This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/the-northerner/2012/sep/20/blogpost-sheffield-university-festival-of-the-mind
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 5 | Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Sheffield's Festival of the Mind brings academic ideas to life | Sheffield's Festival of the Mind brings academic ideas to life |
| (4 months later) | |
| Over the next 11 days Festival Of The Mind is aiming to bring the subjects of academia to life with the help of many creative people in Sheffield. Leading researchers at Sheffield University have teamed up with the city's visual artists, poets and musicians to share what is going on inside their academic world with the public. | Over the next 11 days Festival Of The Mind is aiming to bring the subjects of academia to life with the help of many creative people in Sheffield. Leading researchers at Sheffield University have teamed up with the city's visual artists, poets and musicians to share what is going on inside their academic world with the public. |
| The crucial part is helping those who come to the festival to understand, embrace and celebrate the ideas and theories of great thinkers. The festival is the brainchild of Professor Vanessa Toulmin, head Of Cultural Engagement at Sheffield University, and sculptor Anthony Bennett. Professor Toulmin wants each talk and exhibition to be "accessible" to all but without having to "over-simplify complex thinking." | The crucial part is helping those who come to the festival to understand, embrace and celebrate the ideas and theories of great thinkers. The festival is the brainchild of Professor Vanessa Toulmin, head Of Cultural Engagement at Sheffield University, and sculptor Anthony Bennett. Professor Toulmin wants each talk and exhibition to be "accessible" to all but without having to "over-simplify complex thinking." |
| This marriage of Sheffield's academics with its artists is hoping not only to bring people into the university campus but also to take the campus into the city. The collaboration has blossomed over time after starting with what resembled a giant speed-dating session. Prof Toulmin teamed up with actor and performer Christopher Green and together they organised 'Ideas Bazzaar'. This saw nearly five hundred of the city's creativity community meet and debate with university academics. | This marriage of Sheffield's academics with its artists is hoping not only to bring people into the university campus but also to take the campus into the city. The collaboration has blossomed over time after starting with what resembled a giant speed-dating session. Prof Toulmin teamed up with actor and performer Christopher Green and together they organised 'Ideas Bazzaar'. This saw nearly five hundred of the city's creativity community meet and debate with university academics. |
| The first date went well and the result was ninety-eight joint applications for funding to participate in the festival. More than one in three of the proposals were accepted and £150,000 of grant money was made available from the University and the Wellcome Trust. | The first date went well and the result was ninety-eight joint applications for funding to participate in the festival. More than one in three of the proposals were accepted and £150,000 of grant money was made available from the University and the Wellcome Trust. |
| Anthony Bennett explains: | Anthony Bennett explains: |
| Our concept was to create a unique event to generate ideas, to get the creative community to meet academics of the University face-to-face and to challenge each other to work together. | Our concept was to create a unique event to generate ideas, to get the creative community to meet academics of the University face-to-face and to challenge each other to work together. |
| The scale of the Bazaar's success will be reflected at the Festival, and will hopefully be just the start of a salubrious creative exchange, as both a transaction and celebration of ideas for our mutual benefit. | The scale of the Bazaar's success will be reflected at the Festival, and will hopefully be just the start of a salubrious creative exchange, as both a transaction and celebration of ideas for our mutual benefit. |
| Professor Toulmin adds: | Professor Toulmin adds: |
| The Festival Of The Mind will see some of the world's leading thinkers engaging with their local communities. If there is any perception now that the University doesn't engage with the city, then there certainly won't be by the end of the month. | The Festival Of The Mind will see some of the world's leading thinkers engaging with their local communities. If there is any perception now that the University doesn't engage with the city, then there certainly won't be by the end of the month. |
| With Sheffield being named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards and the city already having a successful summer of festivals with Tramlines and Sheftival, this is set to be another very important date on the local calendar. | With Sheffield being named University of the Year in the Times Higher Education Awards and the city already having a successful summer of festivals with Tramlines and Sheftival, this is set to be another very important date on the local calendar. |
| Professor Keith Burnett, Vice Chancellor of Sheffield University, says: | Professor Keith Burnett, Vice Chancellor of Sheffield University, says: |
| My father used to say that the richest people in the world are those who take pleasure in ideas. Our University and our city are overflowing with ideas. Now, with the Festival of the Mind, we have the perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate that | My father used to say that the richest people in the world are those who take pleasure in ideas. Our University and our city are overflowing with ideas. Now, with the Festival of the Mind, we have the perfect opportunity to come together and celebrate that |
| If you are thinking of going to Festival Of The Mind it runs from today, 20 September 2012 to Sunday 30 September 2012. | If you are thinking of going to Festival Of The Mind it runs from today, 20 September 2012 to Sunday 30 September 2012. |
| Here are the Top 10 Picks we recommend you go to: | Here are the Top 10 Picks we recommend you go to: |
| A City In Context | A City In Context |
| Starting on Tuesday 25 September through to the end of the festival you can see an animated film, which promises to change the way you think about the city. This event sees the design team Humanstudio, the University of Sheffield's Department of Geography and Sheffield College join forces to produce an entertaining journey hoping to make you think again about Sheffield and the world. A City in Context will be screened at various locations during the festival, including the Spiegeltent in Barker's Pool. | Starting on Tuesday 25 September through to the end of the festival you can see an animated film, which promises to change the way you think about the city. This event sees the design team Humanstudio, the University of Sheffield's Department of Geography and Sheffield College join forces to produce an entertaining journey hoping to make you think again about Sheffield and the world. A City in Context will be screened at various locations during the festival, including the Spiegeltent in Barker's Pool. |
| Longarm | Longarm |
| Robots can paint too you know! At this exhibition you can see the live production of a massive scale mural, painted by a swarm of robots. Pairing up at this event is artist Mattias Jones and robotic devices developed by Sheffield University. It will be on from Friday 21 September to Sunday 30 September at the Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) | Robots can paint too you know! At this exhibition you can see the live production of a massive scale mural, painted by a swarm of robots. Pairing up at this event is artist Mattias Jones and robotic devices developed by Sheffield University. It will be on from Friday 21 September to Sunday 30 September at the Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) |
| Scale-Structure-Synthesis | Scale-Structure-Synthesis |
| Nanoscientist Jonathan Howse and artist Mark Fell have teamed up on an art installation that uses a high power optical microscope to track the movement of nanoparticles, producing synthetic sound, which is played back over a series of loudspeakers. Sounds complicated? Well go and discover what it is all about. Especially as Mark Fell's music has been described as 'mind-blowing' by Uncut Magazine. Go see this event from Friday 21 September to Sunday 30 September in the Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) | Nanoscientist Jonathan Howse and artist Mark Fell have teamed up on an art installation that uses a high power optical microscope to track the movement of nanoparticles, producing synthetic sound, which is played back over a series of loudspeakers. Sounds complicated? Well go and discover what it is all about. Especially as Mark Fell's music has been described as 'mind-blowing' by Uncut Magazine. Go see this event from Friday 21 September to Sunday 30 September in the Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) |
Do It Thissen | Do It Thissen |
| Do It Thissen. What does that mean? I hear you ask. From Yorkshire English it translates to 'Do It Yourself'. This event will see artists and DJs celebrating Sheffield's post-punk music scene. It will praise the do-it-yourself approach that shaped the city's music scene in the 70s and early 80s, focusing on post-punk, local labels and the links between students and the city. There will also be a unique exhibition of fanzines, photographs and record covers from 1978 to 1982 of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire music scene. This is on from Saturday 22 September until Sunday 30 September at Montgomery Hall, Surrey Street. | Do It Thissen. What does that mean? I hear you ask. From Yorkshire English it translates to 'Do It Yourself'. This event will see artists and DJs celebrating Sheffield's post-punk music scene. It will praise the do-it-yourself approach that shaped the city's music scene in the 70s and early 80s, focusing on post-punk, local labels and the links between students and the city. There will also be a unique exhibition of fanzines, photographs and record covers from 1978 to 1982 of the Sheffield and South Yorkshire music scene. This is on from Saturday 22 September until Sunday 30 September at Montgomery Hall, Surrey Street. |
| Magic and The Mind | Magic and The Mind |
| This show is only on for one night and it is a must-see. Have you ever wondered how magicians make things disappear? If so, then this event is for you. A magician, a psychologist and a magician who is also a psychologist, are collaborating to show the psychological techniques magicians use. There will be live performances and demonstrations of the latest research in cognitive psychology. This event is on Sunday 23 September at Barker's Pool in The Spiegeltent. | This show is only on for one night and it is a must-see. Have you ever wondered how magicians make things disappear? If so, then this event is for you. A magician, a psychologist and a magician who is also a psychologist, are collaborating to show the psychological techniques magicians use. There will be live performances and demonstrations of the latest research in cognitive psychology. This event is on Sunday 23 September at Barker's Pool in The Spiegeltent. |
| Researchers' Night | Researchers' Night |
| This will give you the opportunity to meet the passionate people behind the research at Sheffield University. Top researchers will talk about their work, from medical breakthroughs to black holes. You will be able to get involved in activities as well as watch the masters at work. This event is on Friday 28 September across various buildings in the university. | This will give you the opportunity to meet the passionate people behind the research at Sheffield University. Top researchers will talk about their work, from medical breakthroughs to black holes. You will be able to get involved in activities as well as watch the masters at work. This event is on Friday 28 September across various buildings in the university. |
| Computer Love | Computer Love |
| We now live in a world full of technology and many of us have fallen in love with our computers. This virtual art gallery documents our ongoing love affair with these machines. Computer Love tells the story of our romance with computers and how it has changed our human relationships. The event will showcase the work of local computer artists and the latest research from the university's Department of Computer Science. This event runs for the entire festival from Thursday 20 September to Sunday 30 September and is an online exhibition. Fish For Science | We now live in a world full of technology and many of us have fallen in love with our computers. This virtual art gallery documents our ongoing love affair with these machines. Computer Love tells the story of our romance with computers and how it has changed our human relationships. The event will showcase the work of local computer artists and the latest research from the university's Department of Computer Science. This event runs for the entire festival from Thursday 20 September to Sunday 30 September and is an online exhibition. Fish For Science |
| Filmmakers team up with scientists to take you inside the world of a zebra fish. In the tank you will see a spectacular light show featuring a giant, glowing zebrafish. You can step inside the tank and immerse yourself in this exhibition. But if that is not your cup of tea, you can chat to the scientists about how these beautiful fish are helping them to understand and treat human diseases. It is on from Friday 28 September to the end of the festival (30th September) and will take place in Jessop West's Exhibition Space. Cabinet Of Curiosities: the Amazing World of the Denny Museum | Filmmakers team up with scientists to take you inside the world of a zebra fish. In the tank you will see a spectacular light show featuring a giant, glowing zebrafish. You can step inside the tank and immerse yourself in this exhibition. But if that is not your cup of tea, you can chat to the scientists about how these beautiful fish are helping them to understand and treat human diseases. It is on from Friday 28 September to the end of the festival (30th September) and will take place in Jessop West's Exhibition Space. Cabinet Of Curiosities: the Amazing World of the Denny Museum |
| The Alfred Denny Zoology Museum is one of Sheffield's best-kept secrets as only a handful of people have seen the weird and wonderful things inside since it was established in 1905. Now everyone can go and take a look. You will get to see fossilised flying dinosaurs, a dolphin that once turned up at a Sheffield fish market and a creature that is half a hedgehog and goes by the name of Arthur. The opportunity to delve deep inside this museum runs from Saturday 22 September to Sunday 23 September at the Alfred Denny Building at The University of Sheffield. | The Alfred Denny Zoology Museum is one of Sheffield's best-kept secrets as only a handful of people have seen the weird and wonderful things inside since it was established in 1905. Now everyone can go and take a look. You will get to see fossilised flying dinosaurs, a dolphin that once turned up at a Sheffield fish market and a creature that is half a hedgehog and goes by the name of Arthur. The opportunity to delve deep inside this museum runs from Saturday 22 September to Sunday 23 September at the Alfred Denny Building at The University of Sheffield. |
| Von Guericke's Experiment | Von Guericke's Experiment |
| This is definitely something to see, as students will re-enact a famous 17th century experiment demonstrating the effects of atmospheric pressure. It is all taking place in Barker's Pool on Friday 21 September. There is a lecture first in The Spiegeltent then everyone will go outside to see a big moment in history repeat itself. | This is definitely something to see, as students will re-enact a famous 17th century experiment demonstrating the effects of atmospheric pressure. It is all taking place in Barker's Pool on Friday 21 September. There is a lecture first in The Spiegeltent then everyone will go outside to see a big moment in history repeat itself. |
| Festival Of The Mind kicks off later today, Thursday 20 September, with a free launch party in Weston Park where you are invited to kick off the celebrations. There will be live music, food and drink and plenty to discover during the festival. | Festival Of The Mind kicks off later today, Thursday 20 September, with a free launch party in Weston Park where you are invited to kick off the celebrations. There will be live music, food and drink and plenty to discover during the festival. |
| If you are going to the festival you can also follow @FestivalMind on Twitter to keep up to date and visit the festival's website for more information. | If you are going to the festival you can also follow @FestivalMind on Twitter to keep up to date and visit the festival's website for more information. |
| And here's a video about the festival, prepared by Sheffield University. | And here's a video about the festival, prepared by Sheffield University. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |