The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities
The Schwarzman Centre makes an exceptional setting for events of all kinds, fully accessible to all. Whether you’re putting on academic or creative endeavours, our team makes sure your event’s a show stopper, pulling out all the stops you require, from on-site catering to technical support.
Centred around a vast, light filled atrium, our building offers a dynamic mix of spaces designed to support everything from academic teaching and research to high-profile conferences, corporate events and private celebrations.
Our spaces include large venues, breakout and networking areas, meeting rooms, social spaces, and hospitality areas – all designed to bring your event to life with every detail taken care of. From product launches and team workshops to training sessions and receptions, our spaces flex to fit your event – with every detail handled so you can focus on what matters most.
We’re also equipped with the capabilities for performances, exhibitions, and whatever your creative endeavours might be, with dressing rooms, lighting and sound rigs, and an excellent technical team to support your show.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG
This venue offers...
Conference / Meeting
Dinner
Drinks Reception
Christmas Function
Lunch
Party
Summer School
Did you know...
Performance and Conference
Great Hall
The Great Hall is a space of intense elegance, ready to lend your event gravitas. Crafted to the same dimensions as Oxford’s renowned Radcliffe Camera, its octagonal skylight floods the space below in light, making it ideal for daytime gatherings. By night, it can transform into a dramatic backdrop for receptions, dining, or awards ceremonies.Venue Capacity
- 200 Banquet
- 300 Bar/reception
- 180 Cabaret
- 200 Dining
- 300 Drinks reception or evening presentation
- 400 Lunch and Refreshments
- 750 Standing Reception
Sohmen Concert Hall
With innovative acoustics by Arup, the Sohmen Concert Hall is the place to hear unamplified sound. Its purity makes it an ideal setting for music of all genres, keynote speeches, and spoken word. This beautifully crafted space can be hired for public performances, recording, and rehearsals, as well as conferences, award ceremonies, private events, and filming.Venue Capacity
- 500 Theatre
Theatre
The Humanities Theatre sets an intimate tone for both lectures and live productions, moving seamlessly between teaching and performance modes. Designed for diverse uses, it’s a theatre ideal for anything from plays and acoustic concerts to panel discussions, comedy, and live podcast recordings – all supported by flexible staging and professional lighting, and sound.Venue Capacity
- 250 Theatre
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
Recital Hall
With its double-height proportions, the Recital Hall is an impactful multi-purpose space designed for creative exchange. As well as academic sessions, the warm acoustics make it perfect for music-centred activities, including movement and dance, which are supported by mirrors, semi-sprung floor, and movable barres.Venue Capacity
- 50 Cabaret
- 60 Classroom
- 50 Dining
- 80 Drinks Reception
- 65 U-shape
White Box
With its pared-back aesthetic, the White Box is a chameleon, able to endlessly adapt and transform. A natural home for contemporary art, interactive installations, and research-led exhibitions, the space also makes a captivating venue for dinners, receptions and launch events.Venue Capacity
- 80 Cabaret
- 80 Dining
- 150 Drinks Reception
- 150 Standing Reception
- 150 Theatre
-
Great Hall
The Great Hall is a space of intense elegance, ready to lend your event gravitas. Crafted to the same dimensions as Oxford’s renowned Radcliffe Camera, its octagonal skylight floods the space below in light, making it ideal for daytime gatherings. By night, it can transform into a dramatic backdrop for receptions, dining, or awards ceremonies.Venue Capacity
- 200 Banquet
- 300 Bar/reception
- 180 Cabaret
- 200 Dining
- 300 Drinks reception or evening presentation
- 400 Lunch and Refreshments
- 750 Standing Reception
-
Sohmen Concert Hall
With innovative acoustics by Arup, the Sohmen Concert Hall is the place to hear unamplified sound. Its purity makes it an ideal setting for music of all genres, keynote speeches, and spoken word. This beautifully crafted space can be hired for public performances, recording, and rehearsals, as well as conferences, award ceremonies, private events, and filming.Venue Capacity
- 500 Theatre
-
Theatre
The Humanities Theatre sets an intimate tone for both lectures and live productions, moving seamlessly between teaching and performance modes. Designed for diverse uses, it’s a theatre ideal for anything from plays and acoustic concerts to panel discussions, comedy, and live podcast recordings – all supported by flexible staging and professional lighting, and sound.Venue Capacity
- 250 Theatre
-
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
-
Recital Hall
With its double-height proportions, the Recital Hall is an impactful multi-purpose space designed for creative exchange. As well as academic sessions, the warm acoustics make it perfect for music-centred activities, including movement and dance, which are supported by mirrors, semi-sprung floor, and movable barres.Venue Capacity
- 50 Cabaret
- 60 Classroom
- 50 Dining
- 80 Drinks Reception
- 65 U-shape
-
White Box
With its pared-back aesthetic, the White Box is a chameleon, able to endlessly adapt and transform. A natural home for contemporary art, interactive installations, and research-led exhibitions, the space also makes a captivating venue for dinners, receptions and launch events.Venue Capacity
- 80 Cabaret
- 80 Dining
- 150 Drinks Reception
- 150 Standing Reception
- 150 Theatre
Meeting and Teaching
Theatre
The Humanities Theatre sets an intimate tone for both lectures and live productions, moving seamlessly between teaching and performance modes. Designed for diverse uses, it’s a theatre ideal for anything from plays and acoustic concerts to panel discussions, comedy, and live podcast recordings – all supported by flexible staging and professional lighting, and sound.Venue Capacity
- 250 Theatre
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
Large Seminar/Classrooms
The Schwarzman Centre has a number of larger seminar rooms located on the Ground Floor, laid out in classroom style with tables attached to the seats. We have rooms ranging between 40 and 63, all with presentation screens (USB-C connection) linked to a teams environment for your hybrid event needs. Our 40 capacity comes with a small garden terrace for drinks receptions in the summer.Features
- Senheiser mics built into the ceiling allow all participants to be heard easily throughout your sessions
- Dynamic Smart cameras track movement and sound in the room so remote attendees feel like they're really in the room
Medium Seminar/Classrooms
The Centre boasts a collection of Ground Floor seminar rooms generally with a u-shaped layout, but are more flexible than our larger seminar rooms. With capacities ranging from 10 - 32, these rooms are perfect for team meetings, workshops, away days and more. There is space for catering in each, and they all have a presentation screen and can be set up easily for hybrid events.Features
- Senheiser mics built into the ceiling allow all participants to be heard easily throughout your sessions
- Dynamic Smart cameras track movement and sound in the room so remote attendees feel like they're really in the room
-
Theatre
The Humanities Theatre sets an intimate tone for both lectures and live productions, moving seamlessly between teaching and performance modes. Designed for diverse uses, it’s a theatre ideal for anything from plays and acoustic concerts to panel discussions, comedy, and live podcast recordings – all supported by flexible staging and professional lighting, and sound.Venue Capacity
- 250 Theatre
-
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
-
Large Seminar/Classrooms
The Schwarzman Centre has a number of larger seminar rooms located on the Ground Floor, laid out in classroom style with tables attached to the seats. We have rooms ranging between 40 and 63, all with presentation screens (USB-C connection) linked to a teams environment for your hybrid event needs. Our 40 capacity comes with a small garden terrace for drinks receptions in the summer.Features
- Senheiser mics built into the ceiling allow all participants to be heard easily throughout your sessions
- Dynamic Smart cameras track movement and sound in the room so remote attendees feel like they're really in the room
-
Medium Seminar/Classrooms
The Centre boasts a collection of Ground Floor seminar rooms generally with a u-shaped layout, but are more flexible than our larger seminar rooms. With capacities ranging from 10 - 32, these rooms are perfect for team meetings, workshops, away days and more. There is space for catering in each, and they all have a presentation screen and can be set up easily for hybrid events.Features
- Senheiser mics built into the ceiling allow all participants to be heard easily throughout your sessions
- Dynamic Smart cameras track movement and sound in the room so remote attendees feel like they're really in the room
Dining and Hospitality
Great Hall
The Great Hall is a space of intense elegance, ready to lend your event gravitas. Crafted to the same dimensions as Oxford’s renowned Radcliffe Camera, its octagonal skylight floods the space below in light, making it ideal for daytime gatherings. By night, it can transform into a dramatic backdrop for receptions, dining, or awards ceremonies.Venue Capacity
- 200 Banquet
- 300 Bar/reception
- 180 Cabaret
- 200 Dining
- 300 Drinks reception or evening presentation
- 400 Lunch and Refreshments
- 750 Standing Reception
Recital Hall
With its double-height proportions, the Recital Hall is an impactful multi-purpose space designed for creative exchange. As well as academic sessions, the warm acoustics make it perfect for music-centred activities, including movement and dance, which are supported by mirrors, semi-sprung floor, and movable barres.Venue Capacity
- 50 Cabaret
- 60 Classroom
- 50 Dining
- 80 Drinks Reception
- 65 U-shape
White Box
With its pared-back aesthetic, the White Box is a chameleon, able to endlessly adapt and transform. A natural home for contemporary art, interactive installations, and research-led exhibitions, the space also makes a captivating venue for dinners, receptions and launch events.Venue Capacity
- 80 Cabaret
- 80 Dining
- 150 Drinks Reception
- 150 Standing Reception
- 150 Theatre
Cafe (and Terrace)
The Café is a welcoming haunt for students, staff, and visitors. With its floor-to-ceiling windows and south-facing terrace, it’s a popular spot to meet, eat, or linger a while. The Café can be hired for private events outside public opening times, offering the same relaxed environment for your event. On sunny days, you can add the exterior terrace on to your event allowing guests to meander in and out of the building with a drink in hand...Venue Capacity
- 80 Dining
- 120 Standing Reception
- 120 Tea and coffee service
Foyer Bar
Connected to all our performance spaces is the welcoming Foyer Bar. The 12-metre bar is available for private hire where every detail is attended by our dedicated team. Pair celebrations, corporate, or cultural events with drinks receptions, canapés, or the finest dining. Whatever the occasion, elegance always sets the tone.Venue Capacity
- 750 Standing Reception
-
Great Hall
The Great Hall is a space of intense elegance, ready to lend your event gravitas. Crafted to the same dimensions as Oxford’s renowned Radcliffe Camera, its octagonal skylight floods the space below in light, making it ideal for daytime gatherings. By night, it can transform into a dramatic backdrop for receptions, dining, or awards ceremonies.Venue Capacity
- 200 Banquet
- 300 Bar/reception
- 180 Cabaret
- 200 Dining
- 300 Drinks reception or evening presentation
- 400 Lunch and Refreshments
- 750 Standing Reception
-
Recital Hall
With its double-height proportions, the Recital Hall is an impactful multi-purpose space designed for creative exchange. As well as academic sessions, the warm acoustics make it perfect for music-centred activities, including movement and dance, which are supported by mirrors, semi-sprung floor, and movable barres.Venue Capacity
- 50 Cabaret
- 60 Classroom
- 50 Dining
- 80 Drinks Reception
- 65 U-shape
-
White Box
With its pared-back aesthetic, the White Box is a chameleon, able to endlessly adapt and transform. A natural home for contemporary art, interactive installations, and research-led exhibitions, the space also makes a captivating venue for dinners, receptions and launch events.Venue Capacity
- 80 Cabaret
- 80 Dining
- 150 Drinks Reception
- 150 Standing Reception
- 150 Theatre
-
Cafe (and Terrace)
The Café is a welcoming haunt for students, staff, and visitors. With its floor-to-ceiling windows and south-facing terrace, it’s a popular spot to meet, eat, or linger a while. The Café can be hired for private events outside public opening times, offering the same relaxed environment for your event. On sunny days, you can add the exterior terrace on to your event allowing guests to meander in and out of the building with a drink in hand...Venue Capacity
- 80 Dining
- 120 Standing Reception
- 120 Tea and coffee service
-
Foyer Bar
Connected to all our performance spaces is the welcoming Foyer Bar. The 12-metre bar is available for private hire where every detail is attended by our dedicated team. Pair celebrations, corporate, or cultural events with drinks receptions, canapés, or the finest dining. Whatever the occasion, elegance always sets the tone.Venue Capacity
- 750 Standing Reception
Specialist and Bespoke
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
Black Box Performance Lab
Designed for research, experimentation and immersive performance, the Black Box Performance Lab is a flexible space, fully-rigged to welcome multimedia work. As well as being able to blend sound, light, projection, and movement, the space can also flex its seating for different audience experiences. From dance to dynamic installations, the Black Box is a versatile venue offering you a powerful blank canvas.
Boardroom
Executive meetings or intimate networking, our contemporary boardroom adds sophistication to any agenda, with a touch of traditional Oxford to note. With space for 22 for fine dining, and up to 30 for meetings, the Boardroom is the perfect space for impressing your guests. Equipped with a presentation screen which can be hidden for dinners, it is perfect for board meetings, partnerships, product launches, and much more.Venue Capacity
- 30 Boardroom
- 22 Dining
Music Studios
Coming Soon...-
Cinema
Our Cinema not only welcomes film lovers to a programme of moving, challenging, and warming works, it’s also an ideal setting for private screenings, presentations, and corporate meetings. Whether you want to lend your event a movie-theatre feel, or capture the heightened focus cinema spaces invite, this is the venue.Venue Capacity
- 100 Theatre
-
Black Box Performance Lab
Designed for research, experimentation and immersive performance, the Black Box Performance Lab is a flexible space, fully-rigged to welcome multimedia work. As well as being able to blend sound, light, projection, and movement, the space can also flex its seating for different audience experiences. From dance to dynamic installations, the Black Box is a versatile venue offering you a powerful blank canvas. -
Boardroom
Executive meetings or intimate networking, our contemporary boardroom adds sophistication to any agenda, with a touch of traditional Oxford to note. With space for 22 for fine dining, and up to 30 for meetings, the Boardroom is the perfect space for impressing your guests. Equipped with a presentation screen which can be hidden for dinners, it is perfect for board meetings, partnerships, product launches, and much more.Venue Capacity
- 30 Boardroom
- 22 Dining
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