Public set to visit Oxford’s controversial new £185m centre

The ‘open house’ new cultural programme will take centre stage at the newly completed Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities this Saturday.

The newly built centre at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter (ROQ) will celebrate the opening with a programme of free events on April 25 for the public.

Inside the centre (Image: Schwarzman Centre for Humanities)

This £185 million project has faced controversy due to its funding coming primarily from Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire CEO of Blackstone Inc.

This company is the world’s largest alternative investment firm.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire entrepreneurs warned of effect of divorce

Mr Schwarzman donated the largest share of the funding, making his donation the largest single gift in Oxford’s modern history.

The new building sits on a site already rich in history linked to philanthropy.

The plot was formerly the location of the Radcliffe Hospital which operated from 1770 to 2007.

It was made redundant following the opening of the larger John Radcliffe Hospital and was sold in March 2003.

The ROQ also has even older historical roots, as archaeological research between 2009 and 2010 uncovered Bronze Age and Neolithic burial grounds stretching across the site and towards University Parks.

The Scottish Ensemble will perform with the Choir of Keble College this weekend (Image: Schwarzman Centre for Humanities)

Further research in 2013 and 2014 revealed a total of 348 paupers’ graves, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, beneath the current Blavatnik School of Government.

The cause of death for these graves includes train crash and printing press injuries, as well as a small number of medical teaching cadavers.

The Schwarzman Centre plans to honour this rich history through information boards in the gardens.

The new centre itself includes impressive public performance spaces such as the energy-efficient 500-seat Sohmen Concert Hall.

The Kate Prince Company’s excerpt of Alice in Wonderland’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Image: Schwarzman Centre for Humanities)

READ MORE: Cotswold 6-bedroom manor on site of medieval castle for sale

This state-of-the-art concert hall comes with flexible acoustics.

The centre also includes a 250-seat theatre, black-box immersive performance space, a white box exhibition gallery, a dance studio, cinema, museum, café and bar, all set in landscaped gardens.

The opening celebration will offer free performances and events throughout the day, including cabaret, poetry and spoken word performances, and local physical theatre.

The day-long event also includes live performances by ZooNation and the Scottish Ensemble.

John Fulljames, director of the Cultural Programme at the Schwarzman Centre, said: “With a free opening celebration including music, theatre, dance, cabaret, spectacle and more – we can promise a chance to connect with both some much loved stories and artists, as well as encounter something new and surprising.”

Following the public opening, the centre will roll out its extensive cultural programme of events, exhibitions, and performances, kicking off on May 5.