Cairns

Sunday 1 March 2026
IMPERIAL PURPLE TO MARIE ANTOINETTE’S FLEAS: The colourful history of textiles
Presented by Susan Kay-Williams
Venue & Time: City Council Library Meeting Room, 151 Abbott St. Cairns. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

This lecture explores the fascinating story of how dyes were discovered, made, and used from the earliest time to the end of the 18th century. It shows the social importance of certain colours including red, blue, and purple. It is a story that travels from Europe to India and the Americas, a story of exploration, invention, war, the church, money, power, and sex.

The Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and in 2015 was made a Fellow of the Society of Dyers and Colourists in recognition of her work on the history of dyes. Susan has a longstanding interest in textiles, especially colour, and published her first book, The Story of Colour in Textiles (Bloomsbury) in 2013. She has extensive lecturing experience and has been invited to lecture in the USA, Canada, China, Japan and Taiwan as well as for the V&A and across the UK. In 2022 she published An Unbroken Thread: the 150-year history of the Royal School of Needlework. She is currently the President elect of the Society of Dyers and Colourists..

Sunday 12 April 2026
PADDINGTON: The Arts Hub
Presented by Peter McNeil
Venue & Time: City Council Library Meeting Room, 151 Abbott St. Cairns. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

Paddington is possibly Australia’s most loved suburb. It is renowned as an almost intact nineteenth-century precinct. Once shabby and down at heel, by the 1960s it was Sydney’s ‘arts hubs’. How and why did this happen? What makes Paddington so loved by our creatives? How did the galleries start up? By the 1970s the suburb was brimming with artists, writers, musicians, designers, journos and film-makers. We walk by Margaret Olley’s object-strewn studio. We see Paddington inspired textiles and wallpapers. We pass entertainer Jeanne Little and decorator husband Barrie in Paddington St. We look through the window at the antique shops, florists and interior designers of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Lunch at Lucio’s is included (but only via imagery).

Dr Peter McNeil FAHA is Distinguished Professor of Design History at UTS. From 2008-18 he lived and worked in three countries, being Foundation Professor of Fashion Studies in Sweden and Academy of Finland Distinguished Professor, Helsinki. Peter McNeil contributed two chapters for the 2019 publication ‘Paddington: A History’ (UNSW Press). He has a particular interest in the Paddington-Hill End artistic connections. ‘Paddington’ won ‘Best Book’ at the 2019 National Trust Awards.

Sunday 10 May 2026
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF KASHMIR
Presented by Zara Flemming
Venue & Time: City Council Library Meeting Room, 151 Abbott St. Cairns. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

For many people, Kashmir conjures up a beautiful valley surrounded by the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas, for others it is a land of conflict. But what is less well known is that it has been of historic artistic importance for nearly 2000 years. This lecture introduces the astonishing diversity of arts and crafts produced in this tiny area, influenced by Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic cultures. It explores Buddhist sculptures, Hindu temples, great Islamic gardens, paintings, calligraphy, Moghul carpets and Kashmir shawls. Despite its troubled history, Kashmir has fostered a unique environment of artistic diversity and religious co-existence.

Freelance lecturer, art consultant and exhibition curator specialising in the art and culture of Tibet, the Himalayan areas and Mongolia. Initially based at the V&A, but also worked with the Central Asian Department of Bonn University, the Orient Foundation, the Royal Academy, Tibet House, the National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside and Asia House. In addition to lecturing for The Arts Society, she lectures for museums, universities, Asian art societies, and private associations. Guest lecturer and tour guide on numerous trips to the Himalayas. Edited Masterpieces of Mongolian Art: Vol 1 and has published many articles in the field of Buddhist art and culture.

Sunday 21 June 2026
ON THE WILD SIDE
Presented by Pieter de Vries
Venue & Time: Venue to be confirmed. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

“In this lecture, I’ll share my techniques for capturing extraordinary images for Sir David Attenborough and National Geographic. From playful Macaque monkeys in China to majestic Cassowaries in Northern Australia, I’ll illustrate my presentation with segments from my nature documentaries.”

Sydney filmmaker Pieter de Vries is one of the leading documentary cinematographers in the world, travelling six months of the year to every imaginable location. His career has seen him filming the Red Army in China, rats in the sewers of New York, and the wreck of the Titanic with director James Cameron. Pieter has contributed to programs hosted by Sir David Attenborough and was Director of Photography for Darwin’s Lost Paradise. His numerous awards have included Cinematographer of the Year, and an Emmy nomination. His work has featured on NBC, BBC, History, Discovery and National Geographic Channels, as well as on ABC Television.

Sunday 5 July 2026
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: A Life of Collecting
Presented by Charlie Hall
Venue & Time: Venue to be confirmed. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

Describing herself by writing, “I am a museum”, Peggy Guggenheim’s life took a clear path, from setting up a commercial gallery in London, going on a single-minded shopping trip to Paris in the late 1930’s even as the German tanks were rolling in to the suburbs, to escape (with her selection of European artists) to New York and the subsequent establishment of her museum (and Arts centre), and finally the purchase of the eccentric ‘unfinished palazzo’ in Venice, her collection remains one of the most iconic assemblages of Twentieth century art in the world.

A passionate arts educator, lecturer, and guide, based in London and Italy. Director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course, (est. 1965) Tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays since 2013, and of independent tours in Italy. Designer and host of a series of art talks and events for the Soho House group of private member’s clubs. Designed and led courses for Christie’s Education and The Serpentine Gallery ‘Collector’s Circle.

Sunday 9 August 2026
FASHION, FEATHERS AND FEMINISM: Women’s Fight for Change
Presented by Tessa Boase
Venue & Time: Venue to be confirmed. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

When social historian Tessa Boase told the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds she wanted to write their early story, they refused to let her visit their archives. To a former investigative journalist, this was a challenge she could not resist. This lecture shines a light on the intriguing story of women’s love affair with plumage – and of the brave eco feminists who fought back on behalf of the birds. Moving from a polite Victorian tea party to an egret hunt in a Florida swamp; from a suffragette ‘monster rally’ to a milliner’s dusty workshop, you will be taken back in time to a world where every woman, of every class wore a hat. Shocking and surprising, entertaining and moving, this pacy lecture remains Tessa’s most popular.

Tessa Boase is a freelance journalist, author, lecturer, and campaigner with an interest in uncovering the stories of invisible women from the 19th and early 20th-centuries – revealing how they drove industry, propped up society and influenced politics. She is the author of three books of social history: The Housekeeper’s Tale: The Women Who Really Ran the English Country House (2014); Etta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved the Birds (first published as Mrs Pankhurst’s Purple Feather in 2018), and London’s Lost Department Stores: A Vanished World of Dazzle and Dreams (2022). Since uncovering the feminist origins of the RSPB, Tessa has been campaigning for public recognition of its female founders with plaques, portraits, and a statue.

Sunday 6 September 2026
THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE IN SIX PAINTINGS
Presented by Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff
Venue & Time: Venue to be confirmed. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

The 17th century in the Netherlands, the time of Rembrandt and Vermeer, of extra ordinary riches and incredible progress, known as the “Dutch Golden Age”. Mariska will draw on six beautiful paintings, revealing their meaning, to show how the arts flourished in this tiny republic, discuss the Dutch, their cities, landscape, society, beliefs and artistic genres.

Mariska’s original academic direction was psychology, before she turned to her true love – the Arts. Whilst having her three children, she completed her BA and MA in Art History, majoring in The Dutch Baroque Arts from the 17th century at the Courtauld Institute of Arts. Through her own company, Art Historical London, she offers in-person and on-line arts history lectures, museum visits, courses, tours, travel and events from Amsterdam, London and New York.

Sunday 11 October 2026
THE MUSIC OF THE CARIBBEAN
Presented by Graham Jones
Venue & Time: Venue to be confirmed. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

The effects of colonialism have played an intrinsic part in the musical culture of the Caribbean. They are a synthesis of African, European, Indian and indigenous influences. Each island has its own complex rhythm patterns and styles. Find out about the origins of calypso on Saint Kitts, jwé on Saint Lucia and much, much more in this lighthearted insight lecture full of the sounds of the Caribbean.

Dr Graham Jones started his professional life as a musician in the British Army and over a glittering career spanning nearly forty years he retired as the Senior Director of Music, Household Division and Director of Music, Coldstream Guards a position unequalled throughout military music in Great Britain. During his illustrious career he has recorded over 40 albums and been responsible for the largest commissioning programme of wind band music in recent history commissioning over 30 new works for wind band. He pioneered a music education programme with the University of Salford for military musicians resulting in a new Master of Music in performance degree. Graham was made a Member of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace for outstanding service to military music in 1993. Having retired from military service Graham is enjoying a second career as a guest conductor, adjudicator, guest speaker, lecturer, clinician, recording consultant and educator.