Online Events Round-up #2
Image: Jan Matejko, detail from Birds and Acanthus design
Here in the UK we’re waiting with hope and expectation for galleries and museums to open up once again (all being well) in May. While their halls have been closed to the public, many of the institutions we know and love have been busily preparing online events and talks to keep us inspired at a time when we’re all craving a bit of creativity. This week, we’ve rounded up just some of the online events and talks that are happening around the internet-sphere to keep you entertained over the coming weeks.
Matejko: Father of Young Poland
The National Gallery
Thursday 10 June, 1–2pm BST. Free
In his lifetime, 19th-century artist Jan Matejko was revered mostly for his depictions of decisive events in Polish history, and he is now regarded as Poland's most celebrated history painter. He was also a pioneering decorative arts designer, whose antiquarian knowledge, commitment to heritage preservation, teachings and visionary iconography inspired Young Poland - the Polish Arts and Crafts movement. Join one of the curators of 'Young Poland', Julia Griffin, to discover Matejko's remarkable artistry, with a focus on his monumental interior decoration scheme at St Mary's Basilica in Kraków, and his influence on Young Poland's foremost designer, Stanisław Wyspiański.
Four Weddings, Four Coronations & Two Funerals: The RSN’s Royal Commissions
The Royal School of Needlework
Wednesday 12 May 2021, 7pm UK BST
The Royal School of Needlework is hosting a series of online talks which focus on life at the RSN throughout the years, their acclaimed methods of teaching and their unique Collection containing over 4,000 objects donated from all over the world. In this talk, curator Dr Susan Kay-Williams will reveal some of the RSN’s precious gifts and commissions for the royal family illustrated by objects from the archives, letters and accounts in newspapers of the day. Participants will be shown some of the principal and well-documented items made for two State funerals, four coronations, four royal weddings and court events from 1901 to 2011. This talk will reveal lots of pomp, splendour and lingerie!
Image: Cushion Cover, Crete 17th-18th century. Linen, cotton and silk. Featured in the Ashmolean's online exhibition Mediterranean Threads: Greek Island Embroideries
West Dean College of Arts and Conservation
Various workshops
West Dean College has just launched a range of more than 354 short courses online – many of which encourage you to embrace your surroundings and create objects for your home, while others transport us to a far off place or inspire us to recycle and reuse items. Running from mid-April to October 2021, the courses include painting and drawing; gardening; metalsmithing; pottery & ceramics; creative writing; textiles; sculpture; jewelry; woodworking and basketry. They span from one to five days, are for all abilities and range in price.
Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion - Objects, Narratives, and the Making of an Exhibition
Fashion Culture Online Programme (MFIT)
Available to watch now on YouTube
In this video, Amy de la Haye, Professor of Dress History & Curatorship and Joint Director of the Centre for Fashion Curation at London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London will discuss the Museum at FIT’s 24th academic symposium Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion. This virtual event explores how the beauty, mythology, and symbolism of the rose have long influenced fashionable dress. Rose: it's a flower, a color, and a scent. It's in fairy tales and design. This flower has become integral to art and culture.
Mediterranean Threads: Greek Island Embroideries at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Saturday 8 May, 10:00 PST / 5pm GMT, Free
Webinar
Embroideries from the Greek islands dazzle with their bright colors and charming motifs. But they also surprise for their range and variety, which reflect the region's complex history and multicultural past. Based on her latest exhibition, Mediterranean Threads: 18th and 19th Century Greek Embroideries, on view at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford through September 19, 2021, Dr Francesca Leoni will introduce Oxford's collection of Greek island embroideries and explore their idiosyncrasies and shared features by closely examining some of its highlights.
Gustavo Carvajal on Doris Salcedo’s A Flor de Piel
Guggenheim Museum
Available to watch now on YouTube
Guggenheim gallery guide Gustavo Carvajal reflects on Doris Salcedo’s A Flor de Piel and asks: How does art extract beauty out of an act of heinous violence? Constructed using hundreds of rose petals sewn together into a delicate shroud that rests gently on the floor, "A Flor de Piel" has been described by the artist as a floral offering to those affected by violence in her native country, Colombia. Salcedo’s installations and sculptures often employ minimal forms that subtly evoke the fragility of human life.
Of course we couldn't have a list of online talks without mentioning our own event coming up in May!
Charleston Farmhouse Talk, Virtual Event with Annie Sloan, Mollie Mahon and Darren Clarke
Online talk
Wednesday 12 May 2021
This talk will focus on the history of Charleston Farmhouse; one of the homes of the Bloomsbury group, and a decorative arts marvel of hand-painted rooms, bursting with creativity and thought provoking design that has endured in its contemporary outlook on design and thinking. Darren Clarke, Rausing Head of Collections, Research and Exhibitions at Charleston will begin by introducing us to the story of Charleston and its making. Annie Sloan and Molly Mahon, both who have a strong connection to Charleston and the artworks of the Bloomsbury group, will share with us how Charleston's creativity continues today and the ways it has inspired their own design practice.
Take a look at our other upcoming online talks and virtual workshops.