A Very Ceremonial Christmas

Find out, in this very light-hearted lecture, about the various ceremonial events that take place around Christmas time. Carol services, concerts and even Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and Windsor all play their part. How do the Chelsea Pensioners prepare and celebrate the festive season? All will be revealed so, come along and feel wrapped in a blanket of Christmas loveliness.

Dr Graham Jones

Dr Graham Jones started his professional life as a musician in the British Army and over a glittering career spanning nearly forty years he retired as the Senior Director of Music, Household Division and Director of Music, Coldstream Guards a position unequalled throughout military music in Great Britain. During his illustrious career he has recorded over 40 albums and been responsible for the largest commissioning programme of wind band music in recent history commissioning over 30 new works for wind band. He pioneered a music education programme with the University of Salford for military musicians resulting in a new Master of Music in performance degree. Graham was made a Member of the British Empire by Her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace for outstanding service to military music in 1993. Having retired, at the start of 2012, from military service Graham is enjoying a second career as a guest conductor, adjudicator, guest speaker, lecturer, clinician, recording consultant and educator. He is also the Artist Director of London International Band Week, music consultant to Henley Music Festival, resident conductor of the British Imperial Orchestra, visiting conductor in residence at Troy University, Alabama, USA and guest lecturer on cruise ships.  Graham’s charitable work includes event planning in support of the Royal British Legion and sitting on the London fundraising committee of the Army Benevolent Fund - the Soldiers Charity. Graham is married to Susan and resides in Worcester Park, Surrey.

Designing the Future: How the Bauhaus changed the world we live in

Exactly mirroring the years of the German Weimar Republic, the short-lived Bauhaus introduced a new curriculum for art students emphasising collegiality, experimentation and an end to the traditional division between fine art and design. Founded by the architect Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus moved in 1924 to a designed campus which attracted some of the leading artists and designers working in Europe, including Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee and Laszlo Maholy-Nagy. The school modelled itself on a medieval craft guild where masters would train apprentices within studios dedicated to particular materials and techniques. Guided first by Expressionism and later by a more practical concern with utility and affordability, the workshops aimed to make a diverse range of products for the home and for industry. Often riven by aesthetic and political debates, the Bauhaus acquired a mythic status especially as it was later targeted and closed by the German fascists. The faculty and students were subsequently dispersed throughout Europe, the Middle East and North America, where they brought the principles and ideas of the school to a new generation. From the design of buildings to the function of a table lamp to the appearance of the printed page, the Bauhaus arguably changed the world, advocating the removal of ornamentation and historicism in favour of functionality, simplicity and efficiency.  

Joshua White

Joshua is an art historian and lecturer who thoroughly enjoys sharing his knowledge with an audience. Having graduated from the Christie's M.Phil programme, he taught at the auction house for twenty years on modern art, contemporary art, photography, design and architecture. In addition to his listed subjects, he can create bespoke talks of special interest, for example an introduction to an exhibition.A former BBC journalist, Joshua is also a founder and presenter of The Art Channel, an online project interpreting exhibitions and objects in museums and commercial galleries. The channel has now received two million views.Joshua also has experience of the art market while working as the Director of Hamiltons Gallery specialising in masters of 20th Century photography.Elsewhere, he has lectured for many institutions and companies including Sotheby’s Institute, The University of the Arts, The University of California, The Tate Gallery, The V & A Academy, The National Portrait Gallery and the Design Museum. Joshua is now leading tours in several European cities with Kirker, ACE Cultural Tours and Art History Abroad.On television and radio, Joshua has been a guest contributor to Channel 5’s ‘Great Paintings of the World with Andrew Marr’, BBC Radio 4’s ‘Behind The Scenes’ and BBC Radio 3’s ‘Turning Picasso.’ Joshua has also written exhibition catalogues and articles for Hamiltons Gallery, the BBC, The FT, Christie’s Magazine, Flash Art, Wanderlust, Decanter, Lonely Planet, Mr and Mrs Smith and The Erni art collection in Switzerland. 

Pleasure, Practicality and Pain: A History of Shoes

Shoes have provided essential protection for our feet ever since ancient times but their design has rarely been inspired simply by comfort or necessity. Beautifully decorated, hand-crafted and employing expensive materials, they have also represented important markers of status, identity, taste and even sexuality.  Some, like Medieval poulaines with their elaborately elongated toes, and Venetian chopines with their 22 inch platforms, epitomised the triumph of fashion over practicality. Other innovations, such as heels, which were initially introduced as a means for men to keep their feet in stirrups rapidly became the definitive expression of feminine allure and fragility.   With humble beginnings as leather sandals and wooden pattens, they developed into the more sophisticated 18th and 19th century buckles, kitten heels and buttoned boots, and the Manolo Blahniks, Jimmy Choos and trainers of the today.  Their expressive designs show how shoes have continually evolved to meet the needs and aspirations of their wearers across the world.  

Jo Banham

Jo Banham is a freelance curator, lecturer and writer. From 2006-2016 she was Head of Adult Learning at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and before that Head of Learning and Access at the National Portrait Gallery, and Head of Public Programmes at Tate Britain. She has also been Curator of Leighton House and Assistant Keeper at the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has published on many aspects of Victorian and early 20th century decoration and interiors. She recently curated an exhibition on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the Juan March Fundacion in Madrid and the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona and she is currently writing a book on the History of Wallpaper. She is also Director of the Victorian Society Summer School.ore that Head of Learning and Access at the National Portrait Gallery, and Head of Public Programmes at Tate Britain. She has also been Curator of Leighton House and Assistant Keeper at the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has published on many aspects of Victorian and early 20th century decoration and interiors. She recently curated an exhibition on William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement for the Juan March Fundacion in Madrid and the Museu Nacional d’Art Catalunya in Barcelona and she is currently writing a book on the History of Wallpaper. She is also Director of the Victorian Society Summer School.