Tickets go on sale tomorrow for this year’s Curious Minds: A Festival to Ignite Ideas, which returns to Bath this March with 60 events across the city
Returning for its third year from 12–28 March 2026, it will bring a bold and wide-ranging programme of events. From politics and wellbeing to film, poetry and live performance, the festival invites audiences to explore big ideas, ask better questions and connect through culture.
This year’s programme includes talks, film screenings, performances, walking tours and writing workshops, featuring some of today’s most engaging voices — from exciting debut writers to internationally recognised figures.
Highlights include:
- How Does This Government Thing Work Again? with John Crace
- The Festival Read with Nussaibah Younis
- An Evening With… Larry Lamb
- Cerys Matthews on Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood
- Don McCullin in conversation with Mariella Frostrup
- An All Stars Poetry Night with Jasmine Gardosi, Tyrone Lewis and Anthony Anaxagorou
- Women of Ukraine: Stories of War with Yuliia Ilkayha and Felicity Spector
Curated by Bath Arts Collective, the 2026 festival also features events commissioned by seven guest curators, spotlighting a broad range of perspectives and lived experiences. Events take place across multiple venues throughout Bath, reflecting the city’s vibrant cultural landscape and bringing festival activity into a wide variety of settings.
The programme is structured around five thematic strands, offering audiences multiple ways to explore ideas and engage with speakers, artists and thinkers throughout the festival.
Tickets go on sale on 28 January at 10 am via curiousmindsfestival.co.uk, with 20% early bird discounts available for a limited time. Full programme details are available online.
Kate Abbey, Artistic Director of Curious Minds, says:
“This is a festival as diverse as the ideas and voices shaping it. Curiosity helps us notice more about ourselves, each other and the wider world. It helps us listen, learn and respond rather than react. We hope audiences will join us for a programme full of discovery, imagination and connection, and leave with new questions, new inspirations, and perhaps even a new way of seeing the world.”
Curious Minds is sponsored and supported by Bath Spa University, Mytton Williams, BIRD, Mr B’s Emporium, FilmBath, Archeo-Heritage Film, Holburne Museum and TSL Consulting.
Book tickets and explore the full programme at curiousmindsfestival.co.uk, and sign up to the Bath Arts Collective newsletter for updates on future events.
Programme Collections
Wellbeing Without the Woo-Woo
Thoughtful, grounded conversations about mental health, resilience and modern life — without clichés, quick fixes or false promises.
Events include:
- Food Noise: Weight Loss Drugs, Cravings and the Future of Eating with Dr Jack Mosley
- The Unfragile Mind: What Does it Mean to Be Well? with Dr Gavin Francis
- Why Does Modern Life Often Feel Too Much? with Claudia Hammond
The State We’re In
Big questions about the world we’re living in now — from politics and media to climate change, belonging and disagreement.
Events include:
- Who Belongs? Britain and the Small Boats Debate with Horatio Clare and Nicola Kelly
- How to Stop Hating the People We Disagree With with Professor Paul Dolan
- Gentle Angry Women (film screening with director Q&A)
Read. Write. Repeat.
A celebration of storytelling in all its forms, from author talks and poetry nights to practical writing workshops.
Events include:
- Almost Life with Kiran Millwood Hargrave
- Writing Workshop: Getting Published with Juliet Pickering
- Small Presses. Big Impact with Burning Eye Books, Bad Betty Press and Broken Sleep Books
Hidden Stories
Uncovering the overlooked, the forgotten and the quietly radical through walking tours, talks, films and conversations.
Events include:
- LGBTQ+ Lives Behind Net Curtains with John Grindrod
- Movie at the Museum: Man with a Movie Camera, Onibaba, Almost Liverpool 8, and Uncommon Voices: Exploring Class in New British Cinema
- Walking Tour: Molly Taylor and Early Women Architects in Bath with Dr Amy Frost
An Evening Out
Live experiences to share, enjoy and remember — from film and music to poetry in pubs and unexpected pairings.
Events include:
- An Evening With… Guy Chambers
- How Can You Create a Forever Wardrobe? with Anna Cascarina
- Movie at the Museum: A Knight’s Tale
About the Curious Minds Team
Curious Minds is led by a small core team alongside an inspiring group of guest curators drawn from across Bath and the South West. Artistic Director Kate Abbey shapes the festival’s creative vision, supported by Producer Kate Hall, Marketing Director Jasmine Barker and Festival Assistant Tessa Williams.
They are joined by guest curators including broadcaster and journalist Anu Anand; Sudanese-British cultural producer and Sudafest founder Hiba Elhindi; poet and performer Manganaro; conductor and community music leader Jason Thornton; Spencer Hancock, Head of Operations at the Holburne Museum; social media and PR specialist Sarah Baker; and film programmer Ellie Hendricks, curator of the Movie at the Museum strand.
This collaborative approach brings together expertise spanning journalism, film, music, heritage, poetry, wellbeing and community-led practice, ensuring Curious Minds remains rooted in lived experience, local knowledge and a shared belief in the power of culture to spark connection and meaningful conversation.
About Bath Arts Collective
Bath Arts Collective is a social enterprise committed to creating events, festivals and experiences that bring people together through ideas, creativity and conversation. The Collective champions thoughtful programming, collaboration with local and national partners, and cultural experiences that are welcoming, inclusive and rooted in place.
