You may have noticed that some new sculpted heads have appeared outside the Museum of the History of Science, next door to the Sheldonian.
This is the result of the ‘Tomorrow’s Oxford Heads’ project, a temporary art installation over summer to encourage dialogue on how public sculpture can be diversified. The installation includes two plaster heads, representing women from different ethnic backgrounds, as well as a large pink object on the cobbles east of the museum entrance.
The heads will be there from 17 June to 21 July and everyone is invited to respond and have their say on how the future heads should look.
Exploring the past
Scientists from the School of Geography and the Environment have been researching the history of the Emperors' Heads. The fate of the first two sets was never recorded and their whereabouts were largely unknown until a campaign by the School of Geography and the Environment to track them down in 2017.
They have explored archival records, hunted for missing heads and tested old stone to help with conservation work.
A display of this research and a number of the old heads are on display at the Weston Library opposite the Sheldonian Theatre until 21 July 2019.
You are welcome to visit the display free of charge.