Meeting at the Carlton Civic Centre on the first Wednesday of most months, The Arts Society Dukeries offers a fascinating lecture programme covering a wide range of art topics. The Society is now halfway through its exciting 2025 programme.
In addition to monthly lectures and Study or Special Interest Days, members can enjoy holidays with the Society, trips to local events and theatres, and receive both newsletters and a national magazine. The Society’s next lecture is on Wednesday 5th November – ‘Marathon’, by speaker Rupert Willoughby. Why remember a battle that took place more than 2,500 years ago? This lecture examines the influence of ancient Athens on modern art and culture, revealing the Battle of Marathon as the victory that saved Western civilisation. It promises to be an eye-opening, edge-of-your-seat talk.
The following meeting will be the Society’s light-hearted Christmas lecture on Wednesday 3rd December, titled ‘A Dickens of a Christmas and God Bless Us Everyone’, presented by Bertie Pearce. Charles Dickens has often been described as ‘the man who invented Christmas’. On hearing of Dickens’ death, a Cockney barrow girl is said to have exclaimed, “Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?” Dickens revived festive traditions with his warm portrayals of family celebrations – plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing and cheer around the hearth. Though he wrote about Christmas in many works, it is his masterpiece A Christmas Carol, published on 19th December 1843, that immortalised the spirit of Christmas.
The Society will next meet on Wednesday 4th February for a talk on ‘Picasso and Cubism’, following the AGM.
There will also be a Study or Special Interest Day on Thursday 27th November, titled ‘From Levina to Artemisia’, exploring the women artists and patrons of the Renaissance through three in-depth lectures during the day.
The Society meets at the Civic Centre, Long Lane, Carlton-in-Lindrick, S81 9AP. Tea and coffee are available from 10.00am, giving members time to socialise before Society notices at 10.50am. The lecture runs from 11.00am to around 12.00pm, depending on questions. Free car parking is available.
Members pay an annual subscription, and visitors are warmly welcomed on the day for a small fee. For further information about, contact the Chairman, Caroline, on 01909 531614, or visit http://www.theartssociety.org/Dukeries.