February's fabulous round up of cultural inspirations from Corinne.
The winter of 1607-08 was a particularly cold one in Europe. Hendrick Avercamp was one of the first Dutch painters to specialise in snow scenes and his 1608 oil painting Winter Landscape with Skaters depicts townsfolk skating, playing kolf, walking and occasionally falling over on an icy frozen river. Accredited Lecturer Dr Sophie Oosterwijk will show us the fascinating stories in this painting, which is now in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
3 February at 6.30pm. Playing gay in the golden age of TV
Stephen Bourne has been writing about gay culture for 25 years. His books include Brief Encounters (1996), a survey of lesbians and gays in British cinema; the acclaimed Fighting Proud (2017), which focusses on gay men’s lives in the two world wars; and Playing Gay in the Golden Age of British Television (2019), which Russell T Davies describes as a ‘masterpiece
8 February at 2.00pm on line tour of Coronation Street
More reliable than Steve’s cab, sharper than a withering glance from Eva, Ed's online Coronation Street tour takes you to the very Weatherfield streets that inspired the programme, to Richard Hillman’s watery grave, the church of St Mary’s and Weatherfield Registry Office where so many weddings have been messed up, the Red Rec and the ITV studios, old and new.
10 February. 7.00 to 8.30pm Cardiff book talk
A clockwork orange. The originality of the book, and the moral questions it raises, are as relevant now as they ever were’ - https://www.anthonyburgess.org/a-clockwork-orange/ It was 60 years ago in 1962 that the anti-hero Alex and his gang of droogs burst onto the literary scene in what is now one of the most famous and notorious novels of the twentieth century. Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange is a tale of youthful violence and destruction in a terrifying future, but it is also a deeply philosophical novel concerned with individual freedom and the power and dominance of the state. Written in ‘Nadsat’, the book is a linguistic marvel, and the text has had a huge impact on literary, musical and visual culture, including most famously Stanley Kubrick’s iconic film adaptation in 1972.
10 February 6.30 to 8.00pm Pen to Print
Pen to Print brings you this welcoming event hosted by Andreena Leeanne filled with poetry and animations. Andreena Leeanne (she/her), is a Black Lesbian Lived Experience Speaker, Writing Workshop Facilitator & Poet. She writes and performs poetry to come to terms with and speak out about her personal experiences with homelessness, mental health, identity, childhood sexual abuse & the many other challenges she has faced in her life. Her poetry collection CHARRED was published by Team Angelica in 2020 and was shortlisted for a Polari First Book Prize in 2021.
11 February at 6.30. Dressed to Kill
Producer Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli once said of James Bond: ‘Regimes may rise and fall, lapels may widen or narrow, but ultimately he remains the old-fashioned suited hero.’ Since the release of Eon Production’s first Bond film, Dr No, in 1962, the character has been tailored by Anthony Sinclair (Sean Connery), Dimitrov ‘Dimi’ Major (George Lazenby), Cyril Castle, Angelo Vittuci and Douglas ‘Doug’ Hayward (Roger Moore), Benjamin Simon and Lambert Hofer (Timothy Dalton), Brioni (Pierce Brosnan) and Tom Ford (Daniel Craig), respectively.
13 February 5.00 to 7.00pm. African Odysseys.
The African Odysseys film programme has been screening fantastic Black films once a month with Q&A's for 15 years. It is the only such programme in the country and was initiated and maintained by community activists.
Some of the films they have shown have been literally banned and this presentation will go through 20 of them explaining what these films were about, why they were banned and the current methods of suppressing Black films that challenge Hollywood stereotypes.
14 February 11.00am. Storytelling.
Every culture has its own stories to tell. Storytelling is the foundation of human culture. In traditional cultures around the world, telling stories not only entertains but conveys practical information about survival along with the beliefs, taboos, rituals, and social mores
15 February 6.30 to 7.30pm. Historic buildings.
Have you ever noticed strange, tear-shaped scorch marks on timbers in historic buildings? Most people tend to assume that they were left their by the unattended candles of careless occupants. Based on fieldwork survey, research and experimental archaeology this talk demonstrates that such marks are evidence of a number of ritual practices in the mediaeval and early modern periods linked to a desire to bring good luck and avert evil…
24 February 2.00 to 3.00pm. Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry, who won the Turner Prize in 2003, is close to becoming a ‘National Treasure’. His beautiful, finely crafted pottery, which frequently has a sting in the tail, and his colourful, imaginative and often amusing tapestries are enormously popular in the fine art world. In this lecture, you will look at his work in some detail, as well as considering his cross-dressing alter ego, Claire, and his fondness for his childhood teddy bear, Alan Measles. Join Frank Woodgate, Arts Society Lecturer, to learn more.
24 February at 5.00pm. History of the Pride Revolution
In the journey we will go through in the lecture, which combines a variety of videos and music, we will explore and discover the roots of the developments of LGBTQ identities, and the pride communities. We will learn the basics that will allow us to approach and understand in a much better way people from the pride communities around us (friends, relatives, teachers, apprentices, colleagues at work and more).