Press Releases

Being Human is the UK’s national festival of the humanities. The festival celebrates the ways humanities research inspires and enriches our everyday lives, helping us to understand ourselves, our relationships with others, and the challenges we face in a changing world.

Taking place from 8-19 November, the free public events will cater for a range of ages at venues across the city and will include walks and tours, demonstrations, object handling and arts and crafts.

Events will draw on a  range of research - from archaeological excavations, artwork conservation, generative artificial intelligence, fungi collections, to an exhibition of veterans’ mental health stories, and colonial and industrial history from Penrhyn Castle.

Cardiff University has been chosen as one of the festival’s five flagship hubs for this year.

Professor Claire Gorrara, Dean for Research and Innovation for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cardiff University, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Amgueddfa Cymru for our first Being Human Festival programme. The range of activities that we will be hosting is testament to the vibrancy of arts and humanities research and public engagement from within the Cardiff University community and amongst the groups with whom we collaborate. We look forward to welcoming people to the festival programme.”

Dr Kath Davies, Director of Collections and Research, Amgueddfa Cymru, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Cardiff University to host events as part of the Being Human Festival. We hope visitors to National Museum Cardiff and St Fagans National Museum of History enjoy the festival and see how we collaborate with local communities to share knowledge, ideas and help us understand the challenges we face in a changing world.”

Being Human Festival forms part of a wider strategic partnership between Cardiff University and Amgueddfa Cymru to boost collaboration across Higher Education and the Heritage sector in Wales. The partnership focusses on working together across five areas aimed at benefitting our diverse communities: research and innovation; safeguarding and restoring the environment; digital cultures and adaptive technologies; skills, talent, and lifelong learning; and ensuring wellbeing and inclusive representation through an appreciation of heritage.

View the full UK Being Human Festival programme here.

Being Human Festival is led by the School of Advanced Study at the University of London in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.