Lectures
Lectures
The primary aim of ADFAS is to provide interesting and informative lectures across a diverse range of topics encompassing all aspects of the arts.
Our lecturers are both local and touring overseas lecturers who are primarily from the United Kingdom. They are generally experienced arts professionals, including curators, artists, authors and performers but could be anyone who has expert knowledge in an aspect of the arts and the ability to present an informal illustrated lecture which both explains and entertains. Lectures are approximately 1 hour long. In addition to lectures, many ADFAS Societies also offer Special Interest sessions of two or three 1-hour lectures where topics can be explored in more depth.
ADFAS also aims to bring like minded people together in a social atmosphere so lectures are followed or preceded by light refreshments. In addition, some societies arrange a social calendar of outings and events.
The lecture series generally runs from March to early November with societies presenting between 8 and 10 lectures over this period. Joining fees vary between societies and some societies will also accept guests. Please explore the Society section of this website to locate a society near you.
The lecture topics highlighted here are samples of the diverse lecture topics from the ADFAS 2023 programs which vary according to location.
A Sample of 2023 Lectures
A PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: SHACKLETON’S ENDURANCE EXPEDITION CAPTURED ON CAMERA
Presented by Mark Cottle, United Kingdom
Australian Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th Century, was the official photographer on Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic aboard the Endurance in 1914. The Endurance was immobilised by pack-ice and eventually crushed. Hurley’s photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama of dogged determination is played out. The aim of the lecture is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.
THE AGE OF JAZZ
Presented by Sandy Burnett, the United Kingdom
Jazz is one of the Twentieth Century’s most important musical genres: a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free-wheeling creativity, close-knit ensemble work and improvisation. Sandy Burnett’s lecture covers the early years of jazz from its very beginnings and the first ever recordings made just over a century ago through to the start of the Second World War. Sandy’s illustrations range from early pre-impressions by Maurice Ravel and others and the very earliest jazz recordings through to classics by Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and the dawn of the Swing Era.
DRESSED TO THRILL
THE ART OF THE JAPANESE KIMONO
Presented by Professor Marie Conte-Helm, United Kingdom
The kimono, literally meaning ‘wear’ (ki) and ‘thing’ (mono), is a traditional garment worn by both men and women in Japan. But it is so much more than that. Rich in symbolism and encapsulating the best in textile design and techniques through the ages, the kimono has a fascinating history that reflects wider aspects of Japanese life and culture. From everyday kimono to wedding kimono to the elaborate dress of Japanese geisha, this lecture will trace the story of the kimono, its past and its present, and the place that it occupies in the world of contemporary fashion.
ABSTRACT/POP/MINIMAL: THE NEW YORK ART SCENE IN THE 1950S AND 60S
Presented by Alan R Dodge, Western Australia
Post-World War II confirmed New York as the new international centre of art and commerce. Artists came from all over the world to absorb the heady atmosphere. In dizzying succession, movement after movement vied for attention as Abstract Expressionism evolved out of European Dada and Surrealism, only to be overtaken by the Colour Field movement, Pop Art, Minimalism and Conceptualism in a wild eruption of creativity. Former AGWA Director, Alan Dodge will take us on a journey through two of the most culturally dynamic decades of the 20th Century in one of the world’s most exciting cities.
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