UCL Festival of the Arts: Q&A with Professor Jonathan Wolff

With the UCL Festival of the Arts running from 7 - 17 May, UCL News spoke to Professor Jonathan Wolff (UCL Philosophy), Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, about the festival, and the importance of celebrating the arts at the time when many courses at other institutions are under threat. Q: So this year sees the inaugural festival of the arts at UCL. What is the idea behind that, and why did you feel the need to set something like that up? A: The idea for the festival really predated my role as dean. I began as dean in September and already there were plans to showcase what we were doing in the arts and humanities at UCL. I think it was a response to a worry that the government was cutting arts and humanities funding, and that, somehow, the arts and humanities were under attack. So, rather than argue for the value of the arts and humanities, we have decided to showcase what we do: to show ourselves, other people at UCL, alumni and the public the incredible wealth of activities that goes on here under the heading of arts and humanities and social and historical sciences. Q: What sort of highlights do you think there will be at this year's festival? A: I was amazed when I saw the first draft of the programme.