The Arts Society

Tickets available on the door: £10 / £5 students / Free for members of the Arts Society Cardiff

The Arts Society Cardiff is a friendly, flourishing organisation of some 180 members drawn from Cardiff and the surrounding area. Their members have a wide range of interests and everyone is welcome. They meet at 2pm on the second Thursday of each month (except July and August) in the comfortable and lively surroundings of Chapter Arts Centre to enjoy a varied programme of illustrated lectures given by experts in their field.

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9 Jan 2025

Frank Matcham's Masterpieces: Theatre Design and Architecture in Britain

Frank Matcham (1854-1920) was the architect of many of Britain’s best-known theatres, including the Hackney Empire, Buxton Opera House, Belfast Grand Opera House, Bristol Hippodrome, The Gaiety Theatre in Douglas, Isle of Man, and the London Coliseum. Simon Rees has worked in many of these theatres and gives an insider’s view of Matcham’s architectural legacy. The lecture is illustrated by present-day and period photographs, postcards from the turn of the century, and Matcham’s own fascinatingly detailed architectural drawings.

Simon Rees

Simon Rees studied at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, receiving a BA and an MA in English Literature. He has taught in Italy and Japan, exploring the art and architecture of both countries. From 1989 to 2012 Simon was Dramaturg at Welsh National Opera in Cardiff, working with set, costume and props designers and giving lectures on their work in opera production. Now a freelance writer and lecturer he lectures widely on opera, art history and literature, travelling extensively with travel companies. He has also published several novels, including the award-winning The Devil's Looking-Glass, poems and opera librettos.

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13 Feb 2025

The Borgias, the Most Infamous Family in History

Murder, poison, corruption and incest: all perfect ingredients for sensational popular culture. But in an age known for its brutality and church corruption were the Borgias really so bad? This lecture reveals the real family that dominated the Papacy and Italian politics during the last decade of the 15th century: the charismatic figure of Pope Alexander VI, living inside his sumptuously decorated apartments, the career of his son, Cesare, cardinal, general, employer of Da Vinci and the model for Machiavelli’s The Prince, and the journey of Lucrezia Borgia from “the greatest whore in Rome” to a devout and treasured duchess of the city Ferrara. Sometimes truth is more intoxicating than myth.

Sarah Dunant

Novelist, broadcaster and critic, Sarah read history at Cambridge, then worked for many years as a cultural journalist in radio and television on such programmes as Kaleidoscope (BBC Radio 4), The Late Show (BBC 2), and Night Waves/Free thinking (BBC Radio 3). She has published thirteen novels, taught renaissance studies at Washington University, St Louis and lectured around the world at festivals and conferences. Her last five novels have been set within the Italian Renaissance; the Name of the Family completes the story of the Borgia family and the remarkable period of Italian history in which they lived. She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s A POINT OF VIEW and these talks, alongside her series on history for Radio 4, When Greeks Flew Kites are available on podcast or BBC sounds.

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13 March 2025

Chant and the Origin of Polyphony

The Old Testament book of Psalms is full of exhortations to worship God with song. But for the majority of history music has been shared without it ever being written down. Patrick will trace the origins of chant, the birth of polyphony and the invention of notation. He will feature some of the most imaginative and spectacular pieces of music that are based on a foundation of Gregorian chant. He will also reflect on his recent experience of leading his all-female professional choir Aurora Nova through a full 24 hour marathon of chant, recreating the monastic services of the Divine Office.

Patrick Craig

Patrick Craig is a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral. For twenty years he combined this with an international career singing over a thousand concerts with the world-renowned early music consort The Tallis Scholars. He also sings with the award-winning group The Cardinall’s Musick. He founded and conducts this country’s leading all-female professional choir, Aurora Nova. He has conducted concerts for the BBC Proms, the Brighton, Lichfield and Aldeburgh Festivals, and with the City of London Sinfonia. As a Cambridge history graduate with a lifelong interest in the arts, he has gone on to lead choral workshops for amateur singers across the world, where he places music in its historical and cultural context. He regularly lectures for the St Paul’s Adult Education programme and for John Hall’s Venice Courses, which have allowed him to incorporate his interests in theology, art and poetry.

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10 April 2025

Welsh Landscape Art from Wison to Williams

‘Welsh Art’ and Wales as an artistic destination are perhaps not subjects which have been given serious attention in the past. Welsh artists are often considered to be, at best, minor figures within the wider canon of British Art. Similarly, depictions of Wales are often little appreciated when considered alongside more ‘exotic’ locations. This lecture seeks to enlighten audiences as to the key role Welsh artists have played commencing with the father of British landscape art, Richard Wilson. We will consider the enduring influence of the Welsh landscape in the emerging Romantic period (as captured by JMW Turner) through the later 19th Century with the establishment of the Betws y Coed artists’ colony. Then move on to the artists of the 20th century who have offered a very different interpretation to the vision of the ‘Land of my Fathers’.

Ed Williams

Ed is based in the Northwest of England, as an Oxford educated Art Historian, who was tutored by Dr Janina Ramirez and Mary Acton, he is passionate about sharing his love of the History of Art to a range of audiences. He works at TATE Liverpool, delivering tours and talks of the collection and special exhibitions. He is also an official Green Badge Tour Guide for North Wales. Ed also teaches the History of Art at the University of Liverpool, where he specialises in teaching adult learners at the Department of Continuing Education. He regularly gives lectures to specialist interest groups and societies as well as U3A and WI groups. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics, and his work has been published in several journals and online publications.

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8 May 2025

The Post-War Textile Visionaries of Modern Art: Female Designers

The history of Britain is intricately woven with the history of textiles. Following World War II there was a desire for change, colour and inspiration in the home. This energy and innovation was led by female textile designers destined to revolutionise design internationally from the 1950s to the 1970s. This lecture celebrates their vision, their influences and their determination that successfully brought modern and contemporary art into the home through their designs and thereby democratising modern art for the first time by making it literally a part of the furniture.

Ashley Gray

Ashley is a leading specialist and curator in the key art discipline of Modern Textiles and their history. He is a regular ‘vetter’ at international fine art fairs and served on the Fair Committees of BADA, The Works on Paper Fair and the BADA Council. He is regularly invited to lecture on the subject both in the UK and the US and sits on the advisory board of The Frances Neady Collection at FIT, New York. As a curator and archivist he works with institutions and foundations on conservation and exhibition projects: most recently as co-curator of Material Textile; Modern British Female Designers’ and Material Textile; Creativity, History & Process, both with Messums Gallery, Common Thread at New Art Centre and From Bauhaus to our House at Cromwell Place. He also curates the acclaimed exhibition Styled by Design that celebrates the innovation of Modernist textile design alongside a comprehensive lecture programme that accompanies the exhibitions.

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12 June 2025

Murano Glass: The Jewel of Venice

Venice is known for Pizza, Pasta, Palaces and Popes, and for VETRO VENEZIANO...Venetian Glass. The lecture explores how Murano became the epicentre of excellence for glassmaking across the world. We begin by exploring the origin of Venice and the building of 189 canals to create the floating city of Venice, before taking a short gondola ride to the tiny island of Murano. Here we learn of the many enduring styles of Murano glass and delve into the lives of these ancient artisans.
Laurie Wickwire

With over 35 years in the diamond industry, Laurie represents the industry across all sectors: mining, sorting, grading and brokering some of the world’s key rough stones. A graduate of GIA London, IGI Antwerp, and DeBeers Institute of Diamonds, she is a certified diamond grader and pearl grader and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in International Business and Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in French. Whether presenting diamond shows on national channels, hosting diamond master classes, filming jubilee specials or creating the historical jewellery range for both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle gift shops, Laurie’s love of the diamond industry is apparent. Her industry knowledge has seen her guest on numerous internationally streamed podcasts, lecture on luxury cruise lines and create bespoke commissions for the Royal Family.

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11 Sept 2025

The Jurassic World of Mary Anning

This lecture will introduce you to 19th century palaeontologist Mary Anning to discover how she searched the Jurassic rocks of England's south coast to unearth what were believed to be sea dragons but are now referred to as marine reptiles. We will look at the social history and influences of Mary and the 19th century scientists with whom she worked. We will look at these spectacular fossil remains, and the ways in which palaeontologists have revealed how these ancient, extinct animals lived. The journey will take us into a distant past, from Southwest England to Southern Germany where the shallow seas were inhabited by fish lizards, marine crocodiles and floating islands of tree trunks with ancient starfish like animals attached to them. We will finish by looking at the animals that ruled the land for millions of years, the dinosaurs, and how the first palaeontologists discovered, reconstructed and named these amazing creatures from the Jurassic World.

Aaron Hunter

Aaron is a professional scientist and researcher with the University of Cambridge and a prize-winning London Blue Badge Guide, a Green Badge Guide for the City of London and Oxford and a City of Bath Mayor's Guide. As a palaeontologist he is an expert on fossils and prehistoric life from the first animals to appear on our planet to the evolution of early humans. He has published research on the origin of marine animals 480 million years to the Jurassic World. After degrees in Geology & Palaeobiology, he gained a PhD from the University of London, going on to work as a research fellow in France, Germany and Japan and then as a Senior Lecturer in Malaysia and Western Australia. He has a passion for archaeology, history, architecture and the history of art, giving lectures that encompass these subjects looking at the interface between the arts and sciences.

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9 October 2025

Leighton: Follower and Breaker of Rules

Alfred Lord Leighton was a bastion of the Establishment and Academic Art in the later 1800s, but he was also an experimental artist who explored the possibilities of the radical Aesthetic Movement which adopted the critic Walter Pater’s idea that ‘All the Arts aspire to the condition of music’. We shall look at his Academic Paintings, his Aesthetic Movement works and his pioneering work in raising the status of the decorative arts, by collecting Islamic tiles which we see so beautifully displayed in his purpose-built studio-home – itself a work of art.

Sarah Ciacci

Sarah has an MA in History of Art (Late 19th century French Painting and 20th Century Art) from University College London. She has been a Blue Badge Guide for London since 2008, specialising in art, museums and galleries. Since 2008 she has trained Blue Badge Guides in the National Gallery and is an art lecturer for trainee guides in Tate Britain, Tate Modern and for a period the National Portrait Gallery. She is a gallery educator and Adjunct Faculty at Richmond University (since 2008) where she teaches the History of British Art, the History of Museums in London and the History of London and runs regular courses and independent lectures on a variety of art historical periods.

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13 November 2025

Banksy: Fraud or Genius?

The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world. We will examine the reasons behind his incredible rise, looking at some of his famous stunts and discuss what his influence has been on the art market today and what his legacy, if any, might be.

Pepe Martinez

Pepe qualified as a London Blue Badge tourist guide in 2011 and was honoured to receive the award for Best Overall Practical Guide. Since qualifying as a guide, he has specialised in the graffiti and street art of East London. Prior to becoming a London Blue Badge guide, he was a tour manager for 15 years, travelling extensively, all over the world