Schwarzman Centre to open doors to public with major celebration

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre, a new world-class centre for the Arts and Humanities in Oxford, will launch its public programme on 25 April 2026 with a free day of events and performances.

The new academic and cultural centre provides a unique mix of exceptional performance and research spaces alongside academic teaching facilities.

The opening programme will mark the launch of the new 500-seat Sohmen Concert Hall with performances by the Scottish Ensemble. Audiences can see the world premiere of 360 Vessels by artist Es Devlin and composer Nico Muhly with chamber choir Schola Cantorum, to be performed beneath the glass dome of the Great Hall. Artists Anna Ridler and Refik Anadol each present digital works that have been created using AI. Additional performances include ZooNation’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party in the new theatre, along with a line-up of artists including ground breaking Head over Wheels and physical theatre company Justice in Motion.

The Schwarzman Centre’s cultural programme, directed by John Fulljames, will offer fresh new experiences for audiences drawing on the research and teaching excellence of the University of Oxford, and placing experimentation and co-creation at its heart.

Central to the programme are the Schwarzman Centre Cultural Fellows, a group of outstanding artists from around the world who are collaborating with Oxford’s leading academics to create pioneering new work. The initial cohort of Schwarzman Centre Cultural Fellows are: Refik Anadol; Lil Buck; Anna Clyne; Bryce Dessner; Rhiannon Giddens; Sarah Jones; Taylor Mac; Sir Wayne McGregor; Suzan-Lori Parks; Anoushka Shankar; Kae Tempest; Nitin Sawhney; and Bloomberg-Oxford Fellows, Es Devlin, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Marshmallow Laser Feast.

The Schwarzman Centre’s new collaboration with Bloomberg Connects, which supports the sharing of new and historical perspectives from the cultural programme’s renowned artists, writers, and thinkers, will enable visitors to access exclusive content via the Connects app to add to their experience.

The public performance spaces include: the 500-seat Sohmen Concert Hall, complete with state-of-the-art flexible acoustics it is the world’s first Passivhaus concert hall; a 250-seat theatre; a black box immersive performance space and a white box exhibition gallery; a dance studio; cinema; the Great Hall, a museum for the display of the renowned Bate Collection of historic musical instruments; a café and bar, all set in landscaped gardens.

The state-of-the-art spaces co-locate seven of Oxford University’s internationally recognised Humanities faculties for the first time: Music, English Language and Literature, History, Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics, Medieval and Modern Languages, Philosophy, and Theology and Religion. The Centre will also house the Institute for Ethics in AI, created in 2019 as part of the announcement of the Centre, the Oxford Internet Institute and the new Bodleian Humanities Library.

John Fulljames, Director of the Cultural Programme, The Schwarzman Centre, said: “We can’t wait to welcome people from across the region into this new public home for the humanities. It’s a place where we can all come together to make sense of what it means to be human in today’s world. With a free opening celebration including music, theatre, dance, cabaret, spectacle and more – we can promise a chance to connect with both some much loved stories and artists as well as encounter something new and surprising.”

Alexandra Vincent MBE, Managing Director of Schwarzman Centre, said: “We are thrilled to unveil this unique and exciting programme, developed by leading artists and performers working with Oxford research and researchers, for the opening of the Schwarzman Centre. We look forward to welcoming audiences of all ages and backgrounds to the Centre for over the April weekend and beyond.”

The Schwarzman Centre’s inaugural 2026 programme will present two major focus themed seasons: Unfinished Revolutions (May to June) explores the legacy of the 1776 US Declaration of Independence, featuring Cecile McLorin Salvant, Taylor Mac, Anna Clyne and American street dance superstar Lil Buck.

Utopia Now! (October – November) invites audiences to be inspired by Utopian thinking and imagines bold futures with highlights including a new commission by Nitin Sawhney and A History of Utopia, led by Brian Eno and Kim Stanley Robinson.

Other keynote performances throughout the year include an evening with Kae Tempest; ROBOTA, a new staging of Karel Capek’s R.U.R. by Headlong Theatre; a day-long exploration of the psalms curated by Edmund de Waal, in collaboration with Oxford scholars, the Aurora Orchestra and the Colin Currie Group. 

Sigur Rós will collaborate with spatial sound specialists Loss>Leys Festival, as well as dance company Body Politic, Oxford International Song Festival and early music specialists Instruments of Time and Truth.

The Schwarzman Centre has been designed by leading British architects, Hopkins Architects, and developed by the University of Oxford with the support of the largest single gift in modern times made to the University from philanthropist and businessman Stephen A. Schwarzman.

Find out more about all of our events – and book tickets – here.

Photo credits: 
ZooNation Dance Company, The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Linbury Theatre. © Photo by Foteini Christofilopoulou

Es Devlin. Photo by Victor Picon © Cartier