National Humanities Center Announces Lineup for 2026 "Being Human" Festival (US)
Events to be Held in Communities Across the US April 17–May 3, 2026
DURHAM, N.C., April 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- What do an interactive theater performance and craft workshop in Kansas, a public art and activism party in Washington D.C., a hands-on exploration of New Orleans' funeral traditions, and a literary canoe trip down the Mississippi River all have in common? They are just some of the events in the exciting lineup for the National Humanities Center's third annual Being Human Festival (US).
Building on the successes of the previous two years, this year's festival will include twenty-three events staged in locations across the country. These community-focused events, organized and presented by local artists, scholars, and educators, highlight the incredible breadth of the humanities and demonstrate the innumerable ways that they add depth and meaning to our daily lives, help us understand ourselves and one another, and provide context for the complex world around us.
"In this moment, it is essential to promote and preserve the humanities as a public good," said Jacqueline Kellish, vice president for public engagement. "Being Human allows us to share the intellectually rich work of humanities researchers and practitioners across the nation with public audiences in creative, immersive, and accessible ways."
"We are excited to partner with all of the community researchers and organizations involved in this year's festival to present a range of events that explore the ways the humanities help us understand and appreciate the world around us," said Blair LM Kelley, president and director of the National Humanities Center.
This year's festival, which is organized around the theme of seeing and reading 'between the lines,' covers a fascinating variety of events and topics that encourage us to think about how meaning is made when we examine boundaries and spaces.
Established in partnership with the United Kingdom's Being Human Festival, the US edition of the festival is an international expansion of the Being Human effort. Previous Being Human Festival events have taken place in France, Italy, Romania, and Singapore. In 2017, a sister festival was launched in Melbourne, Australia. Being Human continues to grow, with Hong Kong announced as the latest festival hub in 2026.
Events in this year's Being Human Festival (US) were selected from a wide variety of proposals submitted to the National Humanities Center. Organizers of these events will receive grants, access to instructional sessions and workshops related to publicly engaged humanities work, and other forms of support from the Center.
Details about individual festival events are available at: https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/being-human-festival-us-2026/
2026 Being Human Festival (US) Organizers and Events
Northeast
Farmington, CT
"Hidden Histories of Farmington" (May 3)
Organized by Miss Porter's School
Amherst, MA
"WonderPartyEveryone!" (April 17)
Organized by Mead Art Museum; Jones Library
Midwest
Chicago, IL
"A New Public Imaginary for the Calumet River" (April 19)
Organized by Calumet Heritage Partnership; Southeast Side Environmental Task Force; Friends of the Chicago River; Blue Marble
Evanston, IL
"Beyond the Redline: Fair Housing Exhibition and Walking Tour" (April 25)
Organized by Open Communities
Lawrence, KS
"The Uninvited Guest: An Adaptation of a Maasai Folktale" (May 1 & 2)
Organized by Lawrence Public Library; Department of Theatre & Dance, University of Kansas
Kansas City, MO
"Pigment and Politics: A Workshop and Exploration of Luis Quintanilla's Murals" (April 21; 23; 29)
Organized by Center for Digital and Public Humanities at University of Missouri-Kansas City; Lincoln College Preparatory Academy; St. Teresa's Academy
Kansas City, MO (April 25)
"Routes of Resistance: Black & Indigenous Histories of Kansas City"
Organized by University of Missouri-Kansas City; Black Archives of Mid-America; Mutual Musicians Foundation International; Clay County African American Legacy, Inc.; Banneker School Foundation, Inc.; Western University Association of the AME Church; Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Inc.; Wornall-Majors House Museums; Jackson County Parks & Recreation
Mid-Atlantic
Baltimore, MD
"I'm Gonna Let it Shine: Praise, Power, and Protest in Black Musical Traditions" (April 26)
Organized by Curating and Archiving Black Baltimore (CABB—Sheridan Libraries and the Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts at Johns Hopkins University); St. James Episcopal Church; Union Baptist Church; Metropolitan United Methodist Church
Baltimore, MD
"Between the Lines: Memory, Erasure & Reimagining Baltimore Through Chicory Magazine" (May 2)
Organized by Chicory Revitalization Project
Brandywine, MD
"And Still I Rise: A Black Feminist Cake Social" (May 2)
Organized by Jasmine Daria Cannon & Orilonise Yarborough
Jersey Shore, NJ
"Repair and Repast Cafe" (April 25 & May 2)
Organized by Jersey Shore Food Not Bombs
Princeton, NJ
"Between Lines and Stanzas: Ways of Being Human with Poetry" (April 18–May 1)
Organized by Princeton Public Library; Public Humanities Initiative at the Princeton Public Library; Princeton University Humanities Council; Princeton French Film Festival
Philadelphia, PA
"Ancestral Wisdom for a Weary World" (April 25)
Organized by DiasporaDNA Story Center
Washington, DC
"I ♥ DC: Arts and Activism Party" (May 2)
Organized by Matthew Pavesich & Leslie Tellería
South
New Orleans, LA
"Between Life and Loss: Deathwork as Community Work" (April 25)
Organized by Amiyah King, The Afterwords Consulting
Clarksdale, MS
"Words on Water: Reading, Reflection, and Journeying on the Mississippi" (April 7; 14; 21; 25)
Organized by Mississippi Humanities Council; Quapaw Canoe Company
Holly Springs, MS
"The Ida B. Wells in Marshall County Tour" (April 25)
Organized by The Center for the Study of Southern Culture; The Rosa Foundation
Chapel Hill, NC
"Storytelling and the Arts: Arab American Poetry and Song" (May 1)
Organized by UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
Durham, NC
"Afro-Latinos Between the Lines" (April 24)
Organized by The Department of Language and Literature, North Carolina Central University; Student Engagement and Leadership Office
Denton, TX
"Bread and Altars: Braiding Life and Death" (April 19)
Organized by Texas Woman's University; University of North Texas
West
Los Angeles, CA
"Living Legends of Drag: Stories of LGBTQ+ Artistry & Culture" (April 22)
Organized by California LGBT Arts Alliance; One Institute; Drag Arts Lab
Los Angeles, CA
"Himalaya: Tibetan Music, Dance, and Drama" (April 26)
Organized by Fowler Museum of UCLA
Los Angeles, CA
"Five Flavors: Asian American Food, Sex & Labor" (Date TBD)
Organized by Lena Chen; Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE); Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA); BAD ASIANS
About the National Humanities Center
The National Humanities Center is the world's only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities. Through its fellowship program, the Center provides scholars with the resources necessary to generate new knowledge. Through its education programs, the Center strengthens teaching on the collegiate and pre-collegiate levels. And, through public engagement intimately linked to its scholarly and educational programs, the Center promotes understanding of the humanities and advocates for their foundational role in a democratic society.
Contact:
Don Solomon
[email protected]
919-406-0991
SOURCE National Humanities Center
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