The Master (Roy Campbell) of Freemason's Lodge, Faversham,

will provide a talk, and a tour of the Lodge.

Biography

Tony was educated at Highgate School, starting his career in advertising in 1965 as a mail boy in J.Walter Thompson. He graduated through the training system there to become an account director and subsequently worked in a number of agencies before setting up on his own in 1985. There he handled primarily Guinness advertising in Africa and the Caribbean, where he produced many commercials and print ads for them over a period of 15 years. He remains active as a consultant in the industry, but more recently has concentrated on more philanthropic projects - producing a film in the rural villages of Nigeria for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and completing a sanitation project in Haiti after it was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.   He has been a member of The Arts Society for many years and has been an accredited lecturer since 2017.

This Study Day seeks to understand the 19th century through its jewellery by looking at what jewellery meant to the men and women who wore it - revealing how it was used for both public and private purposes. Queen Victoria, and the jewellery she wore had a tremendous impact on the
society of the time - its mourning rituals, politics, nationalism and even the study of nature and science.

Biography

Judy Rudoe is the Senior Curator at the British Museum, where she has worked since 1974, specialising in jewellery. She is an international authority on 19th century jewellery having written, and published, widely on the subject. She is a Freeman of the Goldsmiths’ Company, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and has been an Art Society Lecturer since 1988.

In this Special Interest Day he examines the life and times of Oscar Wilde from his Irish roots to his days as a student at Oxford and his meteoric rise to the heights of celebrity. Then at the peak of his success, a fateful decision led to disaster for Oscar Wilde resulting in him being at the centre of the most infamous trials of the 19th century.

2023 marks the 600th anniversary of the death of the fabled Dick Whittington (c1354-1423).

For many of us, Dick is simply a fictional character but in fact, Dick was very real.  This lecture separates the man from the myth as we follow in his footsteps through the streets that were not exactly ‘paved with gold…’.  Whittington went on to become one of the wealthiest and most successful textile merchants in the City, and held the office of Lord Mayor of London four times. And what of that famous feline companion … did he have a cat?

Biography

Simon is a (recovering) actor, lecturer, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher and award winning London Blue Badge guide.

He has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and also lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature.

Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion and art history but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it.

This special event is provided for us, by our Town Council and the Visitors Centre, and will take a deeper look at Faversham’s magnificent series of Royal Charters granted to the town by successive English Monarchs.  Even if you have visited the Display before, our local guides will provide a deeper understanding of these precious and rare documents.

How did the British view themselves and their subjects in the era of imperialism? How did imperial subjects view the British? This study day considers these questions by exploring a range of images, buildings, objects and art forms from across the British Empire. Beginning with a broad view of the empire and imperial art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we will go on to focus more closely on imperial India. We will consider the arts and architecture of the vibrant capital city of Calcutta, the ‘second city’ of the British Empire throughout the nineteenth century. We will then take a detailed look at the life and art of one of India’s cultural giants, Rabindranath Tagore. 

The study day includes the following three lectures: Images of the British Empire; Imperial Calcutta: Arts and Architecture; The Art of Rabindranath Tagore.

Biography

Dr John Stevens is a Research Associate at SOAS, University of London, and a member of academic staff at the SOAS South Asia Institute. His PhD in History is from University College London. He teaches British Imperial history, Indian history and Bengali language, and is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh. He publishes widely in the fields of British and Indian history. His biography of the Indian guru Keshab Chandra Sen – Keshab: Bengal’s Forgotten Prophet - was published by Hurst and Oxford University Press in 2018. He appears regularly in the Indian media, and was a guest on BBC Radio Four’s In Our Time, discussing the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.

Artists have depicted multiple aspects of medicine and its practice for centuries. Often their perceptions are tempered by personal experience of sickness or chronic ill health. This talk looks at how artists as diverse as Jan Steen, Rene Magritte and L. S. Lowry have depicted the various steps in the development of modern doctoring. It is a profession that grew out of superstition and quackery before the birth of modern scientific medicine in the 19th century. The various stages in a doctor’s life from student to senior clinician are explored with insight and humour. The talk highlights the importance of the doctor patient relationship in the life of a successful doctor.

This SIG will comprise 3 lectures, two before lunch and one in tthe afternoon

Session 1: The first hour will look at the conception of the opera from libretto to musician score, then the work of the director and designers in realising this on the stage. Set and costume designs are fragile works on paper, but some have lasted for centuries and we will look at these as well as more recent works.

Session 2: Costume designs are fitted to individual singers and made up into wearable costumes that respond to the unusual needs of performers - space to move and breathe being particularly important. Props are made from original designs or from photographs of museum objects, or purchased in junk shops and markets.

Session 3: The first piano-vocal rehearsals take place in rehearsal rooms, and then move to the theatre. We will look at the theatre’s mechanisms for changing scenery, and at the back-stage environment of dressing-room

Zoom Special Interest Day

We invite members to join us for a Special Interest Day on Thursday 6th May starting at 10.30

Our lecturer, John Francis was trained as a painter in London and New York. He was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in pining in Brooklyn, New York. ln America John became Artist in residence for the state of Texas and later a Fulbright Lecturer in Video, art and printmaking. 

Born in Merseyside, John has taught film, art and pedagogy around the world including at the Universities of Exeter, Southwestern College, California, Charles University Prague, Brunel University London. 

10:30 – 11:15 Lecture

The Mistress of Menace and the Master of Suspense Daphne Du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock had much in common. Although they never met, the pair produced three key cultural landmarks of the 20th century in Jamaica Inn, Rebecca and the Birds. ln this lecture we will explore Hitchcolck’s, the Birds. We will closely unpack some of the essential scenes in the film and look at the masterful techniques both on the page and on the screen. 

11:15 – 11:35 Break

11:35 – 12:20 Lecture

Detective, Murderer, Femme Fatale - Film Noir and the story of one of Cinema's most influential genres; since Edgar Allan Poe created the template for the modern detective with C. Auguste Dupin in 1841, we as a society haye been fascinated by this lonely protagonist in novels and films. ln this lecture we will focus on the 'hard boiled' tough detective as portrayed in Film Noir (American crime films 1940 - 58. We will explore several key thrillers and the more recent, LA Confidential (1997) directed by Curtis Hanson. The themes of loneliness, gender and psychological conflict will be opened for close inspection.

Biography

John is an inspirational speaker who has delivered lecturers, workshops in the US (Texas, California, Massachusetts), Beijing, Malaysia and the UK. Initially trained as a painter, John was awarded the Max Beckmann Memorial Scholarship in painting in Brooklyn, New York and went on to be artist in resident for the state of Texas. Later in his career John produced and directed several short films and animations. He has taught film, art and pedagogy at the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, University Sains Malaysia, Southwestern College, California, Brunel University, London and Kingston University. Lectures and workshops

This is an unusual and fascinating Special Interest Day which brings together material from several of my lectures. The morning sessions outline the history, explore the terrain and examine the buildings which range from Anasazi Cliff Dwellings and Spanish Missions to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West. En route there will be log cabins and ‘Victorian’ towns and we end with two 20th century creations – mid century modernism at Palm Springs and the success of excess at Las Vegas.
In the afternoon we look at the art, starting with figurative painters and sculptors like Remington and Russell and moving on to landscape painters like Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) and Thomas Moran (1837-1926). For once the word epic is fully justified. Explorers as well as artists, their paintings do justice to the extraordinary landscapes of the West. They are great names in American Art but hardly known on this side of the Atlantic.

Biography

Studied History at Oxford and Fine Art at Leeds. Awarded Churchill Fellowship to travel and study in USA. Former College Vice-Principal who now lectures for University of Liverpool and for Adult Residential Colleges. Organises and leads country house study tours, and tries to find time to do research on British and American Country Houses.

As a logical extension to my lectures on British Country Houses and their families, we consider MiLord Abroad, when a large proportion of the contents of those Country Houses was bought. We begin with the perils and pleasures of the journey via Calais, Paris and the Alps.

We visit Florence for sightseeing, study and shopping but particularly concentrate on Zoffany’s masterpiece of Grand Tour travel, The Tribuna of the Uffizzi. We visit Naples where the spectacular eruption of Vesuvius and the nubile charms of Emma Hamilton both proved to be great attractions.

We visit Venice whose courtesans were a particular joy for the young Grand Tourist (like the Duke of York) who found the study of antiquities rather too cerebral. There we, of course, consider the career and work of Antonio Canaletto, undoubtedly the most famous view painter of the Grand Tour. With him we attend the unmissable events of the Venetian tourist calendar.

We make a special study of Rome, the most important destination of all. There we meet the tutors, the tour guides, the art dealers and the swindlers. We consider the collection of antique and neo-classical sculpture.

We examine the (sometimes dubious) purchases, the views of Rome by Panini, Piranesi et al, and, above all, the magnificent portraits by Mengs and Batoni of Milord Abroad. Finally we return home to see how the tour influenced the exterior and interior of the British Town and Country House.

Biography

MA from Oxford University, a Diploma in Art History (with distinction) and is a qualified teacher (PGCE from Reading University). Lectured for the National Portrait Gallery (where he worked in the Education Department), the British Museum, the National Gallery and the National Trust. Organised and led study and orientation programmes for the Universities of New York, Illinois and New Jersey (Rutgers. An Adult Education tutor for the Universities of Surrey and Warwick. Publications includeThe Collins Guide to the Lake District and Access in London (latest edition 2014) and he is a contributor to The Time Out Book of London Walks and Time Out’s Open London (2012). Wrote and presented programmes for Central TV, Thames TV and BBC Radio 4. Blue Badge Guide/Lecturer for London and Cumbria, particular expertise in guiding at the Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s Cathedral and the British Museum. Awards from the Lord Mayor of London, the Evening Standard and the British Tourist Authority for his work and was made Man of the Year in 1990 and Guide/Lecturer of the year in the inaugural year of the award, sponsored by the British Museum

The liturgical rites of baptism and burial in the Early Medieval church prompted the production of splendid monuments, decorated with functionally appropriate iconography. The trio of lectures in this study day will examine the baptisteries, baptismal fonts and tomb monuments produced in England, France, Germany and Italy from 300-1500 to accompany these spiritually theatrical entrances into, and exits from, life.

Biography

Lecturer and tutor for the Early Medieval Year Course at V&A. Dean of ‘European Studies’ for 2 US Universities. Freelance lecturer for The Art Fund. Study tours, cruises and tour groups. BA (History) University of Durham; PhD (Medieval Manuscript illumination) and MA (Medieval History of Art) Courtauld Institute.