Gold Coast (Bundall)

Saturday 22 March 2025
THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW: Behind the Scenes and the Great Discoveries
Presented by: Marc Allum
Venue & Time: Cinema 1, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

A firsthand and fascinating insight behind the UK’s most popular antiques program by Marc Allum, a specialist on the show for over 25 years.

Marc Allum is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Wiltshire, UK. He has been a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow for over 25 years. Marc regularly writes for mainstream magazines and is an author, antiques consultant and lecturer. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc’s interests range from pre-history to modern design, and he is a self-confessed ‘collectaholic.’ Marc has lectured widely to organisations in both the public and charity sector, including travel companies, The National Trust and at literary festivals including Cheltenham, Bath and Wells. Marc is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Saturday 26 April 2025
SISTERS OF TRAGEDY: The Brontes and their Works
Presented by Susannah Fullerton
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

The story of the Brontës, a tragic and brilliant family, is one of the most fascinating tales in all of English literature. Charlotte, Emily and Anne grew up in a bleak Yorkshire parsonage, expecting to become governesses. Instead, they wrote 7 extraordinary novels – passionate, violent, feminist and autobiographical – which they published anonymously. Only Charlotte enjoyed literary fame, as Emily and Anne died soon after publishing their works. Susannah Fullerton presents the incredible story of these sisters of tragedy, performs dramatic excerpts from their books and poems and depicts the Victorian background of repressive attitudes to women against which they struggled all their lives. Vivid slides will transport you to Yorkshire and its wild and beautiful moors.

Susannah has been passionate about literature for as long as she can remember. She has a BA from the University of Auckland NZ and a post-graduate degree in Victorian literature from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She currently teaches literature courses in Sydney and lectures regularly at the State Library of NSW and the Art Gallery of NSW. In 2017 Susannah was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for Services to Literature and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW.

Saturday 10 May 2025
CHARLES DICKENS: Man of the Theatre
Presented by Simon Whitehouse
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

Discover Charles Dickens’ core in this entertaining talk.  Making his debut at age 7 reciting a poem sitting on a pub table, Charles Dickens developed a passion for the theatre. As a young man, he attended the theatre every night for three years; he created over 2000 dramatic characters and produced, directed, and starred in lavish productions in his home.  Late in life, Dickens embarked on thrilling reading tours making audiences cry with laughter at Mr Pickwick’s misadventures, and recoil in horror at Nancy’s brutal death in Oliver Twist. Ultimately this addiction to his audience contributed to his early death at 58.

Simon is a (recovering) actor, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher, and award-winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide in-house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion, and art history.

EXTRA LECTURE
Saturday 10 May 2025
WHODUNNIT? Agatha Christie’s Life and Crimes in London
Presented by Simon Whitehouse
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

In this talk we play armchair detective and follow a trail of clues to discover more about the London life of the ‘Queen of Crime”. Although Dame Agatha Christie is closely associated with Torquay in Devon, the world’s bestselling author left a trail of clues for us to follow all over London. Living in various London properties during her long (and eventful) life, she penned 16 of 66 novels from one London address. It was at University College London that she further developed her knowledge of her preferred method of murder: poison. We examine the London links to her novels, including a hotel that inspired a Miss Marple novel and Agatha’s perhaps lesser-known links to the Mesopotamian galleries at the British Museum. We conclude with a look at Agatha’s personal and professional devotion to the theatre and the extraordinary longevity of The Mousetrap: the longest running theatrical production in the world.

Simon is a (recovering) actor, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher, and award-winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide in-house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion, and art history.

Cost: Members $25 / Guests $35

Saturday 14 June 2025
NORMAN MAGNIFICENCE IN SICILY
Presented by Kathleen Olive
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

It is often assumed that the art and architecture of Norman southern Italy should be strongly tied to the invaders’ own French or adopted Italian influences. In this lecture, Kathleen investigates the Islamic and Byzantine models for Sicily’s imposing monuments. We consider why the monarchy chose to conflate two such disparate aesthetics in its iconography and how this reflected or advanced the power and wealth of the dynasty. Considering Palermo’s glittering Palatine Chapel, for example, or Cefalù’s imposing cathedral we uncover the values and taste of the Normans in Sicily.

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.

Saturday 12 July 2025
MESOAMERICA – THE AZTEC: Tenochtitlan, the Floating Venice of the Americas
Presented by Maria Chester
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

Tenochtitlan, founded in 1325 CE on an island near the western shore of Lake Texcoco in central Mexico, was the Aztec civilisation’s capital and religious centre. With over 200,000 residents, Tenochtitlan was the largest city in the Americas with a grid of canals carrying freshwater to palaces, temples, and houses and had four huge marketplaces where food and luxury goods were traded. Tenochtitlan was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortés in 1521CE. Spanish chroniclers of the 16th century recorded in detail the buildings and works of art that once made Tenochtitlan the greatest city in Mesoamerica.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, multilingual Maria Chester studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor of Pre-Columbian Art. She is a Senior Lecturer and tutor on Art History for BEA – Berwick Educational Association in the Scottish Borders, where she lives. She also works for Berwick Visual Arts delivering conferences linked to art exhibitions complemented with guided tours. In May 2018, she was made a Visiting Research Fellow at CAUA Research Centre for International Elderly Education, Shanghai, China. She became an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society in 2018.

Saturday 16 August 2025
NOW YOU SEE ME: The History and Mystery of Cryptoportraits in European Art
Presented by Sophie Oosterwijk
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

A portrait can be much more than a straightforward likeness of a person. A cryptoportrait may, at first sight, not look like a portrait at all because it can be ‘disguised’ e.g. as an Adoration of the Magi with real people playing the parts of the Magi, or as a statue of a prophet or saint with the features of a patron. Throughout Western art we may discover such concealed portraits if we look carefully and are prepared to recognise these visual games that artists and patrons chose to play with the beholder.

Born in Gouda (Netherlands). Sophie has an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester), as well as an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden). Sophie has taught at the universities of St Andrews, Leicester and Manchester, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and organised many study days, tours and visits. She is also a regular lecturer for Cambridge University and travel companies, and Vice President of the Church Monuments Society, and has numerous publications to her name.

Saturday 13 September 2025
THE ART OF THE CARTOON
Presented by Harry Venning
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

Harry Venning has been a professional cartoonist for thirty years, during which time he has provided cartoons for several high-profile UK publications (The Guardian, Radio Times) as well as for countless more obscure titles (British Journal Of Wound Care). In this lecture, Harry will be tracing the history of his profession with examples from early practitioners like Cruickshank and Hogarth, to more contemporary artists such as Giles and Schulz, bringing events right up to date with cartoons produced fresh on the page that day! Yes, Harry will be drawing live. Prepare to hear some tricks of his trade, learn where to put eyebrows for maximum effect and discover exactly what the Eskimo brothers said in The Funniest Joke Ever (possibly).

Harry Venning is a cartoonist, comedy writer and performer whose cartoons have appeared in publications as diverse as Mathematics Today, Radio Times, Music Teacher and The Stage. For twenty-five years he provided The Guardian with the weekly strip cartoon Clare In The Community, about an unaware and empathy free social worker. Harry is a winner of a Sony Radio Award for Comedy and a former UK Strip Cartoonist of the Year.

Saturday 18 October 2025
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PICTURE RESTORER: Conservation and Restoration of Easel Paintings
Presented by Sarah Cove
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 9.30 am – Morning Tea: 10.30 am

We discuss the nature of oil painting materials, and common problems associated with the ageing and deterioration of, and damage to, easel paintings. These can be on canvas, panel, board or paper in a range of mediums: oil, acrylic, egg tempera, or mixed media. Problems can involve natural deterioration and neglect, accidental damage, vandalism and even war! Modern approaches to conservation and restoration will be illustrated with slides ranging from early Italian religious paintings via rapid oil sketches on paper to 20th century British paintings and modern abstract works. Hints and advice on the care of paintings is given liberally throughout!

Sarah Cove ACR is an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with several decades of experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She is London and Falmouth based and is a specialist in British portraits, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. She founded the Constable Research Project and is the leading authority on Constable’s materials and techniques. She has lectured for The Arts Society since 2003 and lectures independently at major public and gallery venues across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Her presentations are lively, enthusiastic and passionate about her work and research.

EXTRA LECTURE
Saturday 18 October 2025
ALL THAT GLISTERS …….Tudor and Jacobean Costume brought to Life in Paintings, Film and Theatre
Presented by Sarah Cove
Venue & Time: Lakeside Room, HOTA Central. 11:15am – 12:15pm

When you are watching a play, film or TV, have you ever wondered how the garments dressing the characters were made, historically or in modern reproductions? And how did painters of the period depict the clothing worn by royalty and the fabulously wealthy aristocracy? Sarah Cove brings together her professional experience, her personal interest and contextual understanding of clothes design and making. She describes the materials and techniques used by 16th-17th century portraitists such as Nicholas Hilliard and William Larkin to depict the luxurious fabrics, lace, furs and jewellery worn during this period and she shows how costume designers in 20th and 21st centuries have used these historical sources to design costumes to fit the modern figure and how they can deceive the eye.

Sarah Cove ACR is an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with several decades of experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She is London and Falmouth based and is a specialist in British portraits, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. She founded the Constable Research Project and is the leading authority on Constable’s materials and techniques. She has lectured for The Arts Society since 2003 and lectures independently at major public and gallery venues across the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Her presentations are lively, enthusiastic and passionate about her work and research.

Cost: Members $25 / Guests $35