Inside Out Festival: Great Ideas For Curious Minds

M@
By M@ Last edited 125 months ago
Inside Out Festival: Great Ideas For Curious Minds

insideHere in London, we're blessed with a string of venues and festivals that put on events of a more intellectual bent. Inside Out Festival (21-27 October) is another such happening, celebrating the contribution that universities make to London's cultural life. Now in its fourth year, the festival includes over 40 free events and the chance to snoop around the capital's university buildings.

Among a meaty programme of talks, walks, workshops and performances, here are a few highlights that caught our eye.

Talks and workshops

The festival opens on 21 October with a somewhat curious topic on which to launch a festival: failure, and what it's good for. Another eye-catching talk on 22 October contemplates the 'decline of the theatre director', just a week after the National Theatre announced its new leader to much fanfare. The following day, choose between the history of Guinness, failure in art, Syrian refugees, and more. Towards Halloween, there's a talk on zombies, vampires and other near-human folk inventions, and what they tell us about the human condition. And finally, a talk on music in Iran on 26 October. You can also attend a crime-writing workshop at City University and a local history floating workshop about the Limehouse Cut, seeking stories and memories of the area.

Exhibitions

The festival also includes a handful of shows to pop along to. A digital animation will light up the facade of King's College's Strand campus from 21-24 October. A new solo exhibition by the much acclaimed Richard Wilson opens at CHELSEA Space. Kingston University has an exhibition of sound sculptures. And London College of Communication shows a display of work exploring the history, culture and changing identity of the skinhead.

Performance

Lithuanian pianist Emanuel Krasovsky leads a piano masterclass with Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Catch performances of Anton Chekhov plays, including The Three Sisters. A Prokofiev Festival includes everything from music to painting to shadow puppetry. Senate House offers up an evening of psychadelic cumbia music from the Amazon. And making sure the arts and humanities don't have all the fun, a Story Collider event at October Gallery sees storytelling about science, by both scientists and non-scientists. A maths and computing magic show continues the theme.

Inside Out Festival, 21-27 October, is organised by the Culture Capital Exchange. Most events are free but need prebooking. See the full programme for more details.

Last Updated 18 October 2013