2023 Festival

A photo of Alice Eldridge in a forest

Acoustic Ecologies: Mapping the Climate Emergency

Saturday 6 May, 12pm - 1.30pm

To mark Flock’s Sleeping Tree installation at Brighton Dome over the opening weekend of the festival, we bring together a panel of speakers, including Dr Alice Eldridge from University of Sussex, to open up and frame the theme of acoustic ecologies.

A painting of Brighton Pavilion garden with a figure gardening

Festival of Ideas: Gardens, Botany and Histories of (De)Colonialism

Thursday 11 May, 6.30pm - 8pm

Taking the Royal Pavilion and Garden as their starting point, Rob Boyle, Head Gardener at Royal Pavilion Garden, and Prof Vinita Damodaran, Director of Centre for World Environmental History at University of Sussex, explore the remarkable relationships between botany and colonialism.

Organised by University of Sussex and The Royal Pavilion and Museums Trust.

A photo of Erin James in black and white

The Live Archive hosted by Erin James

Monday 8 May, 7pm - 8.30pm

Join Erin James and special guests for a radical reimagining of archival research through poetry and performance. Challenging assumptions about what an ‘academic event’ might look like, and who it can include, The Live Archive seeks out new and exciting possibilities for the future of decolonising education and academia. Expect the unexpected!

Organised by Sussex University and The Stuart Hall Foundation.

A photo of a person holding a cassette tape covered in glitter and stars, with hand written "core memories"

Festival of Ideas: Music for Girls

Saturday 27 May,1pm - 5pm

What does it mean for girls to come together and talk music? Do women have different kinds of relationships to music than men? Join a panel of artists, writers and listeners for an afternoon of conversation and activities exploring collective music histories and lost memorabilia, hosted by the University of Sussex’s Music for Girls project. Expect nostalgia, mixtapes, and songs!