Adelaide
ArtsNational Adelaide welcomes you
ArtsNational Adelaide is one of thirty-five ArtsNational societies in Australia.
- Our lectures are delivered by renowned experts sourced locally, from the UK and Europe.
- We ensure friendly convivial hospitality for our members, their friends and the community
- We support young and emerging artists within local communities and nationally
- We believe that the arts enrich our lives.
We are a not for profit organisation run by a committee of volunteers. We aim to promote an interest in the study of decorative and fine arts by offering high quality lectures on a wide range of subjects including social history, gardening and design, architecture, textiles and music.

Lectures:
ArtsNational Adelaide hold two sessions of lectures on Wednesdays:
Morning Session
St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville
Lectures commence at 10.30am. Morning Tea at 10am.
Afternoon Session
Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore
Lectures begin at 7.30pm. Supper at approximately 8.30pm
Membership:
Annual membership
$180 single
$330 double
Click here to join or email: margaretstableford46@gmail.com
Special Interest Half Days are optional, and an additional fee applies. Registration forms are sent out approximately one month prior to the lecture.
Guests welcome:
Guests are most welcome with prior notice. Please phone: Margaret Stableford on 0407 070 722. A $35 fee applies or $20 if you are a member of another ArtsNational society. Membership between societies is non transferrable
Contact:
For all enquiries please email: margaretstableford46@gmail.com
Postal Address: G01/87 Rondo Ave, Findon SA 5023
ABN: 54 559 495 272
Committee
Chair: Dr Gillian Potter
Treasurer: Christine Byrnes
Secretary: Sandie Meyer
Public Officer: Ross Burton
Membership Secretary: Margaret Stableford Ph: 0407 070 722
2025 PROGRAM
Wednesday 26 March 2025
FROM BISCUITS TO BLOUSES: The Art and Times of Garibaldi
Presented by Christoper Garibaldi
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) was a leading figure in the unification of Italy during the 19th century. He attracted almost fanatical devotion, capturing the imagination of Italians but also the British. Interest in Britain prompted a fashion for everything from Staffordshire figurines, biscuits and blouses to the red shirts symbolising the Risorgimento (the movement for unification). Garibaldi visited Britain in 1864 when over 500,000 Londoners turned out to see him in Trafalgar Square. This lecture looks at Garibaldi through the art of the Risorgimento, using paintings, newspaper accounts and popular cultural representations of him to explain his popularity.
Christopher is an independent researcher. He was Director of Palace House, Newmarket (National Heritage Centre for Horseracing and Sporting Art) from 2010 to 2019 and previously Co-Director of the Attingham Summer School for the Study of Historic Houses and Collections, and Senior Curator and Assistant Keeper of Art (Decorative Art) at Norwich Castle. He catalogued the silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace and other royal residences from 1994 to 1997.

Wednesday 23 April 2025
THE ENGLISH GARDEN – THE STORY OF ITS EVOLUTION
Presented by Richard Heathcote
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
British warrior Boudica, Queen of the Iceni tribe, did not have a garden as we know it but the Romans whom she defeated in AD 60 certainly did. This will be the starting point for exploring the evolution of English gardens and the influences they absorbed, shaping their design over two millennia. The key landscape designers of both the 19th and 20th centuries will be explored, along with garden tool innovations and plant breeders enabling the burgeoning middle classes to make gardens and enjoy horticulture advances driven by science.
Richard Heathcote has been involved in managing and interpreting Australian historic houses and gardens for over four decades. These include Como and Rippon Lea in Melbourne and Carrick Hill in Adelaide where, as both director and curator, he presented art exhibitions, made video documentaries and authored books on visual arts and heritage. He is a graduate of the renowned Attingham Trust Summer School for the study of the English Country House and its Collections and also attended the Royal Collections Studies course based at Windsor Castle.

Wednesday 28 May 2025
MISS SAIGON: THE MAKING OF A MUSICAL
Presented by Jamie Hayes
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
In this lecture, Jamie charts his own personal journey as Associate Director on the original production of Miss Saigon in the West End and on Broadway. He will share the process, from page to stage and beyond, illustrated with unique film clips of the original rehearsals and world premiere.
Jamie Hayes trained at RADA and graduated as a Stage Manager. He worked for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Bristol Old Vic and the BBC. He became an Assistant Director with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Kent Opera and English National Opera and soon began directing productions of his own in the UK and overseas. Jamie was Associate Director on the original production of the hit musical Miss Saigon in the West End and on Broadway.

Wednesday 25 June 2025
THE JAMFACTORY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Presented by Brian Parkes
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
JamFactory is an iconic South Australian cultural institution that supports and promotes contemporary craft and design. It is truly unique and highly entrepreneurial. Brian Parkes will reflect on the evolution of the organisation under his leadership over the past 15 years, highlighting major projects and program initiatives. He will also share the inspiring stories of some of the many successful artists and designers that have emerged from JamFactory’s celebrated Associate Program.
Brian Parkes has been CEO at JamFactory in Adelaide since April 2010. He has overseen significant development of the organisation’s exhibition and training programs and substantial growth in its audience and operational budget. He is passionate about the social, cultural and economic value of art, craft and design and has worked in senior curatorial and commercial management roles in the visual art, craft and design sector in Australia for over 30 years.
Wednesday 30 July 2025
THE RIJKSMUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM: REMBRANDT’S NIGHT WATCH AND MUCH, MUCH MORE
Presented by Dr Sophie Oosterwijk
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
This lecture looks at the collection in the Rijksmuseum, the building, its history and the recent 10-year renovation that brought back the splendour of architect Pierre Cuyper’s original neo-gothic decorations. Besides the art of Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh there is medieval art, jewellery, musical instruments, Asian art and even an FK23 Bantam plane from 1918. Expect a cornucopia of exciting content from this celebrated museum in the Netherlands.
Sophie Oosterwijk was born in Gouda and has an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden), an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester). She has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA, and organised many talks and tours. Sophie is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University, travel companies and is Vice-President of the Church Monuments Society. Sophie has published three books and numerous articles.

Wednesday 27 August 2025
HOW TO GET DOWN FROM A YAK: Adventures in Central Asian Nomadic Textiles
Presented by Chris Aslan
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
Houses made from wool that warm in the depths of winter, carpets that tell stories, woven bands that appease ancestors, embroideries that ward off evil, and kilims that store kitchenware, with everything ready to be packed and carried on a yak or camel at a moment’s notice. The little-known nomadic textile cultures of the Kyrgyz, Turkoman and Karakalpak are explored in this lecture, along with the rise and fall of nomadism and where it fits within the modern world. Chris also shares his own experience of working with nomadic yak herders in the High Pamirs for 3 years.
Chris spent his childhood in Turkey and in war-torn Beirut and is currently based in Cambridge. His career extended from the sea, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Oxford. He established a UNESCO workshop reviving fifteenth century carpet designs and embroideries which became the largest nongovernment employer in town. He was kicked out as part of an anti-Western purge and recorded his experiences in his book “A Carpet Ride to Khiva”.

SPECIAL INTEREST HALF DAY – UNRAVELLING THE SILK ROAD
Thursday 28 August 2025
Presented by Chis Aslan
Time & Venue: 9.30am–12.30pm, Burnside City Uniting Church
Cost: Members $40, Visitors $45, Students $15
This special interest morning will look at two of the three textile roads that tangled their way through Central Asia, changing and transforming the physical landscape, history, politics and culture of the region. It is a companion to Chris’s latest book Unravelling the Silk Road. In this SIM, Chris will cover wool and silk (the third textile is cotton).
Lecture 1: THE WOOL ROAD
Wool created the clothing and housing needed by the great nomadic cultures that were to dominate Middle Asia.
Lecture 2: THE SILK ROAD
Silk was more valuable than gold and used as currency, creating a network of trading routes that led to the first age of globalisation. The felts, carpets, embroideries, robes and veils made from wool, silk, and cotton stratified wealth, displayed religious and political entrenchments and changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the world, a meeting place between Mohammed and the modern world

Wednesday 1 October 2025
I GOT THE DUST BOWL BLUES: Texas and Oklahoma Photography, Art and Music
Presented by John Francis
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
The Wall Street crash in 1929 led to a questioning of the success of the American dream. President Roosevelt stepped in with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and the New Deal. The government initiative meant employment for over eight million largely unskilled Americans and importantly 5,300 artists. Murals, painting, photography, graphic design all flourished. In this lecture we will explore some of the key artists at this era. Jackson Pollock will be evaluated along with the social realism of Dorothea Lange and Ben Shahn. The soundtrack of the era is provided by Woody Guthrie and Jimmie Rogers.
John is an inspirational speaker who has delivered lecturers and workshops in the US, 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 residence 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.

Wednesday 29 October 2025
THE TOMB BUILDERS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
Presented by Eileen Goulding
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
This lecture takes you on a voyage of discovery about the crème de la crème of the Ancient Egyptian workforce who created the Pharaohs’ tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It looks at their homes, families and village life in Deir el Medina as well as the skills, methods and materials they employed to accomplish such commendable work. Examples of their interpretation of the Afterlife in the tombs of the kings and their own burial places will demonstrate their skill and artistry.
Eileen has an MA from the Department of Archaeology at the University of London, is a published author and an authority on the ancient cultures of the world. She specialises in the History and Culture of the ancient worlds of the Mediterranean, South America and Australasia and spends her time doing further research and giving lectures to The Arts Society, on cruise ships and to various local organisations. Her first book “What Did the Poor Take with Them? “is an academic treatise on Ancient Egyptian funerary goods, while her second book “Understanding Ancient Egypt” is a more accessible introduction to the subject.

Wednesday 26 November 2025
SICILLIAN BAROQUE – THE STUCCO ORATORIES OF PALERMO
Presented by Kathleen Olive
Morning: St Andrews Church: 43 Church Tce, Walkerville. Morning tea from 10am, lecture at 10.30am.
Afternoon: Burnside City Uniting Church: 384 Portrush Rd, Tusmore. Lecture at 7.30pm, supper afterwards.
The baroque style in Sicily is exuberant, a dynamic explosion of rebuilding and redecoration in art and architecture that followed a devastating seventeenth-century earthquake. In this presentation, Kathleen explores the stucco oratories of Palermo in depth.
Kathleen’s PhD was a study of artisanal culture in Renaissance Florence, through the lens of a goldsmith’s commonplace book known as the Codex Rustici. She lived and studied in Italy for a number of years, and then taught Italian language, literature and history at the University of Sydney. Kathleen now works with Academy Travel, leading tours to Europe and, particularly, Italy.