Day to discover culture of city with OU experts

The day of family activities, organised with MK gallery and MK Theatre, is on Saturday, November 18.

The following events are all at the MK Gallery Project Space.

Lost and found: books and their readers, 10.30am-11.30am. Dr Shaf Towheed explains how readers of the past are linked to readers of today, on a ‘treasure trail’ reading journey the whole family can take.

Creative writing at the Gallery, 11.30am-12:15pm. A relaxed, no-pressure session for trying your hand at creative writing led by Dr Jane Yeh, using artworks in the gallery as inspiration for short writing exercises and ‘freewriting’ - fiction, poetry, or in no particular form. Open to participants at any level; just bring some paper, a pen and your imagination.

Migrant familie, 3.30pm-4pm. Dr Umut Erel’s research focuses on care and citizenship among migrant mothers and their co-resident children. In this talk and video piece migrant families show us the meaning of enforced loss and newly found ‘homes’.

Writing Milton Keynes, 6.30pm-7pm. Join novelist and critic Ben Masters for a journey through the Milton Keynes of the imagination. Drawing on his experiences of writing about the town in his fiction and for The Guardian, as well as the responses of other writers from across the decades, he’ll be exploring how Milton Keynes remains enigmatic no matter how well we think we know it.

More details at http://www.mkgallery.org/events/

Take a walk with a famous poet, 4.15pm-4.45pm, MK Gallery Project Space. Join Professor Nicola Watson to find out more about Jane Austen’s favourite poet William Cowper and why he was living in Olney.

One of the events will look at the influence of South Asian people across the country.

At the Heart of the Nation will take place at 4.15pm until 5.45pm at Milton Keynes Theatre and booking is required for this free event.

A drinks reception will be followed by a Q&A and informal conversation.

Through photography and discussion, Dr Maya Parmar showcases the influence of South Asians and their crucial role in the formation of Britain’s cultural, economic, intellectual, political and social life. Book at https://beinghumanfestival.org/event/at-the-heart-of-the-nation/