A major new cultural season is set to launch in Oxford.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities has announced its second public season, running from January to July 2027, featuring a packed programme of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, and literature.
Global stars and cultural fellows will headline the season, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, sitar player Anoushka Shankar, choreographer Wayne McGregor, and hip-hop legends De La Soul.
Other highlights include immersive art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, filmmaker Cao Fei, the Quay Brothers, theatre director Vicky Featherstone, and rising K-pop choreographer Lia Kim.
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John Fulljames, director of the cultural programme at the Schwarzman Centre, said: "The Schwarzman Centre is bringing academics, artists and audiences together to open up new ways of seeing the world and imagine together how we navigate what comes next.
"Great culture and bold new ideas have always gone hand in hand.
"We are building a place to do that consistently."
The programme features new works developed in collaboration with Oxford University researchers, blending artistic innovation with academic insight.
Ms Shankar, one of the centre’s cultural fellows, will perform in the Sohmen Concert Hall on June 16, exploring the relationship between sound, health, and wellbeing.
Mr McGregor will appear on July 8 in conversation with Raphaël Millière from the Institute for Ethics in AI, alongside dancers from Company Wayne McGregor.
Their talk will explore themes of physical intelligence, the body, quantum thinking, and AI.
Other standout events include a performance by Lia Kim (February 6), a film collaboration between the Quay Brothers and pianist Clare Hammond (February 23), and a day dedicated to hip hop hosted by De La Soul (February 27).
Orchestra for the Earth will perform on April 22 as part of a climate-focused evening, while Yo-Yo Ma will take up a mini-residency from April 29 to May 2.
Theatre will also feature prominently, with a new work by Chris Thorpe to be directed by Vicky Featherstone (April 21–24).
There will be performances of Dangerous Goods (June 15–20), a cabaret and burlesque show created by Australian feminist collective Polytoxic.
The Schwarzman Centre opened to the public in April 2026, offering state-of-the-art performance, screening, and exhibition spaces, alongside academic facilities for Oxford University’s humanities community.
Alexandra Vincent, chief executive officer of the Schwarzman Centre, said: "As a brand new and unique building in the heart of Oxford, we are creating a new and exciting infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities.
"Embedded in the work of our world class academics, our creative team is able to explore some of the pressing challenges facing humanity."
The full programme is available at www.schwarzmancentre.ox.ac.uk.