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The Arts Society Woking Talks Programme 2023
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All Speakers are carefully chosen based
on their reputation for attractive and
well-presented talks with good pictures. |
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Our talks are held on the second Tuesday
of the month except July and August
(when many members are on vacation). |
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They start promptly at 10.30 am but
doors open 9.45 am for tea and coffee |
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Our new venue is Normandy Village Hall. |
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Address: Manor Fruit Farm, Glaziers
Lane, Normandy, Guildford Surrey GU3 2DT |
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Members may bring a visitor, but
the same person may not be a guest more
than twice a year. While we do not
charge a Visitors fee, Visitors may want
to make a donation to the Society of
(say) £5. |
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For more information please
click on the title for any talk |
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Tuesday January
10th 2023 |
Talk: Selfies,
Self-Expression Celebrity, and
Victorian Carte
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From the late 1850s to the
mid-1870s a new craze gripped
the world. Photography had just
begun to be popularised, and
suddenly nearly everyone could
afford a portrait of themselves
to share with others.
These small photographic
portraits mounted on card were
shot professionally in studios
and handed out like business or
greetings cards – just like we
share ‘selfies’ on today’s
social media. Across nearly two
decades, over 400 million cards
were estimated to have been
printed and shared with friends,
family, and fans. We think we
invented the ‘selfie’, but we
didn’t – welcome to the
Victorian carte de visite.
In this highly visual and
relevant lecture, we’ll look at
the rise and fall of the fashi
on, learn how these cards were
used, and find ways of dating
cards from clothing and
hairstyles. We’ll examine in
detail the hidden meanings
behind the poses, facial
expressions, backgrounds, and
choice of clothes to reveal the
fascinating histories behind
these cards that were used by
everyone from royalty to the man
in the street. |
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Victorian Cartes (left to right):
Charles Dickens, Ella Wesner (male
impersonator), Tennyson |
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Speaker: Mark Hill |
Mark is a
well-known figure being a
“Miscellaneous” expert on the Antiques
Roadshow since 2007 and has co-presented
three primetime factual TV series on
antiques. He Has lectured across the
world.
He: studied The History of Art &
Architecture (BA Hons); began his career
as a porter and Junior Cataloguer at
Bonhams, before moving to Sotheby's
where he was a Specialist in the
Collectors' Department; became director
of an internet company forming and
running a ground-breaking deal with eBay
Live Auctions; was co-author of the
internationally published Collectables
Price Guide with Judith Miller from
2002-17;
founded his own publishing company in
2005 and has since published over 12
books on specialist subjects in 20th
century design and decorative arts. |
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Tuesday
February 14th 2023 |
Talk: Sadlers Wells
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For more than three centuries Sadler's Wells has been a place of entertainment and a part of London's theatrical history with a reputation known across the world. Surviving many highs, lows and rebuilding, the theatre has hosted and nurtured an impressive array of performing companies over the years. We follow the unique story of “The Wells” which includes pony racing, naval warfare, Shakespeare with Sir John Gielgud as well as the strongest connections with the worlds of opera and dance and the roots of today's Royal Ballet companies. A fully illustrated talk with audio & video clips.
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Speaker: Nigel Bates |
Nigel Bates has been a performer for more than forty years in and out of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, including seventeen years as Principal Percussionist with the Orchestra and eight years as the Music Administrator of The Royal Ballet.
He has worked with many of the leading figures in the classical music industry and was also a producer for both the BBC's Maestro at the Opera and Pappano's Classical Voices documentary series. He is a regular contributor to the printed and online content of the ROH.
He has given lectures for over thirty years, including many arts societies and conservatoires in the UK and across Australia. |
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Tuesday March
14th 2023 |
Talk: Secrets of affluent
Mayfair
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Just north of Piccadilly, in the
city of Westminster, is the
historic district of Mayfair,
now one of the most affluent
neighbourhoods in the world. In
this armchair tour, we’ll
discover the humble early roots
of this area and later its
aristocratic appeal. We’ll visit
famous gardens such as Berkeley
Square and Grosvenor Square, see
posh shops, private members’
clubs, beautiful buildings
including stately Georgian
townhouses, plenty of public art
and many hidden corners. As we
duck in and out of alleyways and
mews, we’ll discover some of the
secrets behind the silk curtains
and gilded shutters |
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Apartments in the heart of
Mayfair |
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Speaker: Ian Swankie |
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Ian is a Londoner with a passion
for art and architecture. He is
an official guide at Tate
Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall
Art Gallery and St Paul’s
Cathedral, and gives tours
around each venue. Ian is also a
qualified and active freelance
London guide and leads regular
tours for various corporations
and organisations. Since 2012 he
has led a popular weekly
independent art lecture group in
his hometown of Richmond in West
London. He is a Freeman of the
Worshipful Company of Art
Scholars, one of the City livery
companies |
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Tuesday April
11th 2023 |
Talk: Turner Prize Explained
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Regarded by many as a great showcase for British avant-garde art, and by others as conceptualist rubbish, the Turner Prize established in 1984 causes controversy every year. The exhibitions each autumn continue to draw larger and larger crowds. Many of its nominees have become household names and extremely popular amongst the general public. Antony Gormley (creator of The Angel of the North) won it in 1994, while the widely admired Lucian Freud considered a modern old master failed to do so twice. This lecture looks at the great winners (and losers) from the past and clarifies the ideas behind the annual competition. |
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2017 Turner Prize Winner |
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Speaker: Frank Woodgate |
Frank is a Lecturer at Tate
Britain and Tate Modern,
lecturer for the Art Fund, the
National Trust, U3A and other
organisations. Lecturer and runs
courses at Pallant House
Gallery, Chichester.
Frank and his wife, Val, have
both delivered a number of
excellent talks to The Arts
Society Woking |
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Tuesday May
9th 2023 |
Talk: Ukraine, Ilya Repin,
and the End
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Ukrainian born Repin (1844-1930)
trained at the Imperial Academy
of Fine Arts in St Petersburg
but broke early on with its
foreign inspired classicism to
form a new realist school that
would reflect the life of
ordinary Russians. He was close
to the famous personalities of
his era, from Leo Tolstoy to
Modest Mussorgsky, joining them
in a quest to capture the soul
of ‘Mother Russia’. His
influence rippled across to
craftspeople experimenting with
the Arts and Crafts, leaving an
imprint on the fine and applied
arts that followed. Because
Repin made it his mission to
portray the social and political
changes of a country in turmoil,
his surviving work forms an
invaluable testament to the
empire’s final years. |
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Painted by Ilya Repin |
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Speaker: Cynthia Coleman Sparke |
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Cynthia is an independent
researcher, author and lecturer
on Russian pre-Revolutionary
works of art, consulting
regularly on Fabergé for auction
houses. Having periodically
grown up on and off in Moscow
within a family of Russian art
collectors, she was destined for
a career in Russian art.
Previously, Cynthia ran the
Russian Department for
Christie’s in New York and
worked for Hillwood Estate,
Museum and Gardens in Washington
DC. This was followed by a
restoration project at the
Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe
Selo, Nicholas II’s last
residence. Her book Russian
Decorative Arts was published in
2014 by the Antique Collectors’
Club. |
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Tuesday
June
13th 2023 |
Talk: Indians, Buffalo and
Storms. The American West in
19th Century Art
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Artists were never far behind
the explorers who opened up the
west of America in the 19th
Century. Sometimes they painted
what they saw. Sometimes they
painted what they wished they
saw. Either way, painters like
Alfred Miller, Frederick Church
and Albert Bierstadt have left
us a powerful, if romanticised,
record of the country and people
that the settlers found. Now we
can use their pictures to chart
the history of the opening of
America’s west - the arrival of
the railroad, the confinement of
native Americans into
reservations, and the
extermination of the buffalo.
This is a story on a big scale
and it seems appropriate that
among the pictures illustrating
the lecture are some of the
largest and most grandiloquent
paintings of the era. After a
period of deep neglect, they are
now very much back in vogue, but
whatever one thinks of their
artistic merits, I hope
audiences will agree with me
that they are, above all, great
fun. |
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Warpath” By Alfred Miller |
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Speaker: Toby Faber |
Toby is an experienced lecturer and
public speaker who has been accredited
by The Arts Society since 2012. His
career began with Natural Sciences at
Cambridge and has been through
investment banking, management
consulting and five years as managing
director of the publishing company
founded by his grandfather, Faber and
Faber, where he remains on the board. He
is also non-executive Chairman of its
sister company, Faber Music and a
director of Liverpool University Press.
Toby has written three narrative
histories: Stradivarius – Five Violins,
One Cello and a Genius; Faberge’s Eggs;
and Faber & Faber – The Untold Story, as
well as a novel, Close to the Edge. Of
these, only the obvious one is published
by the family firm. |
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July
2023 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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August 2023 |
No Talk (Summer
break)
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September
12th 2023 |
Talk: GILDED GLORIES – The
fascinating history of gilding
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The art of beating gold leaf and
gilding dates back to ancient
Egypt. Gold leaf is nearly 500
times thinner than aluminium
foil and traditionally craftsmen
pounded gold for hours to create
sheets thin enough to cover the
most finely detailed surfaces.
For over 22 centuries from
Tutankhamun’s sarcophagus to
Rachel Whiteread’s gilded frieze
for the Whitechapel Gallery,
skilled artisans have exploited
paper-thin metal leaf to enrich
materials such as wood, metal,
marble, leather, paper, glass,
porcelain, and textiles – even
food and drink. Artists and
craftsmen have illuminated
manuscripts and icons, decorated
noble houses from top to bottom,
adorned domes inside and out,
embellished erotic canvases and
gilded chocolate and schnapps.
Gold leaf continues to be used
as the ultimate faux decoration
and dazzling ornamentation. |
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Speaker: Joanna Mabbutt |
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Liveryman of the Worshipful
Company of Painter-Stainers and
Freeman of the City of London.
Originally a trained singer,
pianist and orchestra
administrator, Jo is now a
decorative artist who gilds
antique lace and crochet, often
combining with hand printing and
painting. She works to
commission, sells through
galleries and exhibitions, and
collaborates with other
designers.
Jo trained in wood graining,
marbling, gilding, specialist
paint finishes and interior
design and was awarded the City
& Guilds Silver Medal for
Excellence in 2000. She taught
in further education for 8 years
on Art & Design National Diploma
and Foundation courses then up
skilled at Central St Martin's
College of Art & Design
developing her own practice. She
now divides her time as a
designer/maker, lecturer and
tutor running workshops for
specialist groups. |
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Tuesday
October
10th 2023 |
Talk: Realism to Symbolism
Images of Darkness and Light
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Speaker: Kathy McLauchlan |
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A lecturer specialising in 19th-century
art history, I am currently a course
director at the Victoria & Albert
Museum, organising courses and study
days on the history of art and design. I
teach at several institutions, including
Art Pursuits. I am a graduate of Oxford
University and the Courtauld Institute,
with a PhD on French 19th-century
painters in Rome. I am available for
both individual lectures and study days. |
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Tuesday
November
14th 2023 |
Talk: Robed in dreadful
majesty : Music, Poetry, &
Traditions of the Advent Season
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It is not known exactly when
Advent was first acknowledged as
part of the Church’s calendar,
but it appears to be a tradition
that was started sometime in the
late 5th century.
Etymologically, Advent is
derived from the Latin adventus
– coming, arrival - and for many
people today, as in the past, it
is a time for reflection and
spiritual preparation for the
birth of Christ on 25th
December. Over the centuries
Advent has attracted many
customs and traditions and has
also inspired a wide range of
fine prose and poetry, as well
as some first class music. The
lecture follows the
ever-evolving traditions of
Advent and samples a range of
inspired poetry and music. |
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Peter playing the organ of Santa
Maria della Vittoria in Rome |
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Speaker: Peter Medhurst |
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Peter appears in the UK and
abroad as a musician and
scholar, giving recitals and
delivering illustrated lectures
on music and the arts. He
studied singing and early
keyboard instruments at the
Royal College of Music and at
the Mozarteum in Salzburg. |
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Talk: A Right Royal Christmas: How
our Royals have celebrated Christmas
through the ages
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Our royal families have celebrated
Christmas throughout their long history,
from William the Conqueror making sure
of his claim to the English throne by
being crowned in Westminster Abbey on
Christmas Day 1066. Feasting on a
spectacular scale characterised medieval
Christmases – we read of extraordinary
culinary delicacies served to Henry II,
crane’s flesh, peacocks, and herons.
Present-giving always marked the season,
from the extravagant – the City of
London presented Richard II with a camel
and a pelican – to the witty – Mrs.
Thatcher sent the Queen a pair of yellow
washing-up gloves having seen Her
Majesty doing the dishes without any.
The Royal Christmas Broadcast is now an
established part of our celebrations,
and we shall hear extracts from George
V’s, George VI’s and our present Queen’s
addresses.
This lecture explores these Royal
traditions, many of which we have
adopted as a necessary part of our own
celebrations. |
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Speaker: Roger Askew |
Roger was a chorister at Wells Cathedral
School and a choral scholar at Magdalen
College, Oxford, where he graduated with
an honours degree in English. He
combined a teaching career with
professional singing in London, and
after obtaining a further degree in
Music became Director of Music at Daniel
Stewart’s and Melville College in
Edinburgh.
After retiring in 2003 he returned to
the south of England. He is President
Emeritus of The Stoke Poges Society and
Joint Chairman of the Arts Society
Windsor. |
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Prior Year's Talks |
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To see the activities in
previous years, click on the
year;
2022
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2021
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2020
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2019 /
2018 /
2017 /
2016 /
2015 /
2014 /
2013 /
2012 /
2011 /
2010 |
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Disclaimer |
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The Arts Society Woking cannot be held responsible for any personal accident, loss, damage or theft of members' personal property. Members are covered against proven liability of third parties. |
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