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Professors John Curtice, Ben Ansell and poet Jackie Kay among first speakers in British Academy’s newly reimagined public events programme

11 Jul 2024

A newly reimagined public events programme is launching at the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for humanities and social sciences, from September 2024.

The first season, running from September to December and titled We are the British Academy, will highlight the best of the humanities and social sciences to a curious public, showcasing the best research, insights and expertise from the Academy’s community of Fellows, funded researchers and experts.

We are the British Academy kicks off with Open House London on Sunday 15 September. Visitors will be among the first to explore the Academy’s new event spaces in its Grade-I listed home in London’s St James’s, following a transformative £10million redesign by architects Wright & Wright. The day will feature guided and self-guided tours to learn about the architecture and history of these Nash-designed buildings and discover the Academy’s extensive art collection, which features a new acquisition by acclaimed British-Guyanese artist Hew Locke OBE, and has been digitised in partnership with the Bloomberg Connects app, both launching later today.

The full programme for “We are the British Academy” goes live today. Events are free but booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.

After December, the rolling programme will feature two themed seasons annually, with The Age of Mistrust? and Folklore Reimagined confirmed for 2025.

Professor Rana Mitter, Vice-President for Public Engagement at the British Academy, said: “Our new events programme highlights how the humanities and social science subjects puncture and permeate almost every topic, issue and question that society brings up: from understanding the political world and timeless matters of culture to the science of the everyday.

We believe that everyone stands to benefit from understanding more about people, societies and cultures across time and place. Our new events are a key way for the Academy to open itself up and share that knowledge and insight with a wider audience.”

Contact the press office

For further information contact the Press Office on [email protected]  / 07500 010 432.

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