Event type: Talk

Roscoe Lecture – Dr Ruth Doughty

Ruth is the Programme Leader for Film Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, and principal investigator on the Heritage Lottery Funded project looking at the history of Littlewoods, will deliver a lecture entitled: The Littlewoods Legacy.

This special Roscoe event coincides with a public exhibition, curated by Ruth, which brings the incredible legacy of Littlewoods to life. This display is currently on show at the Museum of Liverpool and has been extended, due to popular demand, until the end of June 2024.

Eat Your Carrots – They’ll help yo...

A Talk with Angela Brown from Pegasus WW2 Reenactment.

Join Angela as she takes you through an engaging journey of what it would have been like to grow up during a period of shortages and upheaval (and no sweets!).

On December 22, 1940, the British Ministry of Agriculture released a statement urging people to eat carrots. Britain was struggling with food shortages and carrots were cheap and plentiful. This led government agencies to tout them as having eye-strengthening powers. Posters began to appear with Dr Carrot and Britain’s Ministry of Food published recipes such as carrot fudge and carrot croquettes, while proclaiming the vegetable could help people “see better in the blackout.”

Portraying carrots as a night vision-enhancing superfood had another benefit—hiding a secretive English radar technology from the Nazis. To counter act Germany’s night-time bombing raids, the Royal Air Force pioneered the Airborne Interception (AI) radar. Britain already had a land-based system of radar towers along the coast. But the AI radar could be mounted to planes and detect German bombers from the air.

To keep this new development secret, “night fighters” were publicized as having night vision spectacular enough to spot enemy planes in the dark. Officials began telling reporters this ability was supplemented by a carrot-rich diet.

Spotlight Talk: Matania, Master of Det...

The Atkinson’s brilliant volunteer team are a passionate bunch! They love the arts and are dedicated to making The Atkinson a vibrant and welcoming space for everyone. They love learning about and sharing history, art, and culture with the public.

They have asked their team of volunteers to identify their favourite painting or object from their collection.

Join them for a free Spotlight Talk about their beautiful night-time scene of theatre goers leaving the Garrick Theatre on Lord Street. Titled Southport for a Holiday in Wintertime this stunningly detailed illustration of Southport in the 1930s was created by Fortunino Matania, a painter and illustrator whose skills were envied by his fellow artists. While we admire the stunning costumes we can also speculate on the relationships between the characters portrayed and wallow in the nostalgia of an age now past. Your thoughts and ideas are positively encouraged!

Jan has volunteered at The Atkinson for nine years and is passionate about local history. She has delivered two of Object of the Month Talks, Spotlight Talks and can frequently be found supporting their schools programme and delivering tours around the building. Jan says, “My favourite part of The Atkinson’s collection is our Egyptology Gallery, which I enjoy sharing with school groups and then seeing the children reflecting back their knowledge and learning.”

Due to limited space in their Museum this short Spotlight Talk will be delivered in an informal style to a standing audience (a few seats can be made available for those who need them).

 

Dead Ink Books: The History of Goth wi...

John Robb’s The Art of Darkness (Manchester University Press) is the first comprehensive history of Goth music and culture, a 500+ page tome exploring the origins and legacy of this enduring scene.

Thu 6 Jun, 6pm – 8pm

Drawing on his experience as a musician and journalist, Robb explores the style, music, clubs, politics and social conditions that typified the early years of goth culture. He also reaches back to key historic events and movements that frame gothic ideas – from the fall of Rome to European folk tales – and considers the current mainstream of goth influencers and culture.

The Art of Darkness offers a first-hand account of the legendary gigs and clubs that made the scene happen, alongside interviews with The Banshees, The Cure, The Damned, Nick Cave, Southern Death Cult, Einstürzende Neubauten, Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Throbbing Gristle, Trent Reznor, Johnny Marr and many more.

They’re’re delighted to welcome John to the bookshop to discuss this landmark work with local legend Roger Hill, a freelance director, performer, writer, lecturer, storyteller and broadcaster. For more than 35 years Roger hosted the Popular Music Show on BBC Radio Merseyside, the UK’s longest running alternative music programme. Roger has been a champion of culture and a regular fixture on the arts scene since his time at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre in the 1980s, working on notable projects with LIPA, Bluecoat and Tate.

Tickets: £5

Beyond the label: secret of the spiral...

The Calderstones are decorated with a range of symbols which date from the Neolithic to the Victorian periods. This talk will explore the history of the Calderstones, these symbols and their possible meanings.

Tickets for this talk cost £7. A booking link will be available soon on this page.

In Conversation with Emma Rodgers and ...

Join them, as Emma and Johnny discuss their work practice and working together with exhibition curators Sam Rhodes from Bluecoat Display Centre and Nicola Scott from the Walker Art Gallery.

The in conversation will take place on 4th. June at the Quaker Meeting House on School Lane from 5.45 – 6.45pm. followed by refreshments and the chance to see their joint exhibition and chat informally to Emma and Johnny from 6.45 – 7.30pm. back at the Display Centre.

Their current exhibition is a ‘conversation’ between the familiar work of the renowned sculptor Emma Rodgers and pieces by Johnny Vegas, whose work we are delighted to introduce here for the first time. Flight is a common theme for both artists and this show will feature two-dimensional work, bronze, clay and 3D printing.

This show is in partnership with the Walker Art Gallery, which will feature new displays of work by Emma and Johnny curated by Nicola Scott, Decorative Arts Curator.

Tickets only available from the Bluecoat Display Centre in person or by phone.

Another View: A critical discussion on...

Join Lady Lever Art Gallery for this very special panel discussion, where guest speakers will explore ideas and themes around their exhibition Another View: Landscapes by Women Artists.

This discussion will use the exhibition as a ‘jumping off point’ for exploration around how women experience landscapes and the different factors at play, with each panel member brining their own unique perspective. The panel will include:

Dr Melissa Gustin – Chair

Melissa L Gustin is the Curator of British Art at National Museums Liverpool. She earned her PhD from the University of York, working on on women sculptors in 19th-century Rome, and has previously taught at the University of Essex and University of York. She has held fellowships at the Watts Gallery—Artists Village and Henry Moore Institute. She is writing a book on the Victorian painter G F Watts and art history, and has recently curated Another View: Landscapes by Women Artists at the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

Bushra Schuitemaker – Speaker

Bushra Schuitemaker is a devoted zoologist and environmental enthusiast, currently undertaking her PhD at the Quadram Institute Bioscience, focused on poultry welfare and agricultural sustainability. In addition to her studies, she was the former vice-chair (2020-23) of the British Ecological Society’s Racial & Ethnic Equality & Diversity (REED) Ecological Network, a supportive platform for under-represented & marginalised ethnicities. Connecting others to the great outdoors is her ultimate passion, and she is also a leader of Black Girls Hike UK.

Lucy Jones – Speaker

Lucy Jones is a british artist renowned for her raw, wild landscapes and distinctively provocative portraits, characterised by expressive abstract brushwork and vibrant colour, conducting a journey through both interior landscapes and the external world beyond.

“In one way I am restricted because I have cerebral palsy and cannot move through a landscape. But what I do is to kneel with my drawing board in front of me on the ground as I cannot stand. This has always given me a way to see and feel that I am physically part of the landscape. I explore the space and make, through drawing, a memory. Then, with my memory guide, I work on a canvas back in the studio to move the landscape into a painting. If I succeed, the painting has an autonomy separate from the landscape but still grounded in the place.”

Dr Morag Rose – Speaker

Morag Rose is a walking artist-activist-academic and a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at The University of Liverpool. In 2006 she founded Manchester based psychogeographical collective The LRM (The Loiterers Resistance Movement). The LRM manifesto states “Our city is wonderful and made for more than shopping. The streets belong to everyone and we want to reclaim them for play and revolutionary fun”. The LRM facilitates free, public communal wanders on the First Sunday of every month alongside Morag’s portfolio of performance tours and games such as CCTV Bingo. Morag’s research interests focus on public space, access, equality and extending the right to roam for all, radical histories and walking as an artistic, political and cultural practice. Morag is Chair of Our Irwell, a community organisation dedicated to protecting, progressing and promoting access to the river Irwell. She was a Co-Investigator on the Covid-19 rapid response project Walking Publics: Walking Arts (AHRC 2021-22) and is currently part of a research team imagining better futures of healthcare with and for people living with energy limiting chronic illnesses.

Dr Noreen Masud – Speaker

Noreen Masud is a Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Bristol, and an AHRC/BBC New Generation Thinker. Her academic monograph, Stevie Smith and the Aphorism: Hard Language (Oxford University Press, 2022) won the MSA First Book Award 2023 and the University English Prize 2024; her memoir-travelogue, A Flat Place (Hamish Hamilton [Penguin] and Melville House Press, 2023), was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction 2024 and the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Trust Young Writer of the Year Award 2024, and longlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2024.

 

Simon Reeve – To The Ends Of The Ear...

Simon is an author and TV presenter, and one of the world’s most adventurous travellers.

His unique brand of documentary film-making combines travel and adventure with current affairs, history, wildlife, culture and conservation. His journeys have taken him to more than 130 countries, across jungles, deserts, mountains and oceans, and to some of the most beautiful, dangerous and remote regions of the world.

In 2018 Simon’s first national theatre tour was completely sold out. Now he’s returning to venues across the UK with new tales and his new tour ‘To The Ends Of The Earth’.

An Evening With The Cast Of Quadrophen...

Celebrating 45 years since the release of the British cult classic Quadrophenia.

Showman Events are proud to host an evening with not one but five of the original cast. Phil Daniels (Jimmy,) Leslie Ash (Steph,) Mark Wingett (Dave,) Trevor Laird (Ferdy,) and Daniel Peacock (Danny,) will be on stage at the Parr Hall, Warrington to revisit the MOD “way of life” and share stories of their time behind the scenes on making the classic movie. Tickets start at just £25 or £45 with a photo.

Photos are limited to 2 people per photo due to the size of the cast, (1 print per person.)

Doors open at 6pm for people who have purchased photos and photos start at 6:15pm prompt, they cannot accommodate any photos for any late arrivals as the show starts 7:30pm.

 

An Audience With Monty Don

Join BBC Gardeners’ World presenter and gardening writer, Monty Don, as he shares his passion for gardens and the unique role they play in human inspiration and wellbeing.

Monty has been making television programmes for over 30 years and has been lead presenter of the BBC’s Gardener’s World since 2003. Since 2011 the programme has come from his own garden, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire.

After a thrilling sellout tour in 2022 Monty is heading back out on tour where he will share tales from his career in gardening, detail his favourite gardens – both ancient and modern, and reveal how he fell in love with the natural world. Discover how he created his beautiful garden at Longmeadow, the gardening practices he considers to be the most useful and important, and the magical impact of the changing of the seasons on each part of the garden.

With something for seasoned gardeners and green-fingered novices alike, don’t miss the opportunity to join Monty for a timely and thought-provoking celebration of the ever-surprising and comforting presence of nature. This is the ultimate Monty Don experience.

Tickets for this event include a £1 venue restoration levy, included in the ticket price. This fee supports building investment at the Grade II-listed Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.