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THE ARTS SOCIETY BATH WELCOMES YOU

Established nearly 40 years ago and enjoying The Arts in all its forms.

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ABOUT US

The Arts Society Bath has a friendly, active membership who share an appreciation of and commitment to the arts.

Our 2024/25 season of monthly lectures will be delivered in a hybrid format (both in-person and online via Zoom). In-person lectures will be at our venue, Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. Members accessing lectures online via Zoom will be sent a link a few days in advance. (Our January lecture will be via Zoom only.)

If you wish to attend as a guest or are not a member, (£10 in venue, or £7 on Zoom) you must email bath@theartssociety.org by the Friday preceding the lecture.

 

The Arts Society Bath promotes its aims through lectures (nine per season running from October to June) on fine and decorative arts in the widest sense and through Special Interest Days, a monthly local newsletter and a quarterly national magazine. We also support local projects promoting arts in the community. Additionally, we organise visits and access to many other arts activities via our nationwide membership of The Arts Society.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • David Garrick: Actor & Impresario
    David Garrick: Actor & Impresario
    Mon, 04 Nov
    Widcombe Social Club
    04 Nov 2024, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    04 Nov 2024, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    Following the trauma of the English Civil War came the Restoration, a period of loucheness and scandal. With the return of a King and the arrival of the first English actresses, the foundations were set for a more modern theatre to emerge under the influence of the greatest actor/manager of the age.
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  • From the Renaissance to Neoclassicism - Developments in the Art and Architecture of Rome in the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s
    From the Renaissance to Neoclassicism - Developments in the Art and Architecture of Rome in the 1500s, 1600s and 1700s
    Wed, 13 Nov
    BRLSI
    13 Nov 2024, 10:30 – 15:30
    BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN, UK
    13 Nov 2024, 10:30 – 15:30
    BRLSI, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath BA1 2HN, UK
    This Special Interest Day explores three periods of art and architecture in Rome.
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  • The Christmas Story in Renaissance Art
    The Christmas Story in Renaissance Art
    Mon, 02 Dec
    Widcombe Social Club
    02 Dec 2024, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    02 Dec 2024, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    The Christmas story is told through a selection of well-loved paintings and illuminated manuscripts by Italian and Flemish artists, including Botticelli, Fra Angelico and Jan van Eyck, together with many less well- known images. This lecture explores the rich symbolism of Christmas imagery.
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  • Arts & Crafts of Mexico, Past and Present
    Arts & Crafts of Mexico, Past and Present
    Mon, 06 Jan
    Online via Zoom
    06 Jan 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Online via Zoom
    06 Jan 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Online via Zoom
    After the Spanish conquest of 1521, the raw materials, techniques and art styles of Europe merged with those of the New World. Drawing on skills inherited from Aztec, Maya and Spanish predecessors, makers bring a modern vision to ancient traditions: exquisite textiles, silver jewellery, and more.
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  • Two Hundred Years of British Surrealism
    Two Hundred Years of British Surrealism
    Mon, 03 Feb
    Widcombe Social Club
    03 Feb 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    03 Feb 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    What is ‘surrealism’, where did it come from, and how did it influence 20th century British art? Looking at artists as diverse as William Blake, Francis Bacon, Henry Moore and Paul Nash - as well as writers such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Lewis Carroll - this lecture answers all those questions.
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  • 17th Century Dutch Painting - Art in the Garden of God
    17th Century Dutch Painting - Art in the Garden of God
    Mon, 03 Mar
    Widcombe Social Club
    03 Mar 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    03 Mar 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    Dutch art in the 17th Century dealt with the lives of real people: at times ordered, at others bawdy or self-important, and occasionally tragic. The new Protestant mentality allowed astonishing advances in society as shown by Rembrandt, Vermeer and more.
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  • The Silk Road: The First Global Highway (Special Interest Day)
    The Silk Road: The First Global Highway (Special Interest Day)
    Wed, 19 Mar
    Widcombe Social Club
    19 Mar 2025, 10:30 – 15:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    19 Mar 2025, 10:30 – 15:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    This Special Interest Day will consist of three talks about the Silk Road, a melting pot of religions, science and the creative arts for over 3,000 years.
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  • The Art of John Piper
    The Art of John Piper
    Mon, 07 Apr
    Widcombe Social Club
    07 Apr 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    07 Apr 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    From cathedrals to churches, cottages to coastlines, we are never very far from a place John Piper has painted, written about or for which he had undertaken a commission. One of the most versatile British artists of the 20th Century - painter, designer, stained glass artist, photographer and writer.
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  • Art Behind Bars: The Role of the Arts in Breaking the Cycle of Crime, Prison and Re-offending
    Art Behind Bars: The Role of the Arts in Breaking the Cycle of Crime, Prison and Re-offending
    Mon, 12 May
    Widcombe Social Club
    12 May 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    12 May 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    The lecturer offers a deeper understanding of the minds, lives and challenges of offenders.
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  • The Crack’d Visage: The Conservation and Preservation of British Portraits
    The Crack’d Visage: The Conservation and Preservation of British Portraits
    Mon, 02 Jun
    Widcombe Social Club
    02 Jun 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    02 Jun 2025, 11:30 – 12:30
    Widcombe Social Club, Widcombe Hill, Bath BA2 6AA, UK
    This lecture describes traditional portrait painting materials and techniques, beginning with Tudor and Jacobean workshop practices of the 16th and early 17th Centuries.
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BECOME A MEMBER

Become a member of The Arts Society today and enjoy all of these benefits.

 

The cost for our 2024 - 2025 season is £54.

Membership

Access to 9 lectures on the Arts given by professional art historians and art lecturers, once a month in the Widcombe Social Club.

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Opportunities to attend Special Interest Days arranged by The Arts Society Bath and other societies.

Opportunities to go on visits and city walks arranged for members and guests.

Membership of the national organisation, The Arts Society.

Quarterly magazine covering the arts and activities of the national and local arts societies.

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Access to The Arts Society's talks and activities of the national and local arts societies

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