Calendar of events

Military historians James Holland and Robert Lyman show and discuss extracts from the film Imphal and Kohima: Britain’s Greatest Battle.

Join us as the winners are announced of the 13th annual York Design Awards.

Verdi’s Four Sacred Pieces and the Messa di Gloria by Puccini make striking listening in the glorious surrounding of the Minster.

Bomb Happy, a play by Helena Fox, evocatively brings to life the experiences of five York Normandy Veterans.

Take a musical journey around Japan and beyond as we explore the development of Japanese taiko drumming.

In this world of wonder, is there a place for scepticism or even outright cynicism? Join the Guardian’s John Crace and Tim Dowling to find out.

Ed Vulliamy, an Observer journalist for 20 years, presents a passionate investigation of the charged frontier between 20th-century music and politics.

View innovative work by University of York Interactive Media students including virtual reality experiences and games and apps.

Behavioural scientist Nick Chater reveals that we have no hidden depths to plumb and unconscious thought is a myth.

What are the links between abstract structures in music and mathematics? Join expert speakers including mathematicians and award-winning conductors and musicians.

Find out about the ‘dark side’ of the Moon and much more as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landings with a hands-on, family-friendly workshop.

Bomb Happy, a play by Helena Fox, evocatively brings to life the experiences of five York Normandy Veterans.

Discover the fascinating stories behind some of the thousands of sites across Britain requisitioned or built during the Second World War to support the war effort.

Discover England's traditional but unusual musical instruments, the pipe and tabor.

As part of our Focus Day, The Poetry and Music of Science, we explore the common ground between the art of the novel and scientific experimentation.

Find out about the ‘dark side’ of the Moon and much more as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landings with a hands-on, family-friendly workshop.

Is the art of doing nothing disappearing in a culture which disapproves of inactivity and demonises idleness? Join psychoanalyst Josh Cohen to learn more.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Find out about the ‘dark side’ of the Moon and much more as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landings with a hands-on, family-friendly workshop.

Learn about the important role millstones have played in many communities throughout history.

Following an introductory talk by Tom McLeish of the University of York, our expert speakers discuss the connections between visual thinking in painting and science.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

An expert panel discusses the current landscape of social media and what is needed to help young people ‘win’ in an ever-changing environment.

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

View innovative work by University of York Interactive Media students including virtual reality experiences and games and apps.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Bomb Happy, a play by Helena Fox, evocatively brings to life the experiences of five York Normandy Veterans.

Paul Muldoon, one of Ireland and America’s leading contemporary poets, presents a compelling selection of new and classic work.

Speakers from York’s twin city Nanjing and the Yorkshire Coast debate the great sea-faring figures of Zheng He and Captain Cook.

Come along and enjoy the Tapestry Singers, a mixed voice a cappella choir of 16 singers from Cambridgeshire.

Historian Anna Beer presents Sir Walter Ralegh's stranger-than-fiction life in all its richness.

View innovative work by University of York Interactive Media students including virtual reality experiences and games and apps.

We explore how feminist history, gender studies and studies of sexuality have worked to deconstruct gender stereotypes and give a voice to those who have been marginalised or obscured.

Discover why, from sex and music to religion and war, irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.

Archaeologist Barry Crump reveals the world of wonder to be found in unwanted and mundane objects, and what they can tell us about the past.

Bomb Happy, a play by Helena Fox, evocatively brings to life the experiences of five York Normandy Veterans.

Could you be a bookmaker? Join staff from York Minster and York Explore Library and get creative and have a go at making a book.

Drop in and use our Lego and Duplo to build the wonderful city of York – past, present or future.

From the idea of ‘gastronomie’ to Empires and colonisation, we reveal the integral part cooking and food have played in the cultural history of both France and Britain.

When we talk about human history, we focus on great leaders, mass migration and decisive wars. But how has the Earth itself determined our destiny?

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Learn about the important role millstones have played in many communities throughout history.

Learn about the birth of the notion of ‘haute couture’, the internationalisation of the fashion industry and the blurring of borders between men and women’s fashion.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Come along and create your own decorative papers using cornstarch paste.

Join us for a game of 'Who's coming for dinner?' and learn how science is rediscovering the diets of people living in the first millennium Mediterranean.

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

Discover Fishergate’s role in the introduction of plants and trees from across the world to Britain.

Take part in a literary treasure hunt and search for extracts from a prize-winning short story tucked away in hidden locations across York city centre.

View innovative work by University of York Interactive Media students including virtual reality experiences and games and apps.

Join us for a family-friendly day of exploration - from the frontiers of space, to unexplored worlds underwater, to the extreme conditions of the Poles.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Learn about some of the most remarkable, complex, flawed and brilliant monarchs ever to have sat on the English throne.

Explore the lyrics of the Beatles’ iconic Let It Be album with Colin Campbell of the University of York.

Join us for Entanglement! An Entropic Tale, a cosmic physics opera describing the mysteries of our Universe.

A special performance of The Planets Suite played by pianists Jakob Fichert and Mark Hutchinson on Holst's own newly-restored grand piano.

Bomb Happy, a play by Helena Fox, evocatively brings to life the experiences of five York Normandy Veterans.

The LUMA Film Festival features screenings of University of York student work, plus talks and workshops led by leading professionals in the UK film and television industry.

Join developmental biologist Jim Smith and learn about his trail-blazing research into how the different types of cell in an embryo form at the right time and in the right place.

From fascinating sci-fi visions to absurdist takes on the multiverse, we present a special screening of the finalists in the international Quantum Shorts Festival.

Join us for a Franco-British perspective on the history of feminism: how has feminism developed on both sides of the Channel?

Stuart Firestein of Columbia University, USA, explores how science has made tremendous progress through a reliance on ignorance and failure.

View innovative work by University of York Interactive Media students including virtual reality experiences and games and apps.

Our Festival Focus Day concludes with a screening of Sean McAllister’s documentary, A Northern Soul, which presents the reality of life for many working people locked in poverty in Britain today.

How do we change the way we talk about poverty? Join in the discussion as our speakers, including journalist Billie JD Porter, examine the solutions to the challenges we face.

Find out about community initiatives to tackle the shame surrounding poverty and make policymakers listen.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Flamboyant international guitar star Galina Vale returns to York to present an exhilarating programme of music.

Visit the Beats Bus on Parliament Street and find out how this mobile recording studio gives young people a voice through music and art workshops.

Our Focus Day introduces the writers and performers who empower people to tell their own stories. Learn about the challenges young people face today and watch the film Shared Stories

Join us for a drop-in exhibition showcasing historic healthcare and discover what you could expect from the healthcare professionals of the past.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

What other wondrous worlds lie beyond our own? Join physicist James Lees for an exploration of real, fictional and hypothetical planets.

Author Rachel Reeves MP looks at the many battles fought by the women of Westminster from 1919 to 2019.

Join Owen Wright of SOAS University of London and discover the importance of music in the visual arts of the Middle East.

An experimental new work by University of York students presents a chain of miniature plays adding up to something epic – a glimpse of multiple possible pasts.

Hear the true story of the toughest bicycle race ever staged - the Circuit des Champs de Bataille - the Tour of the Battlefields - in 1919.

Author Frank Furedi examines why fear has become so central to modern society – from terrorism and the economy to parenting and dieting.

Join archaeologist Steve Ashby for some intriguing new insights into one of the most fascinating of cultures – the Vikings.

Find out about the Petyt Library, one of the cultural wonders of early modern Yorkshire, now housed at the University of York.

York cycling writer Rob Ainsley reveals Britain's highest, steepest, scariest, quirkiest, bendiest, wettest and plain oddest bike rides.

Join biologist Amy-Jane Beer and storyteller Alice Courvoisier for an evening dedicated to the wonders of trees.

Our panel of experts discusses air pollution issues ahead of Clean Air Day, the UK’s largest air pollution campaign.

Historian Joy Porter explores what we can learn from indigenous traditions and the legacies of the American past.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Join soprano Louise Alp for a solo recital in the atmospheric medieval church of St Helen’s.

Join Explore archivist Laura Yeoman as she showcases some of the archives relating to York's Normandy Veterans.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Tired of being talked over? Of social media making you feel rubbish? Find out how Boudicca stuck up for herself and can help you do the same.

Professional magician-turned-psychologist Matthew L Tompkins investigates the arts of deception as practiced and popularised by mesmerists, magicians and psychics.

Join us for a concert celebrating the ongoing generosity of Sir Jack Lyons through scholarships and awards in the University of York’s Music Department.

Author Rose George takes you on a journey of discovery through the unseen but miraculous world of blood.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the dirty water that goes down the drain? Join our behind-the-scenes lab tour and find out.

Learn about the Voyager Golden Record – a genre-hopping multi-media metal LP fixed to Voyager 1 and 2 by NASA in the summer of 1977.

Join art historian Elena Kashina and discover how artist Edvard Munch presents visions of universal harmony in his later works.

Are mothers the ultimate scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the world? Join writer Jacqueline Rose for a rousing call to action.

Through firsthand accounts and immersive VR technologies, this interactive workshop highlights the skills and capacities of autistic adults.

Join Peter Hogarth of the University of York to discover more about the history of York’s Museum Gardens.

British Museum curator Venetia Porter explores the history of the Islamic world from its origins to the present day through a wide variety of objects.

Learn more about the thrill of 'wonder' in Shakespeare's The Tempest and try your hand at printing a portion of Shakespeare's play on a historic printing press.

Join Leonard Sanderman as he brings a combination of old, new and improvised music to life on the organ.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Historian and photography curator Pippa Oldfield reveals the fascinating but overlooked history of female pioneers working in conflicts.

A retinue of reciters perform a selection of Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry, both in translation and in the original, on the theme of natural wonders.

Neuroscientist Gina Rippon of Aston University explodes the myth that there are differences between the male and female brain.

This exciting, fully staged performance, directed by Michael Cordner and Ollie Jones, presents sequences from the plays of Shakespeare’s brilliant contemporaries.

Out of Character Theatre Company presents a dizzying new play exploring the tensions and challenges of living with mental illness.

Join retired major Graeme Green for a fascinating insight into the role of tanks in the Second World War.

Discover how a personality test, conceived by a mother and daughter with no formal training in psychology, worked its way into our boardrooms, classrooms and beyond.

Join us for a special film screening of Emmanuelle de Riedmatten’s documentary on the life of the feminist video artist Carole Roussopoulos (1945 -2009).

Learn more about Tipu Sultan, one of the most charismatic figures of South Asian history, with Ursula Sims-Williams of the British Library.

How and why do we age? How do we make a longer life better? Join writer and broadcaster Sue Armstrong and researcher Rachel Lloyd of Message House.

Meet inspiring University of York PhD students and hear how their curiosity is leading to life-changing research.

Zombies have taken over York! Come along and watch as University of York scientists dissect a captured zombie, and help us save the city through hands-on activities.

Join us for an immersive exhibit exploring issues around finding information to trust when you have questions about your health, mental health and well-being.

Learn about the ever-present wonderful world of ‘marvellous microbes’ with our family-friendly interactive demonstrations.

Discover how arts can benefit health and wellbeing, and take part in a friendly singing session.

Join Stuart Ogilvy of the Yorkshire Museum to discover more about the behaviour and life cycle of the tansy beetle.

Join Campbell Robb, CEO of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in conversation with authors John Boughton and Gillian Darley, then take a guided walk around the village.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Explore an alternative map of the continent where Europeans of African descent are juggling their multiple allegiances and forging new identities.

Historian Paul Cartledge discusses democracy’s many different manifestations from ancient times through to the ‘lamentable’ Brexit referendum campaign and successive events.

York Musical Society is joining forces with Coventry Cathedral Chorus to sing Mendelssohn’s Elijah in Coventry Cathedral. Come along and hear the choir rehearse.

Author and former MEP Glyn Ford challenges the view of North Korea as a rogue state run by a mad leader.

Discover how innovative women working in the food world are using gastronomy to change perceptions of the role of women in society.

Learn how archaeological investigations are helping to uncover the Cold War history of the Teufelsberg, a former Allied listening station in Berlin.

Archaeologist Maureen Carroll provides new insights into birth, infancy and earliest childhood in the Roman world.

Three and a half years travelling with no mobile phone. Join David Switalla and learn about his traditional German journeyman years.

Art historian Elena Kashina discusses the costumes and stage designs for projects such as Boris Godunov, Prince Igor and Fire-Bird by Ivan Bilibin.

From the Stone Age to the modern day, has inequality always been inevitable? Find out what lessons can be learnt from the history of social inequality.

Zombies have taken over York! Come along and watch as University of York scientists dissect a captured zombie, and help us save the city through hands-on activities.

Learn how archaeological investigations are helping to uncover the Cold War history of the Teufelsberg, a former Allied listening station in Berlin.

One Planet York invites you to join an inspiring group of educators, business people, health professionals and activists to share ideas about the concept of Cultural Capital.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Words as Bullets is a contemporary play where African and European theatres collide spectacularly.

Acclaimed pianist Clare Hammond is accompanied by a specially-designed film by the iconic Brothers Quay, producing a mesmeric immersion in a world of shadows.

Join us for the innovative Platform Summer Theatre Production by students from the University of York's Department of Theatre, Film and Television.

Ignoring the glossy lives presented on social media, writer Christine Armstrong presents a manifesto for happy professional families.

Driverless vehicles and autonomous cars promise improved freedom and efficiency. But how do we live safely in a world of AI?

Join internationally-acclaimed and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mike Leigh as he discusses the making of his epic film Peterloo.

In the wake of Brexit, what are the issues we face around trust, democracy and political engagement, and how can these be resolved? Join us for the final session of our Festival Focus Day on toleration.

Adult social care is high on both political and personal agendas. Could AI give us increased independence or will it fuel the ‘loneliness epidemic’?

Enjoy a choral concert with a programme of sacred music performed by Waukee High School Choir from Iowa, USA.

Ranging from Trump to Brexit to Islamophobia, speakers at our special Festival Focus Day on toleration look at what drives beliefs and the spread of fear.

Discover the wonders of technology as we showcase the transforming and exciting opportunities offered by the digital world.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Join us for a special Festival screening of Mike Leigh’s epic film Peterloo.

Journalist and historian Tim Bouverie presents a gripping history of the British appeasement of the Third Reich in the lead up to the Second World War.

Join us for an afternoon of fun activities designed to help everyone live a more active and healthy life.

Throughout history, people have feared new technology. Has such concern been justified? Should we be worried about the technologies emerging from this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’?

Are intolerance and populism increasing? What are the legal and societal challenges we face in confronting the rise of uncivil society? Join us at a special Festival Focus Day.

Throughout history, people have feared new technology. Has such concern been justified? Should we be worried about the technologies emerging from this ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’?

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Explore robots and AI technologies in this hands-on exhibition. Chat with Pepper the robot, programme your own Lego Mindstorm robot and watch a car being parked without anyone at the wheel.

Explore robots and AI technologies in this hands-on exhibition and watch the latest technology park a car without anyone at the wheel.

From alchemy to the healing properties of plants, explore different ideas about magic and the supernatural in the medieval period.

Calling all budding young storytellers! Discover the wonderful world of kamishibai, a centuries-old Japanese storytelling tradition.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Words as Bullets is a contemporary play where African and European theatres collide spectacularly.

Join us for the innovative Platform Summer Theatre Production by students from the University of York's Department of Theatre, Film and Television.

Go behind the scenes of the BBC period drama Poldark with its creator Debbie Horsfield and the production’s historical adviser Hannah Greig.

Join us for a continental view of higher education with Alain Beretz of the University of Strasbourg, France.

Thomas Guthrie, stage director of Monteverdi’s opera L’Orfeo and Artistic Adviser to the York Early Music Festival, discusses the use of puppets in opera and theatre.

What is love? Does love at first sight exist? Why do people cheat? Author Laura Mucha explores the science of who, how and why we love.

In the context of higher education, our speakers demonstrate the integral contribution of arts, culture and the humanities to society.

Find out how archaeologist Cat Jarman used cutting-edge science to reveal new evidence of the Viking presence in England.

Find out more about the business of football with sports journalist David Conn and management historians Kevin Tennent and Alex Gillett.

Our expert speakers, including Maths teacher Bobby Seagull and Kate Sandars of FutureLearn, discuss how universities help advance social mobility and social justice.

Join York St John University students and staff to hear fresh interpretations of the interface between government and people in wartime.

Consider the important role of ‘wonder’ at a writing workshop led by poet JT Welsch and fiction writer Sam Reese.

Join us for an afternoon of energetic, crafty, puzzling, scientific and historical fun with University of York postgraduate students and staff.

Calling all home-stitchers. Join our workshop and help create a wonderful object that tells the stories of the unsung expertise of home-stitchers.

From pitch to boardroom, Premier League lawyer Daniel Geey explores the issues that shape the modern game of football.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Enjoy some exceptional youth music making as York’s own Youth Early Music Group, Minster Minstrels, perform with flautist Nitin Amin.

Come and listen to top female scientists as they take science to the streets of York – standing on a soapbox!

Delve into the Anglo-Saxon past and discover clues to life in Eoforwic - Anglian York.

Speakers, including Hamish McAlpine of Research England, and Deborah Smith and Sue Hartley of the University of York, discuss the benefits universities deliver.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Enjoy some exceptional youth music making as York’s own Youth Early Music Group, Minster Minstrels, perform with flautist Nitin Amin.

York St John University staff and students celebrate the wonders of Global Englishes through an introduction to literature, food and other traditions and customs.

Join us for a unique opportunity to visit York Design Award-winning buildings from the first 12 years of the scheme.

Ever wondered what life was like for a Second World War soldier? Come along and meet members of the East Yorkshire Regiment Living History Group and find out.

What do Henry VIII’s relationships with the men who surrounded him tell us about his beliefs, behaviour and character? Join historian Tracy Borman to find out.

Come and explore the wonders of woodmeadow with expert naturalists from the Woodmeadow Trust.

Join us for the launch of York Unlimited, the campaign for the University of York.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Gender is shifting. But is gender disappearing? Writer Tom Whipple delves into the sexual subconscious to explain the inner workings of character and desire.

Leading palaeontologist Michael Benton explains why, though extinct, dinosaurs are still very much a part of our world.

Author Lorna Gibb presents a global portrait of people without children, exploring moving and surprising stories of longing, loss, resistance and choice.

Words as Bullets is a contemporary play where African and European theatres collide spectacularly.

Beside Ourselves Collective take you on a surreal theatrical journey into the church’s approach to sex, celibacy and female sexual desire.

Join us for the innovative Platform Summer Theatre Production by students from the University of York's Department of Theatre, Film and Television.

The Chimera Ensemble’s programme includes Sachs-Mishalanie’s I if I for string quartet and electronics, and Younge and Butcher’s Her Disappearance.

Join us for a creative writing workshop focusing on the contemplation and expression of worldwide wonders through the written word.

Internationally renowned expert in palliative care Baroness Finlay of Llandaff explores end of life care

Discover how Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries understood and policed the world around them with historian Neil Tarrant.

Why do we all tend to succumb to temptation from time to time, even when we know we shouldn’t? Join neurobiologist Jack Lewis.

Join us for a unique opportunity to visit York Design Award-winning buildings from the first 12 years of the scheme.

Prepare to marvel at what rare metals present in very weak concentration in the Earth’s crust can do - and to face the darker side of the digital revolution.

Is an unfair economic system and globalisation responsible for creating the ‘left behind’ – people trapped in poverty? How can we create more inclusive economies?

Meet some of the trailblazing women developing new approaches to the economy and monetary policy.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Our Festival Focus Day investigates the future of Economics and asks how we can create a fair and resilient economic system that benefits all.

Join actor and physics teacher Lara Stafford as she investigates the science of York, and witness some experiments along the way.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Sociologists Daniel Robins and Rosie Smith shed light on what happens to the remains of mass murderers after they die.

On the 80th anniversary of nylons, discover how Britain’s insatiable desire for hosiery led to a thriving black market in the wake of the Second World War.

Why is the retail industry broken - and what can be done to fix it? Join retailer and author Mark Pilkington as explores the forces at work in retailing.

Debashish Bhattacharya and Derek Gripper, guitar maestros from India and South Africa, perform together in the UK for the first time.

Learn about James Gillray, savage satirist, cruel cartoonist and biting political commentator, who wielded a power with his pen that few could match in Georgian Britain.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all the dirty water that goes down the drain? Join our behind-the-scenes lab tour and find out.

Maths writer Alex Bellos reveals the curious patterns behind our emotional responses to numbers - what they say about us and what’s important about them.

Learn how foreign fashion trends influenced Mamluk textile production in Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517.

From 18th-century personal grooming to gangsters in Glasgow, hear five fascinating talks on the history of masculinity at an event being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Clashes of ideology, tactics and styles have been the story of the Labour Party for the last 70 years. Could things be different with Jeremy Corbyn?

Discover the central role dress played in all aspects of Roman life, from the cut and thrust of political life down to daily interactions on the street.

Richard Ogden of the University of York explores the features of British Sign Language and the complexity of translating written English into sign language.

Join Explore archivist Laura Yeoman for a talk featuring video clips from Normandy veterans discussing their experiences.

This is the century of whiteshift. Author Eric Kaufmann explains how demographic change is transforming politics in Western Europe and North America.

Experience a fusion of cultures in miniature through a fan that once belonged to Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, at this curator's spotlight talk.

When she was diagnosed with dementia at the age of 58, Wendy Mitchell was confronted with the most profound questions about life and identity. Hear her inspiring story.

Join Suzanne Fagence Cooper of York Art Gallery for a curator’s tour of the Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud exhibition.

Explore creative texts which focus on the cyclical changes that occur in the garden and out in the field at this creative writing workshop.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Join us for beer and ballads at a local tavern as we recreate the convivial atmosphere of the radical meetings of the early 19th centry.

Writer Julian Baggini presents a global overview of philosophy. Find out why all cultures are different and have diverse ways of thinking.

Hear how Margaret Cavendish became the first woman attend a meeting of the Royal Society in 1667 and see the experiments she witnessed.

Come along to a business showcase and meet staff, students and graduates of the University of York who have started their own business or social enterprise.

Discover archaeology’s long, complex and fascinating entanglement with photography – a relationship that continues into the digital age.

The University Chamber Choir performs Brahms’ Liebeslieder waltzes and Zigeunerlieder.

Hear inspirational personal stories from some extraordinary people making a difference in our world.

Discover why the wonderlands of children’s books are never quite as innocent as they seem as our expert panel discusses the radicalism of children’s literature.

Join us for a journey into the night sky and explore various constellations and hear their stories from different cultural perspectives.

Illusion, fantasy and disturbing reality. Vanessa Toulmin of the University of Sheffield examines 200 years of fairground illusion shows.

Modern-day explorer Robin Hanbury-Tenison introduces some of the men and women who have changed our perception of the world through their courageous adventures.

Join Bruce Daisley, European Vice-President for Twitter, as he discusses how we can make our jobs happier and more fulfilling.

Hear the inspiring story of a true aviation trailblazer. Wally Funk passed the Woman in Space programme in 1961 and is now preparing for her first space voyage 60 years later.

Come along to a business showcase and meet staff, students and graduates of the University of York who have started their own business or social enterprise.

Discover more about the fascinating world of numbers with psychologist Silke Goebel of the University of York.

Enjoy soprano Helen Atkinson, self-accompanied on lute and harp, performing Medieval and Renaissance songs related to the Festival theme.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

Join humanitarian Terry Waite, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees and award-winning journalist Misha Glenny for a thought-provoking look at our wonderful world and the future of humanity.

Find out about the pioneering women in the 1890s who not only imagined, made and wore radical new forms of convertible cycle wear, but also patented their inventive designs.

This is Britain’s history in pots - the same ingredients, clay and fire, but 6000 years of innovation and experiment.

Nur Sobers-Khan of the British Library discusses divination manuscripts and lithographs produced in South Asia from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Join Rosalyn Leaman of the University of York for an informal session in the ancient and medieval arithmetical gymnasium.

Philip Paul of York Central Methodist and St Martin’s Church presents a variety of music from around the world performed on a unique J W Walker organ.

Join Adam Parker of the Yorkshire Museum as he explores an exciting new addition to the museum’s collection.

Celebrating John Ruskin’s 200th birthday, York Art Gallery presents a major new exhibition, Ruskin, Turner & the Storm Cloud.

Immerse yourself in a mesmerising installation inspired by the experiments and theories of light of Newton and Goethe.

Enjoy an exhibition celebrating the wonders of the periodic table. Its centrepiece is a macramé periodic table, skilfully crafted using 200,000 knots.

The Today programme is coming to York as part of their University series, exploring issues affecting both students and academics.

Annie Hodgson of the University of York introduces an exhibition celebrating the history and future of the periodic table.

Join us for a fun, hands-on exhibition and discover how scientists are exploring ways of creating an environmentally friendly future.

Join us for hands-on, interactive activities and find out about some of the exciting research being carried out in York.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Join us for hands-on, interactive activities and find out about some of the exciting research being carried out in York.

Visit the Found Fiction writing desk and add to a short story one line at a time. Can you help co-write a masterpiece?

Explore the wonders of our world and beyond with hands-on, creative, scientific and interactive activities.

Explore the wonders of our world and beyond with hands-on, creative, scientific and interactive activities.