andrews
A 90-minute walk with St Andrews historians uncovering how local buildings, street names and plaques connect the town and university to transatlantic slavery. Repeated on 14 November, 10:30am. Free…
- 6:00 PM-7:30 PM in the UKOnline
Philosophy's Reach: Does learning to think together still matter?
The Open University
A Zoom panel of people who take philosophy into schools, prisons, workplaces and community groups, followed by Q&A and small breakout discussions. You can listen without speaking if you prefer.…
- 7:00 PM-8:00 PM in the UKIn person
At the Crossroads of Music and Machine: The Evolution of Musical Creativity
University of Surrey · The Guildford Institute, Ward Street, Guildford
Composer Milton Mermikides traces how people and machines have made music together, from early automata and the theremin to today's AI tools, with musical examples. Designed for a general audience…