Festival of Ideas

Six of our Festival of Ideas events were part of the official festival programme. This dynamic series of events and activities, led by the School of Media, Arts and Humanities, have helped fashion new ways of thinking about the past, present and future.

We're honoured to be Higher Education Partner for Brighton Festival, and throughout the past year, Education Partner for the Turner Prize 2023. These collaborations provided the opportunity to bring Turner Prize events to Brighton Festival 2024!

Now That's What I Call Magic with Jeremy Deller and Claire Langhamer. Photo credit: Stuart Robinson.

Festival of Ideas: Now That's What I Call Magic. Turner Prize winning artist and Sussex alumnus, Jeremy Deller joined Claire Langhamer in conversation, on stage at Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts. They discussed collaboration, British history, protest and pop culture, and a screening of 'Everybody in the Place' was shown - Deller’s affectionate 2019 homage to the importance of UK rave culture.

Festival of Ideas: Radical Remembering with Stuart Hall Fellow Subira Joy. Photo credit: Chenying Cannell.

Festival of Ideas: Radical Remembering. Stuart Hall Fellow, Subira Joy hosted an evening rooted in histories of resistance, through a lens of creativity and performance. The evening combined spoken word, discussions and performances to explore queer and Black activism, archival research and radical lineages that challenge how and why we hold our histories.

Festival of Ideas: The Radical, Revolutionary Witch with Zoë Howe and Dr Laura Kounine. Photo credit: Chenying Cannell.

Festival of Ideas: The Radical, Revolutionary Witch. Dr Laura Kounine (University of Sussex) joined Zoë Howe in conversation about her book, Witchfull Thinking, at the Feminist Bookshop. They discussed how the witch in contemporary culture has come to represent feminism and radical and revolutionary activism.

Festival of Ideas: Bird Bath Dusk Meditation, Performance and Improvisation with Alistair Appleton and Alice Eldridge. Photo credit: Michael Cheetham.

Bird Bath: Created by meditator and broadcaster Alistair Appleton (Mindsprings) and musician and ecoacoustician Alice Eldridge (University of Sussex), transformed St Peter's Church, Preston Park into a restorative space by inviting the public to pause, rest and ‘bathe’ in the sound of local birdsong. Two special events marked the opening and closing of the free, week-long installation; Bird Bath Dawn Chorus Breakfast, and Dusk Meditation, Performance and Improvisation.

Festival of Ideas: Close-up with Vincent Gambini. Photo credit: Rosie Powell.

Festival of Ideas: Close-Up. Inside a working café, surrounded by unsuspecting customers, magician Vincent Gambini (Dr Augusto Corrieri, University of Sussex) gave magic performances, for one spectator at a time. Seated at the table, playing cards transformed inexplicably and sugar cubes vanished without a trace, and people began to question: this a real café, or a film set filled with actors?

Festival of Ideas: Remember When the Turner Prize Came To Sussex, charied by Ben Burbridge (Head of Art History, University of Sussex). Photo credit: Chenying Cannell.

Festival of Ideas: Remember When the Turner Prize Came To Sussex. A panel of speakers (who have worked on arts engagement projects surrounding the Turner Prize 2023) shared the inside story of what happened when the world's leading prize in contemporary art arrived in Eastbourne. They discussed its impact on the local area, communities and economy, and exciting future plans for the arts in East Sussex!

.