Hobart

Monday 17 February 2025
THE ART OF JAPANESE GARDENS
Presented by Kathleen Olive
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

Expanses of raked white gravel; iconic trees – pines, maples, gingko – carefully twisted and pruned into dynamic and sometimes torturous shapes; the soothing drip of water onto stone; the autumn light shining through richly coloured leaves: when you deconstruct them, the elements of a Japanese garden seem so simple that they’re almost banal, yet their combined effect is undeniably engaging and soothing. In this talk, Kathleen will investigate the historic roots of Japanese garden design that, like much of the country’s art tradition, developed in isolation from European influence and thus preserves something quintessentially “Japanese”.

Dr Kathleen Olive has lived and studied in Italy and has taught Italian language, literature and history at the University of Sydney. She regularly lectures on the history, art and culture of Italy and Japan in particular, and is an experienced cultural tour leader having led tours to Italy, France, Spain, the USA and Japan since 2003.

Monday 17 March 2025
COLLECTING THE GRAND TOUR: The Enlightenment of the English Gentleman
Presented by Marc Allum
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

An absorbing lecture which charts the history of the Grand Tour through the lens of Marc’s interest in collecting Grand Tour souvenirs, and the influence of the Grand Tour on our museums, fashion and design over the last 400 years.

Marc Allum is a freelance art and antiques journalist, writer and broadcaster and a specialist on the BBC Antiques Roadshow. He also runs a fine art valuation and consultancy service. Marc’s interests range from pre-history to modern design; he has a passion for divining the unusual through ‘a desire to connect with history through the interpretation and pursuit of objects and their origins’. Marc is a self-confessed “collectaholic” and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Monday 5 May 2025
CHARLES DICKENS: Man of the Theatre
Presented by Simon Whitehouse
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

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.

Monday 7 July 2025
MESOAMERICA – THE AZTEC: An Introduction to the Most Complex Urban Culture of the Americas. Mexico
Presented by Maria Chester
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

The Aztecs probably originated as a nomadic tribe in northern Mexico, arriving at Mesoamerica around the early 13th century. The Aztecs were also known as the Tenochca, from which the name for their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was derived. They are also known as the Mexica and gave the country of Mexico its name. By the 15th century, the Aztecs had developed an intricate social, political, religious, and commercial federation with many of the region’s city-states under their control. Tenochtitlan was founded on June 8th 1325. At its height, the city had more than 200,000 inhabitants and was the most populated city ever to exist in Mesoamerica. In 1521, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes overthrew the Aztecs and captured their capital, ending Mesoamerica’s last great civilisation.

Maria Chester was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor on Pre-Columbian Art. She delivers 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.

Monday 11 August 2025
THE RIJKSMUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM: Rembrandt’s Night Watch and Much, Much More
Presented by Sophie Oosterwijk
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

This lecture offers an introduction to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam: the collection, the building, its history and the 10-year renovation (2003-13) that brought back the splendour of architect Pierre Cuypers’ original neo-gothic decorations. The collection of the Rijksmuseum includes works by Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh as well as medieval art, jewellery, musical instruments, Asian art and even an FK 23 Bantam plane from 1918. It also has Rembrandt’s famous Night Watch – but only on loan! All this and much more will be revealed about the most famous museum in the Netherlands.

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

Monday 8 September 2025
EUROPEAN ART OF THE AVANTGARDE 1917-1930
Presented by Anna Moszynska
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

In 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution, the De Stijl movement was launched in Holland which anticipated the opening of the Bauhaus in Germany two years later. Through the efforts of individual artists such as Piet Mondrian, Gerrit Rietveld, Wassily Kandinsky, El Lissitzky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Marcel Breuer, through their exhibitions, publishing and teaching, ideas were exchanged that changed the face of art across Europe and beyond. We explore how this exciting range of work embracing art, design and architecture came together and created an impact that has lasted into the 21st century.

Anna Moszynska is a London-based lecturer and writer specialising in contemporary art. During the 1990s, she oversaw the development of the first British Master’s Degree in the subject at Sotheby’s Institute. She has also taught at The City Lit, the Royal Academy and Tate London, and has written books published by Thames & Hudson. She enjoys introducing art to audiences in a lively and approachable way to make modern and contemporary art both accessible and interesting.

Monday 13 October 2025
MY SCRAMBLING AFFAIR: How Constable’s Late Paintings Changed the Face of Modern Art
Presented by Sarah Cove
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

Would you recognise John Constable R.A.’s ‘late’ oil studies? Constable’s exuberant, almost abstract, brush and palette-knife work shocked audiences for a full 50 years before Impressionism. In fact, the handling is so avant-garde that it is impossible to tell what these paint strokes depict! Constable only sold 20 or so paintings in England during his lifetime, as their rough and ‘specky’ surfaces horrified audiences. By contrast, he sold many to forward-looking French art dealers and collectors. Consequently, his radical ‘late’ works influenced generations of French painters, making Constable a Forefather of Modern Painting. Sarah Cove’s work reveals a ‘Jackson Pollock of the 1830s’.

Sarah Cove is an accredited paintings conservator-restorer, technical art historian and lecturer with more than 35 years’ experience working on paintings for the heritage and private sectors. She is a specialist in British portraits, 19th-20th century British landscapes and oil sketches on paper and board. In 1986 she founded the Constable Research Project, and she is now the leading authority on Constable’s materials and techniques. She was instrumental in the discovery of three ‘lost’ Constables.

Monday 17 November 2025
ART CRIMES AND HEISTS
Presented by Leigh Capel
Venue & Time: Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Sandy Bay 6.00 pm

The lecture will analyse some of the world’s greatest art crimes and heists in art history. Leigh will delve into the murky world of fakes and forgeries, using his comprehensive, personal experience as both an auction room employee and a successful art dealer, to expose the deceit, immorality and dark secrets of the art industry: from the Crown to the underground, in Australia and abroad.

Leigh Capel has worked in the auction industry as a valuer and specialist since 2013 and is an accredited valuer of the Auctioneers & Valuers Association of Australia. His experience in the auction industry and as an art dealer provides a rounded perspective of art history and the market.