Hunter (Pokolbin)

Tuesday 17 February 2026
I WILL LIFT MINE EYES
Presented by John Swainston
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

In ‘I Will Lift Mine Eyes’, John traces the spread of Christianity from the Mediterranean to Britain. He covers Augustine’s mission, early Saxon churches, the Norman transition, and the peak of cathedral building in England and Wales. He discusses architectural breakthroughs, construction challenges (including tower collapses, fires, and lightning), and how church and royal power influenced the design of these significant medieval structures.

Born in London, John Swainston moved to Australia in 1979 and worked for 50 years in the photo industry, including 24 years as MD of Maxwell Optical Industries. A former president of AIPP and PICA, he has exhibited his work widely and published several books. He now lectures, writes, and contributes to photography organisations. Now, with I Will Lift Mine Eyes, he explores England’s great cathedrals, blending history, architecture, and faith into a powerful visual journey.

Tuesday 17 March 2026
THE BRILLIANCE OF BRUNEL: The Man Who Built the Modern World
Presented by Ian Swankie
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

British people and visitors to the UK still find themselves amongst the infrastructure created by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 19th century. He changed the face of the British landscape with his ground-breaking projects, including railways, bridges, tunnels, ships, and grand buildings such as the magnificent Paddington Station. He merged art with engineering and science and was a pioneer and a revolutionary. And he was brilliant.

A Londoner with a contagious passion for art and architecture, Ian works as an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery, and St Paul’s Cathedral. He also offers freelance tours around London. Since 2012, he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his hometown of Richmond in West London. Ian is an Accredited Lecturer for The Arts Society and a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City of London’s well-known livery companies.

Tuesday 14 April 2026
WHAT HAPPENED TO SHAKESPERE’S PLAYS WHEN WOMEN TOOK THE STAGE
Presented by Penny Gay
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

When Charles II returned from exile in 1660, he reopened London’s theatres after 18 years of Puritan bans. For the first time, women could act on stage, and Shakespeare’s plays were reshaped with French spectacle and style. Some changes were bizarre, others brilliant, but all transformed how audiences saw his work. This lecture, with vivid images, explores how those bold 17th-century experiments influenced Shakespearean drama for centuries.

Penny Gay, Professor Emerita of English and Drama at the University of Sydney, taught for 35 years. Her books include As She Likes It, Jane Austen and the Theatre, and The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s Comedies. Passionate about Shakespeare and theatre history, she continues to explore archives, review productions, and lead lively literary discussion groups.

Tuesday 19 May 2026
NEW VISIONS: Paris and Impressionism
Presented by Joanne Rhymer
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

During the reign of Napoleon III, Paris expanded and transformed. Some areas of the city were demolished to make way for new boulevards, apartments, and public buildings. Department stores evolved and entertainments including theatres and bars burgeoned, providing employment and leisure opportunities. Paris was a dynamic city and international appeal. Joanne will discuss how, for the newly emerging Impressionist painters, it provided novel motifs for modern paintings. Our view of Paris will be seen through the artistic lens of Manet, Renoir, and Caillebotte to consider how the transformation of urban life was an inspiring theme. We will examine how Paris led modern painters to experiment with painting techniques and subjects to create a new pictorial language which changed the direction of art forever.

Joanne completed an MA in the History of Art: Modernism and the Politics of Representation at University College London in 1997. She worked at the National Gallery, including as Head of Adult Learning Programmes, and later taught for Tate, the Hayward Gallery, Sotheby’s Institute, and the National Portrait Gallery. She is a Panel Tutor at Cambridge and teaches for the Wallace Collection and the V&A, specialising in French art

Tuesday 21 July 2026
IS THIS THE REAL LIFE: How Writers and Artists have challenged our Perceptions of Reality
Presented by Mary Sharp
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

When Lucy steps into Narnia, Harry Potter opens his letter, or Neo takes the red pill, they discover their worlds are only part of the truth. From Plato onwards, writers and artists have imagined other realms beyond the everyday. This lecture examines what such stories reveal about how we perceive our lives and the profound desires that drive us to seek meaning beyond the ordinary.

Mary is a broadcaster and teacher with expertise in literature and drama. She produced leading BBC Radio 4 programmes and later became a Commissioning Editor. She taught and led a Sixth Form at a top girls’ grammar school before founding Opening Up Literature, offering adult courses in Shakespeare, creative writing, and classical stories. She also teaches bridge.

Tuesday 25 August 2026
TUDOR COURT AND ITS WORLD: The Paintings, Drawings and Miniatures of Holbein and Hiliard
Presented by Mark Cottle
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

The Tudor court comes vividly to life through the works of Hans Holbein, under Henry VIII, and Nicholas Hilliard, under Elizabeth I. Together, they transformed the English art scene. Holbein set new standards in portraiture with his powerful drawings and delicate miniatures. Hilliard established the miniature as “England’s greatest contribution to the art of the Renaissance” (Sir Roy Strong), a form that dominated until the advent of photography in the 1840s. Without them, English art would be far poorer.

Born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School in Cornwall and the University of Birmingham, Mark Cottle has built a career in education and training, both locally and internationally. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark’s & St John’s University College in Plymouth, and at the University of Bath on Anglo-Saxon and medieval England. Currently, Mark manages two small companies that offer training and study breaks.

Tuesday 14 September 2026
THE ARTS OF JAPAN: Highlights of Japanese Art and Culture
Presented by Marie Conte-Helm
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

This lecture traces the development of Japanese art across history, encompassing painting, sculpture, and the applied arts. It explores Chinese and Western influences, aristocratic and military tastes, and the rise of Edo townsmen’s culture. The impact of Zen Buddhism on gardens and the tea ceremony offers further insight into the aesthetic. Japan’s reopening to Western trade in the 19th century and the Meiji era’s modernisation also shaped new artistic directions.

Professor Conte-Helm, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, is a long-standing Arts Society Lecturer with degrees in Art History and Asian Art. She was Executive Director of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group and Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation. Widely published, she lectures globally and at sea with Viking Cruises. She received an OBE in 2011 and Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun in 2019.

Tuesday 27 October 2026
LEE MILLER’S WAR: Photojournalism of a Combat War
Presented by Antony Penrose
Venue & Time: Cessnock Performing Arts Centre, please by seated by 6pm

Lee Miller, believed to be the only woman combat photographer with Allied infantry in Europe, documented the Second World War from D-Day to its aftermath. This lecture traces her journey through Normandy, St Malo, Paris, Germany, Buchenwald, Dachau, and Hitler’s Berghof, before covering post-war Austria and Hungary. Her story is told through her own words alongside the powerful photographs that captured both liberation and trauma.

For 45 years, Antony has preserved and promoted the work of his parents, Lee Miller and Roland Penrose. With his daughter Ami, he co-directs the Lee Miller Archives and Penrose Collection at Farley Farm. Their work appears in major UK exhibitions. Antony has lectured worldwide, published books, produced documentaries, and directed the film LEE, starring Kate Winslet.

Image: David E Scherman © Lee Miller Archives, England 2026. All rights reserved