Dr Jacqueline Cockburn invites us to spend a Study Day travelling along the Spanish Coast, examining the works and legacies of three Spanish artists, Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso and Joaquin Sorolla.

Details of the 3 lectures can be found here and a booking form here.

This study day is organised by The Arts Society Chichester

Join us for this fascinating exploration of the Images, Architecture and Arts of imperial India in the company of Dr John Stevens.  This study day will be held on Tuesday 21st Ocober 2025 in the Assembly Room starting at 1045.  A synopsis of the day is set out below and the booking form can be found here.

How did the British view themselves and their subjects in the era of imperialism? How did imperial subjects view the British? This study day considers these questions by exploring a range of images, buildings, objects and art forms from across the British Empire. Beginning with a broad view of the empire and imperial art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we will go on to focus more closely on imperial India. We will consider the arts and architecture of the vibrant capital city of Calcutta, the 'second city' of the British Empire throughout the nineteenth century. We will then take a detailed look at the life and art of one of India's cultural giants, Rabindranath Tagore. Includes the following three lectures:

Images of the British Empire

At the turn of the twentieth century, the British Empire held sway over approximately one quarter of the total population of the world. British imperial power was projected through a variety of artistic mediums, from fine portraiture and grand imperial buildings to more popular forms of imagery. British artists also produced countless images of people from all over the globe who had become subjects of British rule.

Through considering a variety of paintings, buildings and objects from across the empire, this lecture provides a fascinating insight into the ways in which the British viewed themselves and their subjects in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Imperial Calcutta: Arts and Architecture

Calcutta was the second city of the British Empire and a hub of cultural and artistic production throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This lecture provides an overview of the arts (poetry, theatre, literature, song) and architecture of this extraordinary city, which was India's capital until 1911. At the epicentre of the 'Bengal renaissance', Calcutta played a central role in shaping the arts and culture of modern India, as a huge variety of artists sought to interpret India's classical heritage in new ways, and to combine this heritage with Western cultural forms. This lecture examines how Calcutta's arts and architecture were affected by British rule, and explores the fascinating ways in which Indian artists viewed the British in India.

The Art of Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is arguably the most important'Indian artistic figure of the modern era. The first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, claimed that he had two gurus: Gandhi and Tagore. A renowned poet, novelist, composer and painter, Tagore is also the only person in history to have written the national anthems for two countries (India and Bangladesh). He became a global sensation when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, the first non-European to do so. This lecture provides an introduction to Tagore's remarkable life and work, including his novels, poetry, songs and paintings. It also explores the role Tagore's art played in the story of India's fight for independence.

Dr John Stevens gained his PhD in History from UCL, before going on to teach British Imperial History, Indian History and Bengali Language at SOAS, University of London. His biography of the Indian guru Keshab Chandra Sen - Keshab: Bengal's Forgotten Prophet- was published by Hurst and Oxford University Press in 2018. He is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh and has lectured at numerous Indian universities. He also works as a consultant on Indian affairs and teaches the Bengali language to private students. He has appeared many times in the Indian media, and was a guest on BBC Radio Four's In Our Time, discussing the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.

Learn more about Opera, its history and improbable success in the company of Sarah Lenton.  She  has been working in this glorious but disconcerting art form for her entire professional life. Here, she unpacks some of its idiosyncrasies – the huge voices, big gestures and bizarre plots – and covers practically everything and everyone involved in putting on a show.

This study day is organised by The Arts Society Chichester Lavant Valley in association with the Arts Societies of Chichester, City of Chichester and Chichester Evening and will take place at The Assembly Room, Chichester.

For more information please click here and for the booking form please click here.

This study day is now full.  Please don't send money without checking first to see if any spaces have become available.

This study day surveyed the late 19th century scene in London and Paris before showing how in Britain carvings by Jacob Epstein, Eric Gill, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska challenged critical and public taste with their sexual candour and perceived ‘primitivism’. Their work before the First World War paved the way for Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and their contemporaries, the subjects of the third talk.

Join us for a special look at the Art of Venice with Arts Society lecturer Douglas Skeggs.

For a reminder of what was included, please click here.  

Joint Study Day at The Assembly Room Chichester

10:45 Lecture 1  Fire, Flood, Pollution, a World War and its aftermath

11:45                   Coffee break (Please BYO)

12:00 Lecture 2  Depression and Bankruptcy

1:00                     Lunch hour
Bring your own picnic lunch and we will provide a glass of wine or soft drinks.

2:00   Lecture 3  Taxation, Demolition and a Revival 1950-2000

3:00                      Finish

Cost for the Day is:-
£35 for members.
£40 for Guests if places are available (accompanied please by a member).

There is something incomparably romantic about a long-lost country house, with its echoes of vanished grandeur and an irretrievable way of life.

Over the years, hundreds of these houses have fallen victim to social change, human foibles and the madness of war. Only in the last few decades has there been a resurgence of interest in and celebration of these treasures of our national heritage.

Although Britain still possesses some of the finest of these architectural treasures, many have been destroyed. A single ruined lodge or pavilion, an over-grown drive, or group of mature trees, are sometimes all that now exists to remind us of a lost house and pleasure-ground.

For the Booking Form please CLICK HERE

Presented by The Arts Society Chichester Lavant Valley,
in association with the Arts Societies of Chichester, City of Chichester and Chichester Evening

This Study Day, organised by The Arts Society Chichester, will take place in The Assembly Room, Chichester, at 1045 on  Tuesday 21 March 2023.  The speaker is Tim Stimson.   The prgramme for the day is as follows:

1045-1145 Talk 1. James Tissot: Realist?
Often included in Pre-Raphaelite calendars (incorrectly). Having become phenomenally popular in Britain in the 1870s, Tissot chose to reject his friend Degas’s invitation to exhibit with the Impressionists, and for generations was lambasted for it. We will look at his early life and middle career.

1200-1300 Talk 2. Gustave Caillebotte: Impressionist?
Though his contribution to the Impressionist cause was indispensable, Caillebotte’s early style is much nearer to Realism. Later in life he ceased exhibiting with the Impressionists and was almost forgotten. Again, the artist’s early and middle career will be introduced.

1300-1400 Lunch. Please bring your own picnic. A glass of wine or a soft drink will be provided.

1400-1500 Talk 3. Tissot & Caillebotte: Their Significance 
Neither artist fits neatly into later definitions of style or group, so we will look at their later careers with a chance to discuss their contribution to our cultural history.

A Flyer for the Study Day may be viewed here, and the Booking Form here.

Image:  James Tissot (1836-1902); The Gallery of HMS CALCUTTA (Portsmouth); Tate Gallery

This study daye will take place on Tuesday 22 November 2022 at 1030 in The Assembly Room, Chichester.  It will feature three of the giants of 20th Century music.

Talk 1: Jerome Kern - The 'Daddy' of them all

Talk 2: Irving Berlin - The Centurion of Song

Talk 3: Cole Porter - The Original 'Sophisticat'

Paying tribute to the lives and work of three great songwriters who defined popular music during the first half of the last century – and the unforgettable legacy they left behind for us all. Enjoy their beautiful songs, as fresh and inspiring today as when they were first written, and learn about these musical geniuses who cast their spell on us all.

Pip Burley began his musical career playing Rock'n'Roll in the 60s and 70s as well as working with the big bands - including Sydney Lipton, Joe Loss and Ken Mackintosh. He went on to compose and record music for commercials, theatre, film and television and, in 1990, won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Television Theme music for The Darling Buds of May - a TV series he also produced (discovering Catherine Zeta-Jones in the process). Other television successes include the multi-award winning series A Touch of Frost, the most watched police series of all time, created for and starring David Jason. As a sideline he also managed to start and run an advertising agency! Since then Pip has been lecturing widely about his career based on his book Briefest Encounters and, more recently, has devised a series of talks entitled 'The Golden Age of Song', featuring the lives and music of great composers of popular song, lavishly illustrated with slides, videos and occasional demonstrations on the piano.

This study day is organised by The Arts Society Chichester Lavant Valley. See their website for contact details and the booking form. https://theartssocietylavantvalley.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx

This study day will take place on Tuesday 15 November 2022 at 1045 in The Assembly Room, Chichester.  It will feature 3 lectures covering a wide range of art inspired by our maritime heritage.

Talk 1: Highlights of Maritime Art From the 16th Century to the Present Day.

Talk 2: Grace Darling and the Fine Art of Saving Lives at Sea.

Talk 3: Norman Wilkinson – The Man behind Dazzle Camouflage.

This study day introduces the subjects, themes and styles of marine painting and focuses on the development of the genre in Britain. Subjects include dramatic sea battles, ship portraits, ports and harbours, fishing, a brief introduction to Captain James Cook, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, royal yachts and races, clipper ships and ocean liners, as well as official war artists. The historic buildings of the National Maritime Museum are also featured as they were instrumental in the development of maritime art. 

This study day is organised by The Arts Society Chichester. See their website for contact details and the booking form. https://www.theartssocietychichester.org.uk/Special/FutureSpecial.aspx