The Media, Arts and Humanities Research Institute

The Research Institute is the collaborative hub of research in Media, Arts and Humanities at Sussex.

Events programme

Sussex Retold: Symposium on Sussex heritage diversity and progressive futures

Friday 19 June 9:00 until 19:00

University of Sussex Campus : Fulton Building

Speaker: Anooshka Rawden, Alinah Azadeh, Sara Clifford, Caroline Lucas, Libby Drew, Matthew Bird Charlie Cain

Part of the series: Sussex Retold: Sounds, Sites, Stories

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Conference headline acts; young women's feet in boots, step-dancing

Conference headline acts with Chloe step-dancing. Image credit: Tunde Alabi-Hundeyin II, Michelle Gibson, Katherine Blackadder.

Artists, story-tellers, scholars, land-workers and policy-makers will gather at the University of Sussex to share work and ideas at a creative conference, Sussex Retold: Sounds, Sites Stories, on Friday, 19 June 2026.

Register here!

The day offers a timely investigation into the diversity of Sussex heritage and how the past can be used for progressive futures.

Full programme here.

Speakers will include Anooshka Rawden, Cultural Heritage Lead for the South Downs National Park Authority; Alinah Azadeh, artist, writer and local cultural activist; Caroline Lucas, former MP and now Professor of Practice in Environmental Sustainability at the University; Matthew Bird, Director of Love Our Ouse; Libby Drew, Knepp Wildlife Foundation Director and Charlie Cain, National Trust Ranger, Saddlescombe Farm.

Also to savour will be stalls, walks and workshops (final line-up TBC), including:

Dance displays by Brighton Morris (first formed at the University in 1967) who promote an inclusive approach to tradition
‘Prehistoric Sussex on a Plate’, with ancient food grains;
Creative writing inspired by Neolithic ‘Whitehawk Woman’ and Knepp
Singing together to ‘re-sound The Long Man of Wilmington’
A walk to the students’ forest food garden via the campus rewilded patch.

Have a go at step-dance or soak in a meditative local ‘birdbath’. Discover more about Sussex Gypsy Roma and Traveller heritage with historian Janet Keet-Black. Take a look at exhibits from The Keep’s Copper family archive, renowned local singers from Rottingdean.

The day will also premiere a site-specific ‘promenade’ drama about the history of Sussex-campus land by award-winning playwright Sara Clifford, known for her work on the class struggles and hidden histories of the local area.

Things will end with music from The Wilderness Yet, acclaimed young Sussex-infused folk stars, at Falmer’s The Swan Inn barn.

Organised by the University of Sussex’s Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research in partnership with the Sussex School for Progressive Futures, the day is the culmination of a two-year project Sussex Retold, working with local partners to develop practical solutions to challenges in the local culture and environment.

The project builds on faculty research including Hope Wolf’s rethinking of regional identities in Sussex arts and crafts; Jo Walton, Perpetua Kirby and Chris Sandom’s exploration of farming futures, and Ed Hughes’ South Downs Songbook. Project lead Margaretta Jolly said: ‘intangible cultural heritage expresses the beautiful particularities of places yet can mobilise alliances of care and concern about damaged lands and resistance to racist ethno-nationalism everywhere. The conference aims to challenge stereotypes of a pastoral and elitist county in critical and celebratory work, ‘retelling’ Sussex through sounds, sites and stories.’

Further details about the Sussex Retold conference and how to register can be found here.

Sussex Retold is supported by the Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research and the South Coast Sustainability group within the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme. We also acknowledge and thank: the sponsorship of the charity Sussex Traditions, the support of the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) programme, and the work of the Research Professional Services team in the Faculty of Media, Arts and Humanities.

This event is part of the Summer of Research 2026, a two-week festival of researcher-led talks, workshops and events, supporting and sharing our fantastic research here at Sussex. Find out about and sign up for other exciting events here!