Membership year 2025/26 Lecture programme Great Hale (Magna) Hall - postcode NG34 9LH Lectures begin at 2pm followed by tea and biscuits. We hope to continue with the lunches, October, December, February, April and June. Further details in the newsletters. June 11th 2026 AGM & Lunch see the newsletter for further details. Pots and Frocks: The world of Grayson Perry - From Essex punk potter to superstar national treasure Ian Swankie Grayson Perry is one of Britain's best known contemporary artists, and one of the most successful. Known primarily as a potter and visual artist he's also famous for his outlandish appearances dressed as his feminine alter ego, Claire. He is now a core part of the art establishment, a Knight of the Realm, Turner Prize winner, Royal Academician, popular broadcaster and colourful character. His works are highly sought after. Often controversial, he tackles difficult subjects in a poignant yet witty manner and holds a mirror up to modern society. Exposition Vanité, Identité, Sexualité, La Monnaie de Paris, du 19 octobre 2018 au 3 février 2019, Paris. Photo: Arroser Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication New Membership year 2026/27 September 10th THE AGE OF JAZZ SANDY BURNETT Jazz is one of music’s most important genres: a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free- wheeling creativity, close-knit ensembles and imaginative improvisation. Drawing on his experience both as musicologist and gigging musician, Sandy can shed light on jazz from the inside. His talk covers the early years of jazz up to the Second World War, and touches on the disparate influences which lay behind the emergence of jazz. Musical illustrations range from the blues, ragtime and the very first recordings through to classics by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and the sumptuous sound of the Swing Era. Stylized artwork from 1924 newspaper advertisement, showing a parade of jazz musicians. 25 April 1924 October 8th THE CHANGING FACE OF CONTEMPORARY GLASS ART SUSAN WOOD From the late twentieth century onwards, glass art has become very diverse. But it is rare to find galleries hosting exhibitions devoted to these new trends. In 2024 2 Temple Place on London's Embankment bucked the trend with a ground- breaking exhibition, The Glass Heart, showcasing works by leading glass artists, and receiving rave reviews. Image: Detail of ‘Judge & Jury’ by Chris Day (2023), featuring glass and microbore copper pipe, © the artist. Courtesy of Vessel Gallery. Photo: Agata Pec November 12th EMPEROR QIN SHI HUANGDI AND HIS TERRACOTTA LEGACY DAVID ROSIER This lecture traces the origins of the Chinese Imperial Empire which was formed in 221 BC and lasted until 1911. China’s first Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi (221-209 BC), unified China in 221 BC and proved to be an exceptional bureaucrat, creator of infrastructure and Patron of the Arts. His greatest legacy, however, was born out of his obsession with immortality and this materialised in the form of the World’s largest Necropolis. Its fame came originally from the discovery of the Terracotta Warriors in 1976 but now the site is recognised for its vast infrastructure of buildings, including the still sealed Emperor’s Mausoleum. Imaginary depiction of Qin Shi Huang, 19th century December 10th THE JOURNEY OF THE MAGI: ORIGINS, MYTH AND REALITY - THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE KINGS. LESLIE PRIMO There have been pictorial representations of The Magi from as early as at least the 6th century, such as depictions in Byzantine ivories with origins in places such as Constantinople. Indeed, a vast array of artists, such as Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450-1516), Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510), Pieter Bruegel the Elder (active 1550/1; died 1569), Albrecht Dürer (1471- 1528), Masaccio (1401-1428/9?), and Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) to name but a few, have been clearly fascinated by story and its possibilities when it comes to visual depictions. However, these depictions over this vast period of time have been anything but consistent. All the aforementioned artists will be mentioned. J. C. Leyendecker, The three wise men 2027 February 11th FRIDA KAHLO – A LIFE IN ART FIONA ROSE Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907- 54) was queen of the selfies long before Kim Kardashian but instead of using Instagram Frida used a brush and oils to paint her own reality. Often associated with the Surrealist movement, Frida denied this insisting she painted life exactly as she had experienced it. Her personal life was tumultuous. Horrifically injured in an accident as a teenager she was dogged by physical pain for the rest of her life. She married, divorced, and remarried the painter Diego Rivera her artistic and political soulmate though an unfaithful husband. This illustrated lecture explores Frida's life as seen through her most iconic paintings. Frida Kahlo photographed in 1932 by her father March 11th CANALS – HISTORY AND HERITAGE ROGER BUTLER This lecture provides a colourful introduction to the secret world of our 2000-mile inland waterway network and looks at all aspects of their exceptional artistic, architectural and engineering vernacular. Features range from sweeping aqueducts to tiny bollards; from colourful historic narrowboats to 'Roses and Castles' artwork; from grand World Heritage Sites to quirky listed buildings. A well-known architectural historian once described our canals as a 'poor man's art gallery'. Miss March makes a cup of tea on board her narrowboat the 'HEATHER BELL' in 1942. April 8th LOUISE BOURGEOIS COLIN PINK Louise Bourgeois was one of the most important artists of the twentieth century. She was born in 1911 in Paris but spent most of her life in New York City where she died aged 98 in 2010. Often working in isolation, and belonging to no art movement, she only became famous in her later years. She was the first artist to be commissioned to create an installation for the Turbine Hall of the newly opened Tate Modern in London in 2000. The installation consists of three steel towers, entitled I Do, I Undo and I Redo. The towers, each some 9 metres (30 ft) high, dominate the east end of the Turbine Hall. In I Do and I Redo, spiral staircases coil around central columns supporting platforms which are surrounded by a number of large circular mirrors. May 13th DIVINE LIGHT: THE STAINED GLASS OF ENGLAND’S CATHEDRALS JANET GOUGH This highly illustrated talk explores 900 years of stained glass, with at least one window from each of England’s 43 cathedrals, Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, and exploring medieval masterpieces via the Reformation and nineteenth century Gothic Revival to striking contemporary commissions, revealing how coloured light has shaped worship, storytelling and space. Divine Light has gone from book to nationwide campaign run by the Association of English Cathedrals, attracting over 100,000 social media engagements and culminating in a hugely successful public vote - sparking fresh interest in cathedral stained glass and its power to move and inspire today. Stained glass window, Glasgow Cathedral, William Starkey June 10th CELEBRATING THE CENTENARY OF WINNIE- THE- POOH JAMES CAMPBELL 2024 - 2028 marks one hundred years since Winnie-the-Pooh was introduced to children of all ages in the four iconic books created by A A Milne and E H Shepard. First seen in When We Were Very Young (1924), Winnie-the-Pooh and the characters of the Hundred Acre Wood had their own adventures in Winnie-The- Pooh (1926), with Now We Are Six (1927) and The House at Pooh Corner (1928), giving us more wonderful poems and stories which include the introduction of both Tigger, Kanga-and-Roo and Poohsticks. This lecture tells the story of how these much loved books were created by the genius of Milne and Shepard’s ground breaking collaboration and why they remain embedded in our national identity. Cover of the American edition of Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)