The Open University

By H. Humphreys - From File:The First Methodist chapel called "The Foundry" - Capel Cyntaf y Methodistiaid Wesleyaidd a Adnabyddid Wrth "Y Foundry".jpeg Cropped and improved contrast, Public Domain

Music academic completes new edition of the first Methodist tune book

11th December 2025

Prof Martin Clarke completes a new edition and recordings of The Foundery Collection (1742), providing insights into the sound-world of early Methodism.

Scattered of wild flowers in focus through out a wheat field

How the National Trust’s art collections can shape meadow restoration

26th November 2025

Lecturer in History of Art, Samuel Shaw writes for The Conversation on collaborating with the National Trust on the role of art history in floodplain meadow restoration.

3. A large room with a wooden-beamed high ceiling, lined with bookshelves and including several sofa, chairs and writing desks

OU Creative Writing joins forces to support working-class writers

18th November 2025

Creative Writing Department launches new handbook and sponsorship of Working-Class Writers’ Prize with online event featuring bestselling authors.

The image is a creative depiction of tinnitus, produced as part of the 2021 Tinnitus and the Arts workshops. It shows a series of horizontal black lines evenly spaced across a light background, resembling ruled lines on a page. In the centre, there is a small irregular dark shape that disrupts the uniformity of the lines.

Keynote talk on Tinnitus’ Silences at Brazil conference

27th October 2025

OU Music academic Marie Thompson gives a keynote talk on tinnitus’ silences at the 4th International Conference on Sonorities Research (CIPS) at the Federal University of Espirito Santo, Brazil.

Colorful postcard reading 'Greetings from Chapel Hill' in large, bold letters. Each letter in 'Chapel Hill' features images of local landmarks from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The background is blue with white flowers, and the postcard rests on a surface with a green leaf pattern.

Letter writing is the inspiration for global OU literary event

27th October 2025

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our 3-day programme of presentations, creative readings and interviews, ‘Letters and Literature 1500-2025’, featuring researchers from the fields of literature and language, heritage industry experts and guest authors Karen McCarthy Woolf and Sigrid Nunez.

Audley’s Cross commemorating the 1459 Battle of Blore Heath

The Wars of the Roses: New online resource reveals memories

16th October 2025

The Battlefields Trust has officially launched its Wars of the Roses Memorial Database. Open University historian Dr David Grummitt worked with partners to establish the crowd-sourced history and heritage resource.

A curated trio of abstract framed paintings, each spotlighted to enhance its unique palette—cool blue and green swirls, vibrant red and purple tones, and warm yellow and brown hues

An enticing subversion: ‘decolonising’ art in Malaysia

6th October 2025

Led by Leon Wainwright (Professor of Art History, OU) “Reframe and Resist: Decolonise Here and Now!” is a British Council–supported project featuring an exhibition and events in Malaysia, bringing together artists, activists and scholars to confront colonial legacies and environmental crises through decolonial dialogue.