THE ARTS SOCIETY NADDER VALLEY
Our programme is available to members only. Guests of members are welcome for a fee of £10.00 per lecture or £5.00 for students (14-22 years of age)
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Lectures are held at The Nadder Centre, Weaveland Road, Tisbury, SP3 6HJ and start at 6.30 pm unless otherwise stated.
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Lecture Programme 2025-26
Inform, Educate, Entertain
Friday 17th October 2025
The Legacy of Tea
with Emma Watts
The British panacea for everything - but the legacy of tea has strands that are woven deep into our culture. This lecture will explore the highlights of this fascinating history. A history that spans the globe and has had a significant impact on the styles and designs of much of what we consider British. From legends to country houses, silver to ceramics and of course the cup of tea.
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This is a story of fashion, trade, commerce and progress which collectively presents a legacy that has endured for 500 years.
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Tea caddy, Meissen porcelain, Germany circa 1735 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
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Friday 21st November 2025
The Brilliance of British Architecture
with Ian Swankie
In the field of world class architecture, British talent has always been at the forefront, and we have much to celebrate. In this talk, Ian tours around the UK and overseas showcasing the brilliance of some of the designers who have made huge improvements to the built environment and enhanced the lives of those around them. Famous names like Lutyens, Gilbert Scott, Foster, Hadid and Rogers are joined by several lesser known but equally creative architects.
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The Scalpel (2018) by Kohn Pederson Fox with a reflection of The Gherkin (2004) by Foster + Partners, the Willis Building (2008) by Foster + Partners and Lloyd’s building (1986) by Richard Rogers & Partners, Credit: Ian Swankies
Friday 16th January 2026
The Bloomsbury Group: The Art of Vanessa Bell
with Julia Musgrave
Avant-garde painter, designer, decorator, inspired colourist, mother and muse, Vanessa Bell was the warm heart of the Bloomsbury Group, a set who Dorothy Parker once described as “living in squares and loving in triangles”. Navigating the tides of sexual and artistic revolution with tolerance, irreverence and wit she had a central role in the social and aesthetic life of Bloomsbury; alive to their love affairs, romances, passions and pleasures, and refreshingly uninterested in politics. She was the sister of the writer Virginia Woolf, wife of the critic Clive Bell, and counted the painter Roger Fry and the artist Duncan Grant among her lovers.
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Summer in the Garden by Roger Fry, 1911 Credit: Artvee.com
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Friday 20th February 2026
Kettle's Yard: A Masterpiece of Curatorship
with Sarah Burles
Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge has been described as “one of the country’s most intimate and spellbinding museums, the collection of one man and his unerring eye; restorative, homely yet life-changing”. This man was H.S. ‘Jim’ Ede, curator, writer, collector and friend to artists. In 1957, he opened his Cambridge home to university students as “a living place where works of art could be enjoyed… unhampered by the greater austerity of the museum or public art gallery.” His collection included works by Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska which were carefully placed alongside pieces of furniture, ceramics and natural objects. His curated home remains, by and large as he left it, characterised by its unique atmosphere, fascinating juxtapositions and personal connections.
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Spiral of stones Credit: Kettle’s Yard
Friday 20th March 2026
Women Behind the Lens: Outstanding Female Photographers and their contribution to the Art of Photography
with Brian Stater
The work of women photographers has often been unfairly neglected. This lecture seeks to correct that by examining the contribution of three outstanding British practitioners: Julia Margaret Cameron, a Victorian pioneer; Jane Bown, a brilliant portraitist; and Fay Godwin, who excelled in landscape photography. We also explore the work of two highly influential Americans: Dorothea Lange, who produced brilliant documentary images and Annie Leibovitz, who continues to both surprise and delight her audience.
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Sir John Herschel (1792-1871) photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron 1867 Public Domain (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
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