The Festival of Ideas, What It is and Why You Should Come

What is the Festival of Ideas?

The Festival is a programme of free and inclusive public events, covering a wide range of topics. The events are delivered via public talks, interactive workshops, exhibitions, and more. The idea came from the established festivals that universities support in York and Bristol, with the aim being that we celebrate our wonderful city, its partners and its communities through the festival. Our event themes have come from University staff, local community groups, schools and other organisations around Chester.

How is the University involved in the Festival of Ideas?

The University of Chester is leading the organisation and delivery of the first Chester Festival of Ideas.  Our core staff team have worked closely with city partners, including Cheshire West and Chester Council, Storyhouse, and Chester Cathedral, to develop and deliver the programme of events. The Festival is intended to be an annual celebration and will stand as the flagship of our public engagement work, which we are actively developing.

What can attendees hope to gain from the events?

We hope that attendees will be inspired, entertained and educated via the events they attend as part of the Festival. Some events like David Olusoga’s talk address challenging topics and question how the future may look. Others like the University’s health and wellbeing days are intended to be fun and engaging for all the family. Some event leaders are considering aspects of sustainability, with a view to empowering attendees to understand how they can make a positive change. There are also events led by University staff like the ‘How to speak chimpanzee!’ event, which invites members of the public to contribute to their research. We also hope that the Festival will make more people aware of the University and its work, and its place in our local community.

Can I come if I’m attending the Open Day at the same time?

The undergraduate Open Day is happening on Saturday, 6^th and the events at the Festival of Ideas are a great bonus opportunity to see how the University connects with the community of Chester. We encourage you to attend some of the great events happening around your open day activities.

You have the chance to go to a talk from our University Chancellor, Dr Gyles Brandreth, as he explores the idea of happiness as it has developed across the centuries. He will also introduce his Seven Secrets of Happiness.

Get a feel for the city and explore the art around Chester with Chester Art Beat, where we highlight more than 30 local artists across 15 different venues in the city. 

Visit the Town Hall and Grosvenor Market to view our exhibitions, which include:

• Imperial Legacies, Sacred Space – a collaborative collection of monuments and objects from the Cathedral collection as a starting point for considering why items of colonialism are in Chester Cathedral
• Saltation: Adventures with Salt – an exhibition of work along the project theme of sustainability and SALT with the development of a maker space which utilizes sustainable materials
• Migration Stories North West – Touring Exhibition – an exhibition which tells stories of individual women, men and children who have migrated in and out of the North West from other parts of the British Isles and the world as a result of conflict, colonialism and trade, as well as in search of work, educational opportunities or a better life.

Heading to Queen’s Park or Wheeler for the Open Day? Pop into the Roman Handbridge event in St Mary’s Centre, Handbridge. There will be specialist talks on Roman Handbridge where you can see artefacts from the Grosvenor Museum not currently on public display and, also have a chance to register your interest in future archaeological projects in and around Handbridge.

A key talk from Dr Louise Newson on ‘Female hormones and health – why do we need to talk about perimenopause and menopause?’ is happening at Chester Town Hall around lunchtime. There’s also an interesting talk from Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Christina Stanley, about the social lives of bats at the Town Hall in the afternoon.

Check out the full events listing for the Festival of Ideas to plan your weekend around the Open Day!