Following the public opening of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the end of April — which welcomed more than 12,000 visitors during a free one-day Open House festival — Oxford’s new arts and academic institution has announced its first major cultural season, Unfinished Revolutions (May–June 2026).
The focused themed season explores the living legacy of 1776 and the enduring afterlife of revolution, examining how freedom, democracy and belonging continue to be imagined, contested and lived today. Rooted in America’s evolving place in the world, the programme spans music, dance, comedy, literature, theatre, film and public conversation.
Directed by John Fulljames, the season places experimentation and co-creation at its centre, bringing together artists and writers including Sarah Jones, Suzan-Lori Parks, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Taylor Mac, Lil Buck and Anna Clyne.
Highlights include Salvant’s Book of Ayres, Taylor Mac and Matt Ray’s Bark of Millions in Concert, and the premiere of Anna Clyne’s Looking Glass, an augmented orchestral work inspired by Lewis Carroll. In dance, Lil Buck collaborates with ZooNation and Body Politic youth companies to reclaim 1776 through hip hop and Memphis Jookin.
The programme also features conversations and lectures with figures including Afua Hirsch, Peter Frankopan and Percival Everett, while Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Patrick Spero will discuss Thomas Jefferson’s final draft of the Declaration of Independence through materials held in the American Philosophical Society archives.
Designed by Hopkins Architects and funded through the largest single gift in modern times to the University of Oxford, the Schwarzman Centre includes the world’s first Passivhaus concert hall alongside a theatre, gallery and new academic facilities for Oxford’s Humanities Division, the Institute for Ethics in AI and the Oxford Internet Institute.
Central to the programme are the Schwarzman Centre Cultural Fellows, a cohort of artists collaborating with Oxford academics to develop new work. The initial fellows include Refik Anadol, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Anoushka Shankar, Kae Tempest, Es Devlin and Nitin Sawhney.
John Fulljames, Director of the Cultural Programme at the Schwarzman Centre, said:
“Unfinished Revolutions invites us to reflect on America’s evolving place in the world. Across theatre, music, comedy and literature, the season asks how ideas of freedom, democracy and belonging are shaped, challenged and reimagined. From Cécile McLorin Salvant’s jazz to Sarah Jones’ comedy and Suzan-Lori Parks’ theatre, this is a season that brings together artists and scholars to engage with history and shine a light on the world today.”
Alexandra Vincent MBE, Managing Director of the Schwarzman Centre, added:
“We are thrilled to welcome audiences into the Schwarzman Centre to experience the first of our thematic seasons, Unfinished Revolutions. The season presents a rich and varied programme of performances, across our incredible spaces, drawing inspiration from the work of our world-leading academics, to explore the evolution of America and its place in a complex and changing world.”
The Schwarzman Centre’s wider inaugural programme continues into autumn with Utopia Now! (October–November), a season focused on utopian thinking and speculative futures, including a new commission by Nitin Sawhney and A History of Utopia led by Brian Eno and Kim Stanley Robinson.
More: schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk
