- 5 March to 2 April 2020
- 6:30 – 8:30 pm
- Paul Mellon Centre
*Course postponed*
While the story of ceramics is a global one, Britain has played a leading role in the last three centuries, a period in which British invention has shaped developments and brought constant renewal to the industry. This course, delivered by experts in the subject, will explore five key influential developments in the history of British ceramics since the mid-eighteenth century, examining the multiple ways in which innovators, entrepreneurs and artists have reinvigorated the field.
This series will run every Thursday from 5 March to 5 April. There will be a brief drinks reception from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM. The lecture will begin promptly at 7:00 PM.
Please note you will need to sign up for each week individually and in order to ensure consistency attendance, we overbook. If you find you can no longer attend after signing up, please let us know so your place can be offered to someone else. On the night, admission will be made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration opens on 3 February at 10:00 AM.
No prior art historical knowledge is necessary.
Weekly topics and speakers:
Thursday 5 March:
Pots with Attitude: British Satire on Ceramics 1750–1820
Speaker: Patricia Ferguson, Project Curator, British Museum
Thursday 12 March:
Josiah Wedgwood: Experimentation and Innovation
Speaker: Catrin Jones, Chief Curator, Wedgwood Museum
Thursday 19 March:
‘Blue China’: A Nineteenth-Century British Obsession
Speaker: Rebecca Wallis, Curator, National Trust (London and South East)
Thursday 26 March:
‘Beyond East and West’: the Founding of British Studio Ceramics
Speaker: Prof. Simon Olding, Director of the Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, Farnham
Thursday 2 April:
Obsolescence and Renewal: Reimagining North Staffordshire’s Ceramic Heritage
Speaker: Prof. Neil Brownsword, Artist and Professor of Ceramics, Staffordshire University
Images: Courtesy of The Fitzwilliam Museum. Bottom right: © Estate of Bernard Leach