Take part in the Being Human festival 2016

If you are interested in putting on an event as part of the 2016 Being Human festival of the humanities, make sure you join the coordinated Leeds event proposal. Find out how.

The Festival is taking place nationwide from 17-25 November, under the theme "Hope and Fear".

Building on the success of its four-event Being Human programme last year, the Leeds Humanities Research Institute, in association with the Cultural Institute and the Public Engagement team, will be coordinating a bid for Leeds to act as a "Festival Hub," with between 5-10 free public events sponsored.

If you are interested in taking part, please send a 1-page proposal to Mike Bellhouse, by 5pm on Monday 11 April. (The full bid is due on 16 May.)

There is no prescribed format for proposals; but they should clearly describe an event that:
  • meets some or all of the Festival's aims and objectives (see more below)
  • can plausibly be put on for under £1000

Examples of supportable events might include: exhibitions and installations; performances; film screenings; digital activities; hands-on activities; tagathons; Pecha Kucha or Ignite sessions; walks and tours; public talks and lectures; public art installations; archaeology digs; and debates.

Especially welcome are events that:
  • unveil or disseminate new research developments in the humanities
  • demonstrate capacity to reach a significant number of people
  • engage with at least one cultural or community partner (e.g. galleries, museums, charities)
  • engage with topical debates and the news agenda
  • encourage innovation in methods of public engagement, especially dynamic or participatory events
  • engage with diverse audiences (specifically younger [15-19 years of age] and ethnically diverse audiences)
  • explore imaginative and unusual venues for festival activities
  • engage well-known speakers and figures associated with the humanities
  • demonstrate capacity to maximise media impact and provide legacy beyond the festival
  • engage creatively with the "Hope and Fear" theme, bringing the fruits of humanities research to bear on, e.g., ageing, health and wellbeing; climate change and the environment; endangered or new languages; human rights; human migration/population changes; new technologies; social connectivity; terrorism and radicalisation; urbanism (past and present), including "Smart Cities"; and utopias and dystopias (cultural, social, political), among other possibilities.

See the 2016 Being Human festival website for more information.

Read more about the Leeds contribution to the 2015 Festival, in partnership with the Thackray Medical Museum, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Opera North and the Bradford Literature Festival.

If you want to discuss your proposal before submission, please contact Mike Bellhouse and he'll put you in touch with someone from the local organizing team.


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