Diary of Events from 11 March 2012

To Sunday 6 May. Northern City Renaissance. Centred on Sting’s commissioned painting 'Northern City Renaissance, Newcastle, England' (2004-2008) by leading contemporary American artist Stephen Hannock, this exhibition will show scenes from the Laing Art Gallery’s collection depicting the Tyne’s sites of industrial shipbuilding and coalmining history. www.twmuseums.org.uk/laing/thingstoseeanddo/exhibition/2012/01/21/northern-city-renaissance.

 Tuesdays – Saturdays until Sunday 12 August. Portrait of London Exhibition. Wandsworth Museum, 38 West Hill, London SW18. Tues-Sun 10am-5pm. Admission £4, concessions £3. Friends of WM & Under-6s Free. www.wandsworthmuseum.co.uk 

Tuesdays to Saturdays to 25 August. Voyages of Discovery. De Morgan Centre, 38 West Hill, SW18. See how Arts & Crafts ceramicists Evelyn and William de Morgan were inspired by the sea to create some of their most vibrant tiles showing ships, sea monsters, sirens and shells. Reduced price entry when combined with a visit to Wandsworth Museum next door. Tues-Fri 1-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm. Adults £4 (£1 off with Museum entry). Friends, Art Fund members & children free. www.demorgan.org.uk.  

To Sunday 16 September. In The Limelight: Newcastle's Theatrical History Celebrating the 175th Anniversary of Newcastle’s Theatre Royal. The Discovery Museum explores the fascinating histories behind five of Newcastle’s theatres including: Journal Tyne Theatre, Live Theatre, Northern Stage, People’s Theatre and the Theatre Royal. From their early beginnings to the present day, the exhibition will tell the tale of drama, dance, comedy and much more. www.twmuseums.org.uk/discovery/thingstoseeanddo/exhibition/2012/02/04/in-the-limelight-newcastle-039-s-theatrical-history.

To  Thursday 31 January 2013. Portrait: 1600 – 2000. Exhibition featuring portraits in a range of styles from the 17th century right up to the present day, this exhibition will explore topics such as childhood and aristocracy. The exhibition includes portraits of local figures, including a striking portrait of politician and writer Robert Spence Watson by Ralph Hedley. Other highlights of the exhibition will include works by prolific artists Sir John Lavery, Henry Perlee Parker and Angelica Kauffman. It includes some of the best portrait paintings from the Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums collection, and a selection of portrait miniatures and several important works on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. Shipley Art Gallery. www.twmuseums.org.uk/shipley/thingstoseeanddo/exhibition/2012/02/04/portrait-1600-2000.  

Tuesday 13 March. 7pm. From Radicalism to Socialism. Working Class Politics in London 1860-1900. Duncan Bowie. Talk. Socialist History Society, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2. www.socialhistorysociety.co.uk

Wednesday 14 & Thursday 15 March. 3-8pm. Vision for the Vauxhall area. Open days. Unit 13A, St George Wharf, London  SW8. Lambeth Council event about its draft principles to guide future development, the plans for a new linear park (in Wandsworth), and information on how new infrastructure, such as schools and community facilities, could be paid for. Venue Unit 13A St George’s Wharf on the river walk, very close to St George Wharf pier. Information on the Vauxhall area SPD is available online.

Mondays to Saturdays from Wednesday 21 March. Cycling to Suffrage: The Bicycle and Women's Rights, 1890-1914. Display explores the history and politics of women's cycling in Britain, with a focus on the suffrage campaign and some surprising revelations along the way. The Women's Library, 5 Old Castle Street, London
E1. Monday to Friday, 9.30am-5.30pm; Thursday until 8pm; Saturday 10am-4pm. See www.londonmet.ac.uk/thewomenslibrary/whats-on/exhibitions/cycling-to-suffrage-the-bicycle-and-womens-rights-1890-1914.cfm.

Wednesday 21 March. 7.30 pm.  The Life of Sarah Winsor: from Clapham governess to African pioneer. Talk by Fiona Leach (Emeritus Professor of Education at Sussex University).  Sarah Winsor was governess in Revd John Venn's household, who married a missionary, accompanied him to the British colony of Sierra Leone in 1804, and in the years that followed found her life completely bound up by her husband’s actions. www.outlines.org.uk/claphamsociety/clapsocevents.html.

Friday 23 March. Reforming the Railways Conference. Huddersfield. Manuel Cortes, recently-elected General Secretary of rail union TSSA and  Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Maria Eagle, are to speak at this University of Huddersfield conference, which takes its cue from the Government’s review of rail but looks further ahead. Full details on www.reformingtherailways.co.uk. Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First was published last Thursday; see: www.parliament.uk/business/news/2012/march/statement-on-rail-reform.

Tuesday 27 March. 2pm. Soccer, Socialism and Supermen: the artistic, sporting, and political beginnings of Newcastle's People's Theatre. Talk by Dr Christopher Goulding. Tyne & Wear Museums & Archives. Co-founded by the captain of Newcastle United during their Edwardian heyday, the People's Theatre had its origins in the bohemian world of arty socialism in pre-First World War Newcastle. This talk will reveal the fascinating story of the theatre company who, from small beginnings, attracted the attention of Bernard Shaw (who visited the theatre twice) and which grew into the successful theatre that still thrives in the city today.

Tuesday 27 March 2012, 6-8pm. Work of modest proportion’. British Quakers and the Pre-holocaust Rescue of German-speaking Refugees.  Talk by Dr. Jennifer Taylor (Research Centre for German and Austrian Exile Studies, University of London).  Quaker Centre, Friends House, 173 Euston Rd, London. NW1. It is now generally accepted that in proportion to their numbers the Quakers were among the most active group of rescuers in Britain in the years leading up to the Second World War. By the time war broke out in 1939 the Quakers had been instrumental in assisting many thousands of people – predominantly although not exclusively Jewish – to flee Nazi Germany and Austria. Moreover the refugees who came to this country could count on Quaker support until such time as they were established here. Dr. Jennifer Taylor’s talk concentrates on the human stories behind the statistics, showing the impact of the operation on the lives of the rescuers and the rescued. 6pm in the Quaker Centre Café for a 6.30pm start. The Library will be open that day until 6pm. Register for a free place at www.quaker.org.uk/quakerhistory.

Thursday 29 March. 5.30-6.30pm. Slavery and Finance in Britain's Empire of Free Trade. Lecture by Professor Robin Blackburn (Essex). Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, UCL. Open to all. It will be followed by a reception in the Cloisters as prelude to:

Friday 30  to Saturday 31 March. Emancipation, slave-ownership and the remaking of the British imperial world. UCL Neale Colloquium 2012. Old Refectory, Wilkins Building, University College London. The full programme is available here: Neale Conference Programme. The registration fee for the colloquium is £80 including lunch and refreshments. Please use the attached registration form.  

Tuesday 3 April. 1.05pm. Soundpractice Artists Lunchtime Recital in Aid of SCAT. Fairfield Halls, Croydon Fred Scott, a co-founder of the Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Network, and friends will be presenting a lunch-time recital at Fairfield Halls Croydon in aid of SCAT. Fred was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1985 when studying at the Royal Academy of Music. At that time the diagnosis felt rather like a death sentence. For a survivor this turns into a life sentence as you learn to confront your own mortality daily.’ Fred supports SCAT through his activities as a professional musician and hopes that you will be able to contribute to continuing research into treatment for a truly awful disease. Fred (piano) and Megan Whiteley (flute, and fellow cancer-survivor) Lily Scott (soprano) Cornelius Bruinsma (guitars) and Nick Simonon (drums) will perform a varied program inc. works by Coleridge-Taylor. You can sponsor them  through Virgin Money Giving, a not for profit organisation which will also claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/fredscott.   

Thursday 5 April. 7pm. The Squatters Movement 12946. Paul Burnham. Talk. Socialist History Society, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2. www.socialhistorysociety.co.uk 

Saturday 28 April. Conference on Sport, Conflict and Reconciliation. Liverpool Hope University.

www.hope.ac.uk/war-and-peace/conference-on-post-conflict-reconstruction-june-2011.html

Thursday 19 April. 7pm. The Real History of Chartism. David Goodway. Talk. Socialist History Society, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2. www.socialhistorysociety.co.uk

April 28/29. Festival of Luddite Culture and Ideas. Huddersfield. The aim of the event is to bring together different groups who have developed plays, music, poetry, etc related to the Luddites’ anniversary, and to combine that with discussions around issues related to technology today. The festival will include:

·         Theatre, poetry, music, art, storytelling, film

·         Exhibitions including materials developed by local schools

·         Talks/workshops on: the story of the 1812 uprisings; were the Luddites right?

·         Debates on technology issues e.g. digital/internet, nuclear, reproductive technology/genetics, alternative technology; is technology leading to unemployment today, how can we respond to this?

·         Hands on/demonstrations of old/alternative technology: spinning/weaving, cropping, blacksmithing, micropower.

·         Evening concerts

·         Children’s activities

·         Frame smashing re-enactment

·         Stalls

Organised by the Luddites200 group, an informal network of historians, artists, technology politics activists, including scientists and engineers who have shared interests in the Luddites, aiming to both celebrate the anniversary and to open up debate about issues related to technology today. See www.luddites200.org.uk.

Friday 4 May – Sunday 1 July. Into the Mouth of Hell: What price a pitman's life? Exhibition. Between 1812 and 1862 there were four major coal mining disasters on Tyneside, revealing the tragic shortcomings of the technology and safety measures employed in the pits. Coal provided energy, comfort and prosperity to society, but pitmen risked their lives deep underground mining it and bringing it to the surface. This exhibition invites visitors to explore how new technology can take communities to the edge. Part of the programme to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Hartley Pit Disaster. Segedunum Roman Fort. www.twmuseums.org.uk/segedunum/thingstoseeanddo/exhibition/2012/05/04/into-the-mouth-of-hell.

Wednesday 9 (from 4pm) – Friday 11 May (to 2pm). The Long and the Quick of Revolution.  3 day all-in residential seminar at stunning Wortley Hall near Sheffield for only £75.  Most themes for discussion will be based on Anthony Barnett’s lecture, the Raymond Williams Foundation (RWF) AGM last November and his introduction to The Long Revolution (new edition – Parthian 2011).  Themes:

·         Occupy movement/s

·         Why Marx was right

·         The OU and the future of distance learning

·         Cooperatives and Mutuals in the 21st Century

·         The Labour Movement from the 1970s

·         The Peace;  Ecology and Feminist movements

·         Agency from now on?   The People -  the 99%?    

Small group discussion circles will enable additional options, such as:  Science and Art;  The Human Brain;  Jeremy Clarkson  and Good Taste in Humour; Tressell and Me – Radio Ballad. The RWF AGM will take place on Thursday afternoon, 10th May.  The special fee of £75.00 pp includes en suite bedroom, all meals, refreshments and sessions.  Non-residents welcome.   Deposit £30.00  with balance payable three weeks in advance.  Any queries or further information – phone 01538 370067 or e-mail   info@raymondwilliamsfoundation.org.uk                                  

Saturday 12 May. Enoch’s Hammer: the Luddites and other 19th century protest movements. University of Huddersfield www.ludditelink.org.uk.  

Thursday 17 May. 7pm. Captain Swing. Carl Griffin. Talk. Socialist History Society, Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2. www.socialhistorysociety.co.uk 

Thursday 7 June. Space and Social Relations in Historical Perspective. University of Edinburgh. The relationship between space and social relations is a prominent topic in current affairs. This innovative one-day workshop will address how space is defined and organised. It will focus especially on how historical perspectives can inform our understandings of how people use and experience space. Conference themes may address but are not limited to:

Urban space and the built environment

Space and social identity

Public space and private space

Governance, control and authority over space

Segregation and the architecture of social exclusion

Further details from L.Settle@sms.ed.ac.uk.

Wednesday & Thursday 13 & 14 June. AGENCY: History Lab Annual Conference. Who makes history? What is the role of the individual, and how much influence can they have? While historians have long debated the meaning and implication of agency, events such as the Arab Spring, in which traditional structures are overturned by collective and individual action, gives the notion of agency fresh urgency. The conference will open with a plenary panel on Agency and history with Professors David d’Avray, Catherine Hall (UCL), and Christian List (LSE).  www.history.ac.uk/historylab.  Venue: Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1.