LIVEFRIDAY: LINGUAMANIA

Friday 27 January 2017, 7–10.30 pm

We immersed ourselves in a multilingual world and experienced music, theatre, language tasters and curator talks. We also dressed up to express our identities and awaken our inner linguists. 

The Oxford-led research programme Creative Multilingualism teamed up with the Ashmolean Museum for LinguaMania, a special late night opening that brought alive the museum’s multicultural world through the art and science of language. 

We enjoyed live performances of music and theatre, stories from different parts of the world, and a Japanese Tea Ceremony. We learnt some Russian or Old Norse, had a go at cracking hieroglyphic codes on objects, and got an insight into the workings of our linguistic brains.

This diverse and dynamic evening was supported by the Open World Research Initiative funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Creative Multilingualism, led by Oxford’s Modern Languages Faculty, investigates the interconnection between linguistic diversity and creativity. It involves researchers from the Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences at Oxford, Birmingham City University, Cambridge, Pittsburgh, Reading and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

We helped map the world in the main atrium of the Museum and joined researchers, language practitioners, and cultural and community groups for around 30 activities and events throughout the museum.