This autumn, the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences kicks off a re-imagined public events programme with its inaugural season, We are The British Academy. The Academy’s beautiful and historic home at Carlton House Terrace has been transformed to open it up to more researchers and curious minds than ever before. Marking a significant moment as the Academy officially re-opens its doors to the public, this first series of free tours, talks, exhibits, discussions and performances launches a brand-new year-round programme of events.

Lifting the lid on the diversity and reach of the humanities and social sciences, We are The British Academy will showcase the pioneering thinkers, leading lights, and inspiring new research and researchers who are changing the world for the better. The Open House Festival on 15 September will be the first time that the public can enter the Grade I-listed building following its £10million, two-year transformation, which opens up the previous warren of corridors in the lower floors into three light-filled, hybrid event spaces. The British Academy LATE on 17 October will be a thought-provoking, fun evening event exploring the human experience, and the performance event, Poetry in Protest on 30 October, brings together poet and playwright Professor Jackie Kay Hon FBA, T.S. Eliot prize winning poet and British Academy-funded researcher Jason Allen-Paisant, and #Merky Prize winner Monika Radojevic. There are other events in the autumn season programmed through to December.

Visitors for all events are invited to view the Academy’s stunning collection of contemporary British art, with works by Paula Rego, Yinka Shonibare and Terry Frost, and a brand-new artwork by acclaimed Guyanese-British sculptor and contemporary artist Hew Locke OBE which has been recently installed. A new digital art guide, developed by the Academy in partnership with Bloomberg Connects, has recently been launched, which will act as a digital guide of the Academy building, widening access to this unique art collection with curatorial insights and behind-the-scenes stories.
Open House Festival (Sunday 15 September, 11:00 – 16:00)
The London-wide Open House Festival celebrates the city’s most exciting architecture, and The British Academy’s beautiful Grade I-listed, John Nash designed townhouse will open its doors with historical, art, and architectural tours. Guided tours will be offered by Academy staff and pre-booked tours with the prestigious Wright & Wright Architects who have thoughtfully re-designed the space. Visitors can also explore the building at their own pace, using the new digital guide by Bloomberg Connects.

There will be a free digital photography exhibition which will be the first ever ‘British Academy Book Prize Photography Exhibition’, commissioned in response to last year’s British Academy Book Prize winner. Arko Datto, an award-winning photographer based in India, has been commissioned by Panos Pictures to visually interpret the 2023 Book Prize-winning book Courting India: England, Mughal India and the Origins of Empire by Nandini Das, through a contemporary lens.
The British Academy’s sister academy for science, The Royal Society, located a stone’s throw from The British Academy, will also open its doors for the Open House Festival, allowing a unique opportunity for visits to the historic headquarters of two centuries-old institutions of knowledge and research.

The British Academy LATE: The Human Experience (Thursday 17 October, 18:00)
This fun and lively evening will offer a thought-provoking and curated programme of performances, talks and participatory workshops to bring to life research in the humanities and social sciences.
The art and science of sleep and its role in our lives will be explored with Professor Sally Shuttleworth FBA and Circadian neuroscientist Professor Russell Foster. There will be an opportunity to experience the trance-like state of techno music from electronic-jazz producer, DJ and musician (and practising doctor) Michael Diamond. His broad-ranging work intertwines music production and medicine, examining the effects of music listening on patients with inspiring results. Another panel, on the Power of Laughter, with Professor Sophie Scott FBA and Dr Sarah Merry will be followed by a set from a stand-up comedian.
Poetry in Protest: with Jackie Kay Hon FBA, Jason Allen-Paisant and Monika Radojevic (Wednesday 30 October, 18:30)

Fusing discussion and performance, Poetry in Protest will bring together some of the most prominent voices in the UK poetry scene to discover how personal and political change can be explored through verse.

British Academy chair and winner of the #Merky Books New Writers Prize 2021, Monika Radojevic, will be joined by British Academy Fellow and Professor Jackie Kay FBA, and T.S Eliot Prize winner and British Academy funded researcher Jason Allen-Paisant to discuss what poetry means to them, and to reflect on poetry’s powerful role in challenging norms and fostering resilience.

The public programme continues with three themed seasons annually, beginning with the ‘The Age of Mistrust?’ in January 2025, and ‘Folklore Reimagined’ in April 2025.