Launceston

Tuesday 3 March 2026
ALBRECHT DURER: Life, Ego and Afterlife.
Presented by Albert Godetzky
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

In his day Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)was a larger than life figure. Through the high quality of his woodcutting, and the facility with which printed culture could be disseminated, Durer became an international success. Not a stranger to a mode of self-fashioning that would sit comfortably in today’s social media channels Durer crafted a lasting legacy for his art through his prints, paintings, and copious writing. Yet, the words he wrote – as much as the images he invented – reveal a man in profound search of his identity, especially at a time when social and religious values were in radical flux. This lecture traces the artist’s origins in his goldsmith father’s workshop in Nuremberg, his ambitious travels in Italy and subsequent patronage by the Habsburgs.

Albert Godetzky received his PhD on Haarlem Mannerism from the Courtauld Institute where he was Associate Lecturer in Early Modern Art until 2025. He has worked at several European institutions including the National Gallery, London, as the Harry M. Weinrebe Curatorial Fellow, where he contributed to exhibitions including Rembrandt: The Late Works and Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure. In 2022, he was guest curator of Silent Rebels: Polish Symbolism around 1900 at the Munich Kunsthalle and co-authored its catalogue. His research has appeared in The Burlington Magazine, Art in America, Art History, The Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art, and the ‘Visual Commentary on Scripture’ among others. He is currently a lead researcher for a private collection in the Netherlands and is also preparing a book-length biography of the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius for Reaktion Press.

Tuesday 14 April 2026
ART CRIMES AND HEISTS
Presented by Leigh Capel
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

The lecture will be addressing some of the world’s greatest art crimes and heists in history. Leigh will delve into the murky world of fakes and forgeries, using his comprehensive, personal experience as both an auction assistant some of Australia’s most reputable Fine Art auction rooms, and as a successful secondary market art dealer, to expose the deceit, immorality & dark secrets of the art industry; from the Crown to the underground, in Australia & 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.

Tuesday 12 May 2026
DAMIEN HIRST AND CONTEMPORARY ART
Presented by David Worthington
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

Damien Hirst is the most famous British artist since Henry Moore. Not even Francis Bacon had such a huge international presence. And yet in his home country he is often seen as a practical joker, pulling the wool over the eyes of the public, and not making proper art at all. This lecture aims to dispel this and show that he is a deeply serious artist making work that is significant and influential.

David Worthington was drawn to abstract sculpture after seeing a work by English artist and sculptor – Barbara Hepworth, in a school history book, when he was 10 years old. He graduated from Oxford University in1984 with a degree in Philosophy and Theology, followed by studying Fine Art in London, Barcelona and New York. David is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Sculptors and was Vice President in 2010-13. He has carried out public commissions in the UK, America and Japan.

Tuesday 23 June 2026
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: A Life of Collecting
Presented by Charlie Hall
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

When Peggy Guggenheim described herself in writing as, “I am a museum”, her life took a clear path: from setting up a commercial gallery in London; to travelling to Paris in1939 to buy art, where her intentions were curtailed by the German tanks rolling into the suburbs in April 1940; to escaping to New York with her selection of European art works, and the subsequent establishment of her museum and gallery, ‘Art of This Century’. In 1947 she purchased the eccentric ‘unfinished palazzo’ in Venice, where her collection remains one of the most iconic assemblages of 20th Century art in the world.

Charlie Hall is a passionate arts educator, lecturer, and guide, based in London and Italy. He is the director of the John Hall Venice Course, a short immersive course in the life and art of an Italian city. He is also the tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays and independent tours in Italy. He has designed and hosted art talks and events for Soho House and has led courses for Christie’s Education and Serpentine Gallery.

Tuesday 7 July 2026
CARTOONS AND CONTRAPTIONS: The Wonderful World of W.Heath Robinson
Presented by Barry Venning
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

W. Heath Robinson became famous for designing bizarrely complicated devices for the simplest of tasks like wart removal or pancake making. He and his gadgets became so famous that Bletchley Park named one of their wartime code-breaking machines after him. Later still, some of the contraptions in Wallace and Gromit’s The Wrong Trousers are based on a gadget filled house that he made for the Ideal Home Show in 1934. Heath Robinson was also a fine painter, an outstanding literary illustrator and a brilliant satirist, who poked gentle fun at modern life in cartoons that are still hilarious.

Barry Venning is an art historian whose interests and teaching range from the art of late medieval Europe to global contemporary art. He has published books, articles and exhibition catalogue essays on Turner, Constable and European landscape painting, but also has an ongoing research interest in postcolonial art and British visual satire. He works as a consultant and associate lecturer for the Open University. His media work includes two BBC TV documentaries, radio appearances for BBC local radio and ABC Australia, and a DVD on Turner for the Tate.

Tuesday 4 August 2026
SPORT OF THE GODS: Olympia and the Ancient Olympics
Presented by James Renshaw
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

Every four years, the advent of the newest iteration of the Olympic games brings scrutiny and reflection on their ancient forebears. The ancient Olympics lasted for over 1000 years and were both very similar and very different to the modern games. They were held as religious games in honour of the great god Zeus at his sanctuary at Olympia in the Greek Peloponnese. The art and architecture of this sanctuary was emblematic of the ancient Olympic spirit – and represents some of the finest sculpted art to survive from ancient Greece. In this talk, we look at the artistic and literary evidence for the ancient games, learning about triumphs and heartaches, and stories of athletes, both weird and wonderful!

Following a degree in Classics from Oxford University, James has taught Classics at secondary school level since 1998. He currently teaches at Godolphin and Latymer in London; here he runs the school’s Ancient World Breakfast Club, which has an ethos similar to that of The Arts Society. Since 1998, James has published a number of textbooks related to the classical world, including In Search of the Greeks and In Search of the Romans.

Tuesday  8 September 2026
THE WORLD OF PEARLS
Presented by Clare Blatherwick
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

The allure of pearls has been documented from ancient times and there is evidence of the use of pearls in the Arabian Gulf region dating back to 4000BC. In ancient Rome, according to legend, Venus herself was born of the sea like a pearl. The Romans thought pearls were formed from the teardrops of the gods, or perhaps as a result of clams capturing dewdrops in the moonlight. This talk looks at the amazing variety of types of pearls, from those produced by oysters to marine snails, how they are found and some of the most famous pearls in the world, including those that belonged to Mary Queen of Scots.

Clare Blatherwick is an independent jewellery consultant based in Scotland. She has over twenty years of experience in the jewellery business, ten of which were spent as Head of Jewellery for Bonhams in Scotland, a role which saw her travel internationally searching for wonderful jewels to be auctioned around the globe. She has a keen interest in the historical aspect of jewellery and has lectured and appeared on various TV programmes in the UK and US as a jewellery expert.

Tuesday 13 October 2026
DIVERSE RICHE AND COSTLYE JEWELLS: 17th CENTURY TRADE, TREASURE AND THE CHEAPSIDE HOARD
Presented by Amanda Herries
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

17th Century Trade, Treasure and the Cheapside Hoard‘Diverse riche and costlye Jewells’ is a perfect description of the unique collection of jewels known as the ‘Cheapside Hoard’. Unearthed, by chance, in 1912 in one of the most historic parts of London, it seems it was lost, or buried, between 1640 and 1666. More than 400 pieces make up this remarkable Hoard, including a unique walnut-sized emerald contacting a watch movement, a slithery emerald studded salamander to earrings shimmering with suspended amethysts. These are rare, but not royal, jewels. Pieces demonstrate remarkable skills and stones mined in every part of the world. What does the collection represent? Why was it brought together? What are its secrets? the UK and US as a jewellery expert.

Having read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge, Amanda was a Curator at Museum of London 1978 -1988, specialising in decorative arts since 1714. From 1988-1995 she lived in Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. Back in the UK, Amanda has fundraised for arts companies, written, lectured and guided tours to Japan and curated exhibitions. Recent publications cover Japanese plant and garden influences in the West.

Tuesday 24 November 2026
WITHIN
Presented by Dr Helene Weeding
Time & Venue: 5:45pm Rory Spence Vos Construction Lecture Theatre at The University of Tasmania’s Inveresk campus

In March 2023, I walked Japan’s Nakasendo Way and was struck by the sculptural elegance of Japanese gardens—particularly the pruning techniques of niwaki and sukashi, where trees are shaped to reveal essence and form. These highly considered landscapes contrasted deeply with Tasmania’s wilderness: raw, tangled, and marked by decay, yet profoundly beautiful. Within is a body of work that explores this tension between two environments—one carefully ordered, the other organically chaotic. The Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi— embracing impermanence and imperfection—underpins the work. In Japan, human presence is subtle and reverent; in Tasmania, thoughtless litter often disrupts pristine spaces. Yet both landscapes reflect a form of caretaking: whether through delicate supports for aging trees or the resilience of forests left to evolve on their own. This series invites reflection on how we shape, respect, and coexist with the environments we inhabit.