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The Sussex Festival of Ideas launch took place on Wednesday 28 April. The festival celebrates the work of the newly formed School of Media, Arts and Humanities, and aims to highlight the importance of these subject areas in a wide range of exciting events due to take place from Wednesday 9 – Saturday 12 June. 

At the launch, the team behind the inaugural festival, which was created with input from staff and students across the School, spoke about the work that has gone into the interdisciplinary programme of events, the ideas and ambitions behind the festival, and what they are looking forward to from the remarkable list of workshops, film screenings, performances, debates, discussions, and more. 

Festival Director, Professor Mary Krell, said: “Festivals provide an opportunity to create community and to connect with other people. Now more than ever, those things matter.”

She added that media, arts, and humanities shape our world, and that work from colleagues across the School is timely and necessary: "When we come together, as we have in Media, Arts and Humanities as a new School, that hope, ability, and willingness to face challenges and to communicate and connect with one another can help shape a School that is not just interesting but is also vital and important.”

Dean of the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, Professor Kate O’Riordan, noted:t “Our students, staff, and alumni are an incredible community, and the festival is all about celebrating this, and affirming our commitment to making a difference in the world.”

In future, the Festival Steering Group hopes to physically branch out into the wider community in Brighton and Sussex, and to build new key relationships with external partners in museums, galleries, theatres, and groups in a spirit of openness and collaboration.

Dr Ben Burbridge noted that a range of organisations will be collaborating with the festival this year, including: Brighton Pavilion and Museums Trust, the Stuart Hall Foundation, Photoworks, Vivienne Westwood’s Intellectuals Unite, Subcultures Network, the Frogmore Press, the Museum of Youth Culture, the Lee Miller Archive, Brighton Photo Fringe, Turner Art Gallery, Charleston, Brighton and Hove’s Black History Project, and more. 

The festival showcases a wide range of creative and critical work spanning different genres. As Festival Producer, Jessica Horne, noted – from keynote speakers to all-day film screenings, there is something to interest everyone in the festival programme. 

The website is at the heart of the festival, which is operating in an online format in its inaugural year. All events are free and there is no need to sign up. Simply visit the Sussex Festival of Ideas website to watch events in real time, or watch recordings of the events at a time that’s convenient for you. 

Thank you to everyone involved in the launch event, including Professor Kate O’Riordan, Professor Ed Hughes, Professor Mary Krell, Dr Jason Price, Professor Margaretta Jolly, Dr Ben Burbridge, and Jessica Horne.  

Visit www.sussexfestivalofideas.co.uk to watch a recording of the launch, see a full list of events, and to find out more.