Cairns

ArtsNational Cairns welcomes you. 

ArtsNational Cairns is a small but enthusiastic society and celebrated our 25th Anniversary in 2021. We are all volunteers providing appreciation and education of the Arts with topics such as sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, music, design and more.

We welcome anyone who wants to know more about the Arts in a friendly atmosphere with similar-minded people, or if you just want to learn something new!  Enjoy social and cultural opportunities throughout the year which include eight illustrated talks by expert speakers in their field.  Afternoon tea is provided where you have the opportunity to chat with the lecturer in person.

Cairns has many cultural attractions: art galleries, museum, aquarium, indigenous arts festival, and other ethnic celebrations including Chinese and Indian festivities that showcase their vibrant cultures.

Lectures:

Venue:
Lectures are held at the Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Road, Stratford with Ample parking and mobility access.

Time:
Lectures are on a Sunday and begin at 2pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

Program
Find full details of the 2025 program here

Membership:
2025 Membership
$135 (new member)
$130 (renewing)

Click here to join or email: cairns@artsnational.au

Guests welcome:
$25 per lecture
Companion Card accepted
Contact Gaynor Ellis on 0447 205 891

Contact:
For all enquiries please email: cairns@artsnational.au
ABN: 95 113 690 226

Committee
Chair: Gaynor Ellis
Secretary: Jo Hodgson
Membership: Jenni Campbell

2025 PROGRAM

Sunday 9 March 2025
THE ARCHITECTURE OF INIGO JONES, JOHN WEBB AND WILLIAM SAMWELL
Presented by Christopher Garibaldi
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

These men were the most important and influential architects working in England in the mid-seventeenth century. We look at the relationship between the work of these three architects for their respective royal and aristocratic patrons. Whilst Inigo Jones became Surveyor of the Kings Works in 1611, John Webb, his pupil, assistant and natural successor, failed to secure the same role. Webb was nevertheless one of the most important and influential architects at the time in England, he designed part of Greenwich Palace for Charles II and alterations to the Queen’s House and Belvoir Castle. During the same period his work influenced that of the gentleman architect William Samwell who built the palace at Newmarket.

Christopher Garibaldi is an Independant Researcher. He was the Director of Palace House, Newmarket and Co-Director of Attingham Summer School for the Study of Historic Houses and Collections. Christopher was the Senior Curator & Assistant Keeper of Art at Norwich Castle Museum and the co-curator of Flower Power – The Meaning of Flowers in Art and Eat, Drink and Be Merry, the British at Table 1600 to 2000. And catalogued Silver in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

Sunday 6 April 2025
AUSTRALIAN IMPRESSIONISTS IN FRANCE
Presented by Anne Harbers
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

From the 1880s, Australian artists joined the many who flocked to the art world of Paris including E. Phillips Fox, John Russell, and G.W. Lambert. How did these artists bring back their experiences to Australia and influence our own familiar Golden Summers paintings of the Australian Impressionist era?

Anne Harbers received her M. Art History from University of Sydney in 2014 and is currently living part-time in The Netherlands whilst working on her PhD on the 17th century Dutch painter, Abraham van Beyeren. She also holds an MBA & Masters research degree in science and worked for 30 years in medical research & international business. She currently works as a University lecturer within the Business faculty. Her current art history research interests lie in Dutch 17th century art, and 17th & 18th century European Art & Decorative Arts. She has published on collecting, art and science.

Sunday 11 May 2025
THE HISTORY OF OPERA
Presented by Jamie Hayes 
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

A fascinating lecture of how opera began, developed and spread worldwide; from 1600 to the present day. Illustrated with musical examples and excerpts of opera productions from around the world. This lecture looks at the development of opera from its baroque beginnings right up to the modern-day Hamilton. Highlighting the major changes and game-changers through each century, the movers and the shakers, focusing upon the greatest operas by the greatest composers. This lecture is suitable for the operatic novice; or expert.

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.

Sunday 22 June 2025
THE GODDESS OF THE SKY: The Art of Everest and the Himalayas
Presented by John Williamson
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

This lecture examines the development of the British Great Trigonometrical Survey of India and the art of both the early efforts to ascend Mt. Everest and also the art of modern climbing on the world’s highest mountain.

John is currently the Coordinator of Humanities and Senior Teacher, Fahan School. Until 2019 John was also Associate Lecturer Bachelor of Antarctic Studies Programme, IASOS, at the University of Tasmania. He has operated as a Historian / Guide for the Quark Expeditions, “The Wonders of the Ross Sea” Antarctic Voyage and Researcher and Tour Guide for “Hobart’s Waterways Tours”, Hobart City Council. John has also been an Antarctic History Researcher, ‘Antarctic Tasmania’, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Tasmanian Government. John has written numerous published articles on his areas of interest.

Sunday 13 July 2025
THE RIJKSMUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM: REMBRANDT’S NIGHT WATCH AND MUCH, MUCH MORE
Presented by Dr Sophie Oosterwijk
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

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.

Sunday 10 August 2025
HOW TO GET DOWN FROM A YAK: Adventures in Central Asian Nomadic Textiles
Presented by Chris Aslan
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

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”.

Sunday 14 September 2025
THE MISTRESS OF MENACE AND THE MASTER OF SUSPENSE
Presented by John Francis
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

Daphne Du Maurier and Alfred Hitchcock had much in common. Du Maurier is sometimes described as a romantic novelist but this is completely misleading. Like Hitchcock, she dealt with themes of loneliness, gender, fear, suspense and gothic imagery. In their work they built compelling and complex emotional landscapes for their characters. Although they never met, the pair produced three key cultural landmarks of the 20th century in Jamaica Inn, Rebecca and The Birds. In this lecture we will explore Hitchcock’s, The Birds (1963). We will closely unpack some of the essential scenes in the film and look at the masterful techniques.

John Francis has delivered lecturers and workshops internationally. 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. John has produced and directed several short films and animations.

Sunday 12 October 2025
THE KNIGHTS CRUSADERS
Presented by Eileen Goulding
Venue & Time: Stratford Library Meeting Room, 11 Kamerunga Rd. 2 pm, please be seated by 1.45 pm.

The Orders of knights who helped keep the Kingdom of Jerusalem safe for Christians settled and prospered on islands in the Mediterranean such as Rhodes. Learn of the exploits of the Hospitallers and Templars, their legacies and the notorious Assassins. 

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.