Adelaide

Wednesday 18 March 2026
IGNITING THE RAINBOW: The Dramatic Developments in Colour in Textiles in the 19th Century
Presented by Susan Kay-Williams

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

This vibrant lecture reveals the pace of change, beginning with the last great developments in natural colours at the end of the 18th century. We visit the chief dye scientist of the Gobelins factory in Paris, Michel Chevreul, and explore the impact of the great international exhibitions where new developments were proudly displayed. The discovery of coal tar colours resulted in hundreds of new colours and shades by the end of the 19th century.

Dr Susan Kay-Williams is the former Chief Executive of the Royal School of Needlework (2007 – 2024), based at Hampton Court Palace. Susan is 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. She 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 authored An Unbroken Thread: the 150-year history of the Royal School of Needlework. During 2024/2025 Susan was President of the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

Wednesday 22 April 2026
THE EARTH ABOVE: A DEEP TIME VIEW OF AUSTRALIA’S EPIC HISTORY
Presented by Martin Potter

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

The vast age of our planet and the enormous transformations it has undergone can be difficult to grasp. This lecture explores the creative journey behind The Earth Above: A Deep Time View of Australia’s Epic History, a unique and immersive planetarium show that bridges this gap. We will examine the innovative production model, a “collective storytelling practice” that moved away from a single director’s vision. We’ll delve into how a collective of Indigenous knowledge holders, artists and researchers collaborated to bring these ancient stories to the screen. The lecture will examine the creative processes through which Indigenous and Western scientific knowledge were woven together, creating a tapestry of sound and vision.

Dr Martin Potter is Associate Professor in Screen and Creative Arts at Deakin University and an acclaimed director and producer with 25 years of experience in creating documentary and trans-media projects across Asia and the Pacific. His work includes internationally broadcast documentaries and large scale projects that have been screened at over 100 festivals worldwide. He is a passionate advocate for community participation in creative practices and has developed award winning models to support this work.

Wednesday 27 May 2026
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF KASHMIR
Presented by Zara Flemming

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

For many people, Kashmir conjures up a beautiful valley surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, for others it is a land of conflict. This lecture introduces the astonishing diversity of arts and crafts produced in this tiny area, influenced by Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic cultures. Despite its troubled history, Kashmir has fostered a unique environment of artistic diversity and religious co-existence.

Zara Flemming is a 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, Zara has 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 and has been guest lecturer and tour guide on numerous trips to the Himalayas. Zara co-edited Mongolian Buddhist Art: Masterpieces from the Museums of Mongolia Volume I (2011) and has published many articles in the field of Buddhist art and culture.

Wednesday 24 June 2026
WELL HEELED: SHOES THROUGH TIME
Presented by Claudia Chan Shaw

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

No matter how many pairs you have, there’s always room for another pair of shoes. Throughout history shoes have been seen as symbols of power or status in society. High heels were worn by aristocrats and nobility. Thongs started out in Ancient Egypt and made their way to Bondi. Sometimes we suffer for the love of our shoes. They don’t call them “killer heels” for nothing. Join Claudia Chan Shaw for an intriguing look at our fascination with shoes and the stories behind them – from flats and stilettos, to trainers, Crocs and the catwalk. Just think of Cinderella or the Wizard of Oz – it’s all about the shoes in the end.

Sydney born creative Claudia Chan Shaw has a multi-faceted career as a fashion designer, television and radio presenter, author, public speaker, installation artist, photo artist, and curator.  With a BA in Visual Communication Design from Sydney College of the Arts, she is co-designer and director for the internationally acclaimed Australian fashion label, Vivian Chan Shaw. The label is renowned for its exquisite handmade knitwear and jewellery. The designs are represented in the permanent collection of the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.

Wednesday 22 July 2026
FLORENCE AND THE BIRTH OF THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
Presented by Charlie Hall

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

We are all so familiar with the ideas and culture of the Italian Renaissance, a phenomenon that emerged in the 15th century. But why did Florence act as the midwife for this evolution? What did the city provide that enabled this birth and encouraged it to flourish? Is it something that was so efficiently reported and propagandised by people such as Giorgio Vasari, the 16th century artist and art historian, that we accept that Florence was indeed where the Italian Renaissance emerged?

A passionate arts educator, lecturer and guide, Charlie Hall is based in London and Italy. He is the director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course and tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays since 2013. He also leads independent tours in Italy. Charlie designs and hosts art talks and events for the Soho House group of private members’ clubs. He also designed and led courses for Christie’s education and the Serpentine Gallery ‘Collector’s Circle’

Wednesday 26 August 2026
SECRETS OF AN EDWARDIAN SHOPAHOLIC
Presented by Tessa Boase

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

An extraordinary personal collection of Edwardian couture clothing lies in the vaults of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, once worn by a debutante named Heather Firbank. When Heather’s maid persuaded the museum to accept her former mistress’s entire wardrobe, the V&A’s Fashion and Textile department was born. So, who was Heather – and what secrets do her clothes yield up? An intimate portrait of shopping, high society, seduction, and ruin in the years leading up to the Great War. Social history at its most intimate and revealing.

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 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), Tessa has been campaigning for public recognition of its female founders with plaques, portraits, and a statue.

Wednesday 23 September 2026
THE ART OF LAUGHTER
Presented by Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

Comical paintings were abundant in the Dutch Golden Age genre paintings depicting people and animals misbehaving, being silly, naughty and laughing out loud. Some of these paintings represented common sayings, while others were created as moral lessons. However, they also coincided with a belief by contemporary doctors of the 17th century that laughing was good for your health.

Mariska Beekenkamp-Wladimiroff read Social Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and was tempted to do a PhD in Decision Making Behaviour. In the end 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 Art, London. She started as a College Lecturer, but soon after started her own company, Art Historical London, offering art historical lectures, museum visits, courses, tours, travel and events from Amsterdam, London and New York, and since 2020 online. A fully accredited PTLLS lecturer, she also teaches on the public program of the Dulwich Picture Gallery, for the New York Adventure Club in the States, and can provide live, online and recorded lectures for groups or individuals.

Wednesday 28 October 2026
THE MUSIC OF THE CARIBBEAN
Presented by Graham Jones

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea..
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

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.

Wednesday 25 November 2026
SÈVRES PORCELAIN: DINING WITH GODS
Presented by Leslie Stephan

Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Lecture at 10am followed by morning tea.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.

This lecture will briefly outline the history of the manufacture and provide a review of the qualities that define Sèvres style, using examples from some of the world’s finest collections. The prestige and value of Sèvres meant that it has always been the target for an industry in fakes. Leslie will outline some key aspects that distinguish the genuine article from the spurious.

Dr Leslie Stephan, a medical graduate from the University of Adelaide, has been a Consultant Psychiatrist for 20 years, working almost exclusively in the public health sector. He is a member of the Adelaide Society of Collectors, the French Porcelain Society of the U.K., the Furniture History Society of the U.K. and the Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia. He has been a volunteer guide at the David Roche House Museum since its opening in 2016.