Marmalade is an exciting week of in-person discussions and events, happening 5 – 9 April 2022! This year, together with the Old Fire Station, we’re hosting three ‘inquiries’ – themes we are exploring more deeply to make a difference in Oxford. Come along to be part of these conversations, and help us make real change.

There is a full programme of events:

5 April

• Art can save the world at 9:30-12:00
  Calling all cultural organisations, artists and anybody wanting to respond creatively to the climate crisis! Join us to collectively reimagine how we produce creative projects in response to the climate and ecological crisis.
• Artivism in Oxford at 12:30-13:30
  An ideas exchange between Oxfordshire artists interested in sustainability and collaborating to work towards climate justice. Join the discussion on how climate activism can be incorporated into artistic practice, and connect with local creatives.
• Launching Oxymoron: a new creative collaborative for Oxford and beyond at 17:00-18:30
  This launch event brings together the diverse communities of our city to facilitate new, cross-cutting work in literature, art, performance, and critical thinking. Oxymororon will demo some collaborations-in-progress and invite you to share your own vision for Oxford’s creative future.

6 April

• Services for Humans at 10:00-15:00
  Sometimes, it feels like services aren’t set up for real people. Join us for a day of designing services which actually work for human beings, and hear from some organisations who are trying to do just that.

7 April

• Sharing Power at 10:00-15:00
  We want to shift power about decision-making to people whose lives are directly affected by those decisions. Join us for a day of discussion and experimentation around how we can make this happen.

8 April

• The Art of Meaningful Measurement at 10:00-15:00
  Tired of monitoring and evaluation? Unconvinced by the value of all those numbers and forms? Join us to try and figure out a way forward with people who have started testing different approaches.
• Find the Gap at 9:30-12:30
  Can forgotten spaces become amazing new homes? Join the research team from Transition by Design and local experts for an interactive game to find unloved and forgotten pockets of land in Oxford and figure out how they could be transformed into good quality homes for those that need them most.
• Exploring our feelings about death and dying at 14:30-16:00
  A safely contained conversation about how we explore our feelings around death. This is a session for a small group of people, structured using “grave talk cards”, a really useful resource for discussing these feelings.

9 April

• Listening and attending to others: Iris Mudoch and the Samaritans at 17:00-18:30
  Philosopher and novelist Iris Murdoch believed in the power of listening and attending to others. The Samaritans help people by listening to them. Join us to explore the potential of listening attentively to help create the future we want to see.

If you have any questions, or want to host a session of your own, don’t hesitate to get in touch: hello@marmalade.io