What does it mean to ‘be human?’

Does it lie in our ability to look at our past, and learn from our history, so that we might shape our future? Is it in our capacity to imagine fictional worlds and create works of art that shape our culture? Or is it in the connections we seek with the people around us, to build communities, and come together?

Being Human Festival 2025: Unpack your humanity

What lies between the lines? Is it in the stories and histories erased from view, or in the crossings and connections that shape our world? Perhaps it’s found in the silences, the margins, and the spaces where meaning is remade.

The Faculty of Arts is delighted to once again serve as an international hub of the UK’s Being Human Festival, presenting a program that explores these hidden layers and overlooked voices.

Step into the past and future: play an augmented reality game that reveals the invisible stories written into our campus and try your hand at medieval bookmaking to uncover how knowledge was preserved, decorated, and sometimes coded. Together, these activities invite us to see history, technology, and imagination from the spaces in between.

Join us in uncovering what is hidden in plain sight—and explore the world between the lines.

Supported by the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative.