There is huge excitement around the official opening of The Schwarzman Centre, a new world-class centre for the Arts and Humanities in central Oxford, which will provide a unique mix of exceptional performance and research spaces, alongside academic teaching facilities.
The £185 million Schwarzman Centre includes some incredible public performance spaces including the energy-efficient 500-seat Sohmen Concert Hall, complete with state-of-the-art flexible acoustics, a 250-seat theatre, a black box immersive performance space, a white box exhibition gallery, a dance studio, cinema, the Great Hall, a museum for the display of the renowned Bate Collection of historic musical instruments, a café and bar, all set in landscaped gardens.
All of which you can see for yourselves at the opening programme on April 25, where across the Schwarzman Centre you’ll find pop up performances and events, including cabaret from Cocoa Butter Club, poetry and spoken word from Yomi Ṣode with special guests, local physical theatre and dance from local company Justice in Motion outside the building on the forecourt, and ground breaking multidisciplinary arts company Head over Wheels, whose disabled and non-disabled performers use aerial choreography, bold story telling and innovative design to challenge stereotypes.
Enjoy your first taste of the Cultural Programme with ZooNation’s vibrant excerpt of Alice in Wonderland’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the theatre, or the Scottish Ensemble in Rising Sound and Impulse: Music in Motion in the concert hall, all for free.
The evening will see artists Es Devlin and composer Nico Muhly joining forces for 360 Vessels – a choral installation created for the opening, with chamber choir Schola Cantorum, to be performed beneath the glass dome of the Great Hall.
Artists Anna Ridler and Refik Anadol (see main pic) will also each present interactive, digital works that have been created using AI, Refik’s in the white box gallery space, which will be open until June 6, Anna Ridler’s in the Great Hall until August 31.
Throw in a series of bite sized talks throughout the day, from AI ethics and creativity to witchcraft and what it means to be human, in the Great Hall stage throughout the day, and The Bate Collection opening to showcase its historical musical instruments, and you’re in for a treat!
This free-entry Saturday festival aims to bring the building to life, celebrating the power and creativity of the humanities. Between events, make yourself at home, grab a drink or something to eat in the café, meet some of the academics and artists who work there, and leave feeling inspired by the ideas and stories that shape our world. This is your invitation to explore.
John Fulljames, Director of the Cultural Programme, Schwarzman Centre, says: “We can’t wait to welcome people from across the region into this new public home for the humanities. It’s a place where we can all come together to make sense of what it means to be human in today’s world. With a free opening celebration including music, theatre, dance, cabaret, spectacle and more – we can promise a chance to connect with both some much loved stories and artists as well as encounter something new and surprising.”
Following April 25, The Schwarzman Centre will then roll out its extensive cultural programme of extraordinary events, exhibitions, talks, concerts, theatre, immersive experiences, dance, circus, poetry, conversations and film, which start on May 5 and run throughout the year. (expect a full programme lowdown from OXINABOX very soon).
Further details on the Cultural Programme can be found here: https://www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk/whats-on
