Previous Events: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 – click here
Autumn in Malvern Festival
Dame Laura Knight Society Lecture
in association with Malvern Theatre
Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920
Saturday 11th October 2025 3pm
Studio One Malvern Theatre
Tim Batchelor, Assistant Curator at Tate Britain, gives an overview of the exhibition ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520 – 1920’ which was held at the Tate Britain from May to October 2024. The exhibition featured over 230 works by more than 100 different women artists, working over 400 years. While introducing the themes and structure of the exhibition, it will focus on some of the key artists including Mary Beale, Angelica Kauffman, Dame Laura Knight and Gwen John. It will also reflect on some aspects of organising the exhibition, revealing some of the behind-the-scenes stories.
Tickets from Malvern Theatre Box Office: 01684 892277 £11
Talk ‘Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520-1920‘
Tim Batchelor Curator Tate Britain
Saturday 11th October 2025 3pm Malvern Theatre Studio One
Dame Laura Knight Society
AGM
Tuesday 14th October 2025 7pm
Colwall Village Hall Jean Simon Room
Emigrants Laura Knight c. 1922
Following a short business meeting, we shall break for refreshments then Heather Whatley and Alan Seddon will lead a discussion on some recent Laura Knight sales of work. Some of the pieces presented are in private collectors’ hands and have not been seen before so this is a rare opportunity to talk about Laura’s work not on public display.
Talk ‘Women at Work’
Alice Foster Saturday 14th March 2026 3pm Colwall Village Hall
Elizabeth and Stanhope Forbes: A Marriage of Art
Exhibition at Worcester Art Gallery
This exhibition was held at Worcester Art Gallery with the specific talk by Natasha Wilkinson on: Thursday 26th June 2025 11am
Laura Knight’s extraordinarily capacious concept of theatre resulted in art which tried to capture not only the diversity of different forms of performance, but also the working environments of where and how performance is made. In discussing examples of that diversity this talk will also focus on the key personalities who facilitated her access—in particular Sir Barry Jackson, her friend for over 50 years and the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Company and the Malvern Festival.
Claire Cochrane is Professor Emeritus of Theatre Studies at the University of Worcester. She has published widely on the history and continuing policies of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and is a trustee of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust. As a historian of twentieth and twenty-first century British theatre with a particular interest in regional theatre, she is the author of Twentieth Century British Theatre: Industry, Art and Empire published by CUP in 2011. She is currently working on the co-edited two volume Routledge Companion to Twentieth Century British Theatre. Volume 1 1900-1950 was published in October last year.
Laura Knight is in the spotlight again:
Below is a link to a zoom talk by Dr Alice Strickland on the life of Laura Knight with the title ‘Circus Troupes and Parachutes’.
For any recently joined members of the society, this will be a good resume of Laura’s extraordinary life and what she achieved as a female artist at the beginning of the 20thC.
Alice Strickland is a curator for the National Trust in London and the South-East and her doctorate considered British women artists of the Second World War.
The zoom talk was on August 21st at 8-9.30pm However, it can still be accessed via the link below:
Here are the details: (Copy and Paste into your chosen browser)
www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/event/circus-troupes-and-parachutes-the-many-lives-of-laura-knight-with-alice-strickland/
Laura Knight’s extraordinarily capacious concept of theatre resulted in art which tried to capture not only the diversity of different forms of performance, but also the working environments of where and how performance is made. In discussing examples of that diversity this talk will also focus on the key personalities who facilitated her access—in particular Sir Barry Jackson, her friend for over 50 years and the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Company and the Malvern Festival.
Claire Cochrane is Professor Emeritus of Theatre Studies at the University of Worcester. She has published widely on the history and continuing policies of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and is a trustee of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust. As a historian of twentieth and twenty-first century British theatre with a particular interest in regional theatre, she is the author of Twentieth Century British Theatre: Industry, Art and Empire published by CUP in 2011. She is currently working on the co-edited two volume Routledge Companion to Twentieth Century British Theatre. Volume 1 1900-1950 was published in October last year.
Spirit Of Malvern Art Competition
On May Bank Holiday Monday, 2025, the Malvern Creatives Connect artist group held its second annual ‘en plein air’ competition. 100 artists both local and national had around five hours to create a scene in and around Malvern.
In the spirit of Dame Laura Knight, our society sponsored a prize for Best Landscape which was won by the artist Greta Vilidaite who painted the view over Malvern from an elevated position on the Wyche Road.
Below is Greta’s winning entry.
Laura Knight’s Theatre: Performance, People and Place
Professor Claire Cochrane
Saturday 15th March 2025 3:00pm Colwall Village Hall
Laura Knight’s extraordinarily capacious concept of theatre resulted in art which tried to capture not only the diversity of different forms of performance, but also the working environments of where and how performance is made. In discussing examples of that diversity this talk will also focus on the key personalities who facilitated her access—in particular Sir Barry Jackson, her friend for over 50 years and the founder of the Birmingham Repertory Company and the Malvern Festival.
Claire Cochrane is Professor Emeritus of Theatre Studies at the University of Worcester. She has published widely on the history and continuing policies of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre and is a trustee of the Sir Barry Jackson Trust. As a historian of twentieth and twenty-first century British theatre with a particular interest in regional theatre, she is the author of Twentieth Century British Theatre: Industry, Art and Empire published by CUP in 2011. She is currently working on the co-edited two volume Routledge Companion to Twentieth Century British Theatre. Volume 1 1900-1950 was published in October last year.
LAURA KNIGHT. AN ARTIST’S LIFE ON THE EDGE – SACHA LLEWELLYN AND LINDA FALCONE IN CONVERSATION
This video conversation was presented live on February 2nd. However, it can still be accessed via this link:
https://www.royaldrawingschool.org/lectures-events/laura-knight-an-artists-life-on-the-edge/
8 March 2019: Illustrated talk by Alison Bevan.
Alison Bevan, Director of the RWA, shared her love of Dod Procter’s work with the society.
20 April 2019: The Mayor’s Civic Service and the DLKS.
14-18 May 2019: FDLKS – Holiday in Cornwall.
31 May 2019 In the footsteps of Dame Laura Knight. A walk led by Mike Averill and Michael Johnson. This was part of the Malvern 2019 Walking Festival.
27 July 2019: ‘Inspiration and Expression’. Four local artists David Birtwhistle, Colin Simmonds, Mel Williams and Guy Woodford, presented their work and talked about what inspires them.
23 September 2019: ‘Working on the Spot’. Our AGM and a talk by our guest speaker Graham Davies, entitled .
28 September 2019: ‘Artist couples of Newlyn and Lamorna’. A talk by James Russell.
James Russell is an independent art historian and curator, best known for exhibitions at Dulwich Picture Gallery. This event was part of Autumn in Malvern Festival 2019.
2 November 2019: ‘The Children of Laura Knight’. A talk by our friend, esteemed art historian and supporter of DLKS, Dr Pamela Gerrish Nunn, on a tour of Britain from her home in New Zealand. This talk was sold out.
7th February 2020: Fish and Chip Supper and Quiz Night. A great night out an the Mount Pleasant Hotel.
June to September 2020: Malvern Outdoor Exhibition. A series of Dame Laura’s pictures on show in the centre of Malvern Town.
November 2020: Release of Video – Dame Laura Knight An Artists Appreciation. A video talk by Artist Brian Gorst uploaded onto YouTube. Followed by an on-line Q&A session .
March 2021: Release of Video – Colourful Characters: Laura Knight’s Models. A video talk by artist Catherine Wallace.
6th November 2021: Talk by Brendan Flynn ‘Pioneers of the Newlyn School’. Colwall Village Hall.
3rd February 2022: Visit to Laura Knight exhibition ‘A Panoramic View’ Milton Keynes Gallery Click here to read a review.
30th April 2022: Talk by Fay Blanchard ‘Curating Laura Knight and Putting Together the Largest Dame Laura Knight Exhibition in 50 Years’. A full review of Fay’s presentation can be read here.
12th May 2022: Visit to Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery to see exhibition ‘Laura Knight and Caroline Walker: A Female Gaze’.
2nd June 2022: Malvern Walking Festival ‘Appreciating and Understanding Dame Laura Knight’. Mike Averill
31st July 2022: Picnic in the Park. Social event in Priory Park, Malvern, toasting Laura Knight’s 145th birthday.
7th October 2022: Talk by Francis Spalding ‘Dame Laura Knight: Through her art and in her time’ as part of the Autumn in Malvern Festival. Lewis Lecture Theatre, Malvern College.
18th March 2023: Film ‘Eric Ravilious – Drawn to War’ A Margy Kinmouth film. Colwall Village Hall
22nd April 2023: Talk ‘Sir Alfred Munnings: His Life, Art and Connections with Dame Laura Knight’. Marcia Whiting.
30th September 2023: Talk ‘Exploding the Myths: Discovering the True Story of Early St Ives Art’. David Tovey. Part of the Autumn in Malvern Festival.
10th April 2024: Dame Laura Knight Walk Around Colwall led by Alan Seddon
20th April 2024: Talk ‘Laura Knight and the Ballet Russes’. Jill Salmons. Colwall Village Hall.
20th-24th May 2024: Holiday to Newcastle and the North-East, taking in Staithes, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, Pannett Gallery, Whitby with special access to Laura Knight work from the store collection.
8th June 2024: Talk ‘Objects That Tell’ Heather Whatley and Marian Chester. Worcester Art Gallery, as part of a programme of talks supporting the Laura Knight exhibition ‘I Paint Today’.
29th June 2024: Talk ‘Mary Gillick and Laura Knight: An Enduring Friendship’ Philip Attwood from the British Museum.
5th October 2024: Talk ‘Harold Harvey:Painter of Cornwall’ Alison Bevan. Colwall Village Hall.
19th October 2024: Display Colwall Village Library about Laura Knight and her associations with Colwall. Presented by the Colwall Village Society.
21st October 2024: Talk on Dame Laura Knight to the Colwall Village Society. Heather Whatley.
26th November 2024: Visit to the Barber Institute. Exhibition ‘Scent and the Art of the Pre-Raphaelites’