Northern Rivers

Monday 24 March 2025
HANS FEIBUSCH: The Artist in Glowing Pallette
Presented by Marc Allum
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

Born in 1898, Hans Feibusch was a German-Jewish artist who escaped the Nazis to become one of Britain’s most celebrated muralists. Still little know in many circles, this insight into his life and work will open your eyes to the many examples of his great murals in some of our most prominent religious and public institutions.

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.

Monday 28 April 2025
SISTERS OF TRAGEDY: The Brontes and their Works
Presented by Susannah Fullerton
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

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.

Monday 12 May 2025
WHO DUNIT? Agatha Christie’s Life and Crimes in London
Presented by Simon Whitehouse
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

Become armchair detectives and follow clues to discover the “Queen of Crime’s” London life.  Although associated with Torquay, Devon, Dame Agatha Christie also left clues to follow all over London. Living in various London properties during her long life; she penned 16 of 66 novels from one address. At University College London, Agatha researched her preferred method of murder: poison. Examine the London links to her novels, including a hotel that inspired a Miss Marple novel and the Mesopotamian galleries at the British Museum.  We conclude with Agatha’s devotion to the theatre and The Mousetrap: the world’s longest running theatrical production.

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 guiding both public and private tours. 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 but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it. 

Monday 16 June 2025
THE ART OF THE JAPANSES GARDEN
Presented by Kathleen Olive
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

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, I 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”.

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.

Monday 14 July 2025
FRIEDA KAHLO AND DIEGO RIVERA: A Volatile Relationship
Presented by Maria Chester
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

This duo of eccentric artists , political activists  and vibrant human beings will captivate the audience. Frida and Diego were both exceptional in so many ways! This will be a talk about love, passion and art created by both of them in  the first half of the 20th century. The focus will be on their artworks, but their creations are always linked to the political situation, health and their own relationship.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, multilingual Maria Chester studied Fine Arts and Art History and is a Professor of Pre-Columbian Art. She taught in several South American universities and at private institutions. 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.

Monday 18 August 2025
THE RIJKSMUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM: Rembrandt’s Night Watch and Much, Much More
Presented by Sophie Oosterwijk
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

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), 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.

Monday 15 September 2025
OH NO DEAR, THAT’S NOT FUNNY
Presented by Harry Venning
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

Multi talented British cartoonist, and former UK Strip Cartoonist of the Year, Harry Venning escorts his audience through the peaks and pitfalls of his profession, supported by visual and verbal contributions from such luminaries as Matt Groening, Dr.Seuss, Charles M. Schulz and Gary Larson. Entertaining and Informative in equal measure, the topics covered include rejection, procrastination, deadlines, artificial intelligence, professional envy, censorship, and the cartoon community’s response to the Charlie Hebdo murders of 2015. Harry delights his audience with a hands-on demonstration of his cartooning skills. Some may recall his weekly cartoon strip -“Clare In The Community” which ran in the Guardian for 25 years.

He has been an accredited lecturer with the UK Arts Society since 2019 as well as an Honorary Fellow of the English/Creative Writing departments of Aberystwyth University, resident cartoonist with the Blue Hat team building organisation, UK Social Workers Union honorary ambassador, winner of a Sony Radio Award for Comedy and a former UK Strip Cartoonist of the Year.

Monday 20 October 2025
MY SCRAMBLING AFFAIR: How Constable’s Late Paintings Changed the Face of Modern Art
Presented by Sarah Cove
Venue & Time: 6.00pm for a 6.30pm start. A & I Hall, Station Street, Bangalow

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 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 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. Her presentations are lively, enthusiastic and passionate about her work and research.