The Institute of Art and Ideas (IAI) is a not-for-profit organisation, formed to overturn the current intellectually conservative environment where ideas and philosophy are undervalued. It aims to create an open, vibrant intellectual culture which combines innovative thought with rich experience.

The IAI was founded in May 2008 by Hilary Lawson

Hilary Lawson

Hilary Lawson is a philosopher, filmmaker, and video artist. Known for his theory of Closure, he is Director of the Institute of Art and Ideas, founder of the Artscape Project and a director of TVF Media.-Biography:...

 to promote the pursuit of art and ideas. The IAI hosts two annual festivals: HowTheLightGetsIn and Crunch

Crunch (art and music festival)

Crunch is an annual Art and Music festival that takes place in November in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. It is held by the Institute of Art and Ideas, a non-profit organization which hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. Crunch brings together the world’s leading artists, curators and critics...

 at the globe in Hay. The globe was described as "Hay’s answer to The Groucho Club".

Since 2009, talks, debates and performances hosted by the festivals have been available for free viewing online, through IAI TV.

HowTheLightGetsIn: the Philosophy and Music Festival at Hay

HowTheLightGetsIn, the philosophy festival hosted by the Institute of Art and Ideas, aims "to get philosophy out of the academy and into people's lives".

Over the last three years, HowTheLightGetsIn has brought together philosophers, writers, academics and musicians for debate, talks, and music. Previous speakers include Mary Midgley

Mary Midgley

Mary Midgley, née Scrutton , is an English moral philosopher. She was a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Newcastle University and is known for her work on science, ethics and animal rights. She wrote her first book, Beast And Man: The Roots of Human Nature , when she was in her fifties...

, AC Grayling, Raymond Tallis

Raymond Tallis

Raymond Tallis F.Med.Sci., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.A. is a British philosopher, humanist, poet, novelist, cultural critic and retired medical doctor.-Medical career:...

, Michele le Doeuff, Will Hutton

Will Hutton

William Nicolas Hutton is an English writer, weekly columnist and former editor-in-chief for The Observer. He is currently Principal of Hertford College, Oxford and Chair of the Big Innovation Centre , an initiative from The Work Foundation , having been Chief Executive of The Work Foundation from...

, Roger Penrose

Roger Penrose

Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College...

, Phillip Blond

Phillip Blond

Phillip Blond is an English political thinker, Anglican and theologian, and director of the think tank ResPublica.He gained prominence from a cover story in Prospect magazine in the February 2009 edition with his essay on Red Toryism, which proposed a radical communitarian traditionalist...

, Jesse Norman

Jesse Norman

Alexander Jesse Norman a British Conservative politician who is the Member of Parliament for Hereford and South Herefordshire. He was selected at an open primary in December 2006. He was a director at Barclays before leaving the City in 1997 to research and teach at University College...

, Mary Warnock, Helena Kennedy, Zygmunt Bauman

Zygmunt Bauman

Zygmunt Bauman is a Polish sociologist who, since 1971, has resided in England after being driven out of Poland by an anti-Semitic campaign, engineered by the Communist government which he had previously supported...

, Bonnie Greer

Bonnie Greer

Bonnie Greer, OBE is an American-British playwright and critic.-Early life:Greer's father was born to a family of Mississippi sharecroppers. He was stationed in the UK during World War II and took part in the D-Day landings...

, Nigel Warburton

Nigel Warburton

Nigel Warburton is a philosopher, currently Senior Lecturer at the Open University. He is best known as a populariser of philosophy, being author of a number of books of this genre, but he has also written academic works in esthetics and applied ethics.-Education:Warburton received a BA from the...

, Robin Dunbar

Robin Dunbar

Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar is a British anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist and a specialist in primate behaviour. He is currently Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and the Director of the Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology of the University of Oxford and the...

, Frank Furedi

Frank Furedi

Frank Furedi is professor of sociology at the University of Kent, United Kingdom. He is well known for his work on sociology of fear, therapy culture, paranoid parenting and sociology of knowledge....

 and many, many more. Past performers include, amongst others, Stephen Fretwell

Stephen Fretwell

Stephen Fretwell is an English singer-songwriter.-Biography:Fretwell attended St. Augustine Webster Primary School in Scunthorpe and St. Bede's Catholic School in Ashby before furthering his study at John Leggott College...

, Johnny Flynn

Johnny Flynn

Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit are an English folk rock band signed to Transgressive Records. They are fronted by Johnny Flynn , an actor, poet and songwriter who cites W.B. Yeats and Shakespeare among his influences...

, Plaster of Paris, Laura Dockrill

Laura Dockrill

Laura Dockrill is an English performance poet, illustrator and short story writer. Dockrill was born and grew up in Brixton, and attended The Brit School of Performing Arts in Croydon, where she was friends with singer Kate Nash...

, Cate le Bon, Huw Stephens

Huw Stephens

Huw Stephens is a radio presenter currently broadcasting shows on BBC Radio 1.-Early life and career:Stephens was born in Cardiff, Wales, the son of the author and literary journalist Meic Stephens...

, Martha Tilston

Martha Tilston

- Biography :Martha Tilston is the daughter of singer-songwriter Steve Tilston and stepdaughter of Irish folk performer Maggie Boyle. Trained as an artist and dramatist, she began her musical career in 2000 as an active presence in Britain's alternative festival scene, particularly as part of the...

, Jonathan Powell, Ewan Pearson

Ewan Pearson

Ewan Pearson is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed for artists such as Cortney Tidwell, Seelenluft, Ladytron, Depeche Mode,...

, The Book Club Boutique, Beth Jeans Houghton

Beth Jeans Houghton

Beth Jeans Houghton is a singer-songwriter from Newcastle upon Tyne who plays "sweet and gentle folk music." Beth Jeans Houghton has been described by The Guardian as looking like "Gwen Stefani with a touch of Brody Dalle", with a sound that "is Vashti Bunyan crossed with Nico and Laura Marling"In...

 and Michael Nyman

Michael Nyman

Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...

.

This year's festival ran between the 26th May and the 5th June 2011

Crunch: the Art and Music Festival at Hay

Crunch (art and music festival)

Crunch is an annual Art and Music festival that takes place in November in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. It is held by the Institute of Art and Ideas, a non-profit organization which hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. Crunch brings together the world’s leading artists, curators and critics...

 

Crunch

Crunch (art and music festival)

Crunch is an annual Art and Music festival that takes place in November in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. It is held by the Institute of Art and Ideas, a non-profit organization which hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. Crunch brings together the world’s leading artists, curators and critics...

 is an annual Art and Music festival that takes place in November in Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...

, Wales. It is held by the Institute of Art and Ideas

Institute of Art and Ideas

The Institute of Art and Ideas ' is a not-for-profit organisation, formed to overturn the current intellectually conservative environment where ideas and philosophy are undervalued...

, a non-profit organization which hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. Crunch

Crunch (art and music festival)

Crunch is an annual Art and Music festival that takes place in November in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. It is held by the Institute of Art and Ideas, a non-profit organization which hosts a number of cultural events throughout the year. Crunch brings together the world’s leading artists, curators and critics...

brings together the world’s leading artists, curators and critics to debate the questions that lie at the core of contemporary art. The 3-day festival features talk sessions and debates, live music, performance acts, creative workshops, art exhibitions and late night parties.

External links

• The IAI website.