Prepare to be amazed by this early photographic process, now an art form. Discovered in the 1840s by Sir John Herschel and developed by Anna Atkins, who used it to create botanical illustrations of seaweed. Local artist and photographer Sarah Garrod uses Cyanotypes to produce beautiful images and will demonstrate her technique.

THIS LECTURE WILL NOW TAKE PLACE AT MORDEN COLLEGE SE3 0NH

Why has Ukrainian visual culture mostly been invisible to art history? The reasons are multiple and complex. Yet Ukraine’s long quest for statehood and its place at the crossroads between competing empires and contrasting cultures have forged a rich and varied artistic heritage. Covering a millennium of traditions, treasures, and trailblazers, this lecture introduces the art and architecture of Europe’s largest country.

THIS LECTURE WILL NOW TAKE PLACE AT ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH SE3 9JL

Dr Louise Hardiman specialises in Russian and Ukrainian art and the history of British-Russian cultural exchange. Since completing her PhD in History of Art at the University of Cambridge in 2013, she has worked as an independent academic with a principal research focus on women artists, landscape art, and design history. Her books include Modernism and the Spiritual in Russian Art: New Perspectives (2017), The Story of Synko-Filipko and other Russian Folk Tales (2019), and Courtly Gifts and Cultural Diplomacy: Art, Material Culture and British-Russian Relations (2023). Hardiman is a panel tutor in art history for University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education (PACE); in 2024-2025 she was Visiting Fellow at Kingston University.

Is it really true that a picture is worth 1000 words? The most ancient text illustration is in a book nearly 3000 years old: we can still see the picture, but not read the book. The least ancient is rolling off the press today. In this talk we will look at the many ways in which illustrations are used, the techniques by which they are made from illuminated manuscript to AI, and wonder which of picture and text might eventually displace the other.

THIS LECTURE WILL NOW TAKE PLACE AT ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH SE3 9JL

Love them or hate them, Brutalist buildings are now listed and protected as a part of our architectural heritage. Brutalist structures, with their blockish forms and concrete construction are often described as ugly, crude and drab yet there are examples of this building type which merit a second look. Considering Britain’s best (or most notorious) Brutalist constructions, as well as notable examples from around the world, this lecture will shed newlight on an architectural style which we may yet learn to love!

THIS LECTURE WILL NOW TAKE PLACE AT ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH SE3 9JL

Pauline Boty is perhaps one of the most innovative painters to come out of the Royal College of Art in the early 60s and yet few have heard of her. She used her natural talent and intelligence to create some of the most thoughtful Pop Art paintings of the decade. In doing so she embraced her own femininity and grasp of sexual politics, developing the collage and painting styles of the day. The tale of her young death is unbearably sad, but the recent re-discovery of her work, is both heartwarming and inspirational

The 1600s in Rome was dominated by the great rivalry between architects Gianlorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. We will examine some of Bernini’s greatest sculptures, such as Apollo and Daphne, before comparing and contrasting their parallel careers and architectural styles as they remade Rome in Baroque splendour.  [We do know that the Coliseum was not designed by either Bernini or Borromini, but this is the only photo of Stuart we have got]

As the National Gallery exhibits works from the Kröller-Müller collection, we learn more about this passionate art collector who, from 1907 to 1939, acquired around 11,500 objects. We will explore why and how Helene Kröller-Müller collected modern art, and envisioned it displayed in an innovative museum. We examine how other early 20th Century female patrons also became taste-makers and shaped the art world.

This talk will tell of the science behind Turner's paintings, the paints used and their conservation. The talk will draw on the wealth of watercolours, sketches, exhibited paintings and the unique collection of studio materials which form the Turner Bequest at Tate Britain.

Image: Rain Steam Speed, JMW Turner, 1844, National Gallery

In the 1950s Finn Juhl was one of the most celebrated architects and designers in the world. Only 30 years later he had fallen into total obscurity, his works selling for a pittance. Today he is recognised as one of the giants of mid century design. What was behind this extraordinary reversal in fortune, and what does it tell us about the vagaries of artistic success?

Women have worked as artists for hundreds of years, often struggling against societal expectations and institutional barriers. This talk will showcase the work of women artists in Britain from the sixteenth century to the First World War. Refusing to be boxed in, they daringly painted what were usually thought to be subjects for male artists: history pieces, battle scenes and the nude.

Jim Thompson arrived in Bangkok as a US army officer in 1945, fell in love with it and stayed. Captivated by the beauty of Thai silk, an ancient craft in decline, he resuscitated it and made it famous. His home, now a museum,made from 6 exquisite hand-carved teakwood houses, was filled with Asian art. This lecture tells the story of his ahievements, showing the intricate process of silk production and its illustrious heritage, including royal robes and temple murals.

Interpretation of art works relies on visual analysis. We all apply such techniques in recognising an artist's work. For example, how do you know those Water lilies are by Monet? This lecture will explore how visual analysis used in medical prctice on patients can help in generating new understanding of artists' work.

Drawings on the inhospitable medium of clay survives in rare examples of tablets from ancient Mesopotamia. They exhibit the most extraordinary level of unhibited draughtsmanship. This talk will consider what can be learned from these earliest pictographs and drawings

The early sixteenth century in Florence was an exhilirating place for an artist to work, brimming with new ideas. For a brief but intense period Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael coincided in Florence. We explore the rivalries between the artists and the impact that Michelangelo and Leonardo had on the young Raphael.

This lecture complements the Royal Academy Exhibition "Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Florence c 1504"

Image: Leonardo da Vinci - The Virgin and Child with St Anne and the Infant St John the Baptist ('The Burlington House Cartoon') (detail), c.1506-08, The National Gallery.

We will learn the true history of the Colosseum, cutting away the urban myths and Hollywood fantasy to get at the realiity of the games that entertained the Ancient Romans. We will learn how the Roman architects and engineers were able to biuld such a huge structure in just 8 years.

The architecture of the National Theatre divides opinion so much that it once appeared twice in a poll of the buildings of London - in the top ten best and the top ten worst. The lecture looks at the life and work of Denys Lasdun, including other buildings he designed, but focuses on the National Theatre.

We are taken on a journey to uncover the original owners of a silver tea kettle by tracing the heraldry on the silver, and we will be told their entertaining life stories which includes infidelity and tragedies. The Huguenot infuence on the method of manufacture and design of this most decorative period is discussed

Some of the most important pieces of Renaissance sculpture were produced for small parish churches as well as for the large cathedrals in the towns of Central Europe, often in stone, by German sculptors. In the golden age of late 15th and 16th centuries, the medium of limewood began to be used. We will see how the work and influence of the great limewood carvers such as Veit Stoss and Michael Pacher resulted in the glorious wood carving of the 17th century British sculptor, Grinling Gibbons.

Constructing a new palace in 15C Italy was a tricky business with many pitfalls. In Florence excessive spending was frowned upon and could be regarded as a political challenge. In Venice, the wish for a fine façade had to be balanced by the massive cost of foundations and the difficulty of sourcing building materials. In Rome, greater opulence was the norm as families positioned themselves in the hope of achieving Papal favour. We shall see the challenges of Renaissance palace construction in the three cities, and their differences in building style and form .

The talk will explore some of the fascinating stories of music  making in the wider Blackheath area. The area was home to a  surprising number of popular musicians in the second half of the twentieth century such as Albert Lee, Marty Wilde, Jools Holland and Kate Bush. Venues such as the Green Man on Blackheath Hill and Lewisham Odeon were go-to places for music fans for several decades.

REPLACEMENT LECTURE:  as Dr Finkel will be in Iraq on 25 April, his lecture has been postponed to 2025.  Jonathan Causer will talk about PG Wodehouse and his conenction with the Gaiety Theatre, in a lecture which has been moved back from 2025.

The 14th century artist Cennino Cennini recommended using “the chicken bones that you will find under the dining table” to paint with. His treatise, The Artists’ Handbook, gives us an understanding of some of the materials which any artist had to master before he could  begin to paint, such as the tail of a squirrel to make his paintbrushes. We will hear in this lecture the techniques and some of the reasons for the features of 15th and 16th century paintings which may seem odd to our modern eyes.   

Possibly the greatest figure painter of the second half of the 20th century, Lucian Freud also led an extraordinary life: from his  family’s escape from the Hitler regime in the1930s to his colourful and combative life in London. This talk will look at his unforgettable paintings (many of which have a penetrative scrutiny that is almost the visual equivalent of his grandfather Sigmund’s analysis of patients) as well as his relations with his models and fellow artists.

This talk on illuminated manuscripts of both pre- and post-Conquest periods considers briefly how they were made and planned and the difficulties faced by the scribes, some of whom complained bitterly in writing. How the books were used is examined, whether as sacred vessels for The Word or as memory joggers for day-dreaming monks. A vast number manuscripts survive, enabling us to know more about the men and women who made them. 

Illustration shows Cistercian monks working circa 1111

Charles Dickens revived the Christmas traditions with his warm portrayal of Christmas in the domestic setting; with plum pudding, piping hot turkey, games, dancing and family cheer by the hearth. His enduring masterpiece, ‘A Christmas Carol’ immortalises the spirit of Christmas Cheer. Bertie will get us into the spirit of Christmas with readings, biographical details and conjuring tricks.

This lecture examines the revival of 15th century carpets in Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan. Illuminations on vellum are all that were left of Timurid Carpets until Chris Alexander’s workshop began to weave them to life again. The lecture will examine the traditional role of carpet weaving and embroidery in the social lives of Central Asian women

James Abbott McNeill Whistler was a leading proponent of the idea of "art for art's sake". He signed his paintings with stylized monogram of a butterfly with a long stinger for a tail – as much a symbol of his love of Japanese art as his assertive and sometimes combative nature. He had a wide social network of friends and family and yet, if crossed, could be a formidable opponent.

Photographs are able to freeze-frame a moment in time and space. They give us the opportunity to think, to react, to feel and to soak in the details surrounding the image. This talk, with great images and interesting back stories, examines some the most important images and photographers of the past century.

The lives of women changed out of recognition during the First World War. New opportunities opened up in the world of work and play. Images in advertising art captured this social narrative in a surprisingly intimate and touching way. Unisex clothing, revolutionary underwear and swiftly changing fashions were documented in all their variety, the poignancy of loss and disability was also touched on.

New Orleans at the end of the 19th century was a busy port welcoming ships and sailors from all over the world bringing with them many diverse styles of music. It was also one of the few places in America where the music of the slave population was not just tolerated but openly enjoyed by black and white communities alike. In this Creole crucible it was not long before such a kaleidoscope of musical traditions would come together, react, and evolve into an exciting new music, namely jazz.  

Jazz’s evolution didn’t happen overnight of course. And in this talk we’ll look at the part African Blues and Cakewalk, American Classical and Vaudeville, Latin American Dance, and Middle Eastern Klezmer all played in the story of jazz. We’ll also enjoy along the way some of the greatest musical artists of the twentieth century: Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Duke Ellington to name but a few.

An examination of the life of Rembrandt, his early career and his domestic relationships. We will see how his interest in Biblical subjects and his  religious faith shaped his paintings and career. The talk will  focus on his painting of Bathsheba,  showing a powerless woman at the hands of the powerful men around her and also the pivotal effect of the poor reception of the Night Watch on him.  

A look at the life and career of  the Romanian sculptor Brâncuși and some of his key works. Early in his career, he spent a  couple of months working in Auguste Rodin's studio, leaving because of his conviction that "Nothing can grow under big trees." He became one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of modernism.  His work was so radical and simplified that it caused controversy, not least when American customs officials refused to accept his Bird in Space as a work of art at all!  

An exploration of the highlights of the vast Vatican Museums collection, with a focus on the frescoes of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. We will see ancient classical statues that influenced Renaissance and later artists, and also intricate Roman mosaics, magnificent tapestries, and the beautiful frescoes by Raphael. In the Sistine Chapel, where Popes are elected in secret, we can examine Michelangelo's famous Creation frescoes on the ceiling and the magnificent Last Judgement.

This talk unravels the mysteries surrounding a once sought after but now largely forgotten craft. We will look at the history and manufacture of Spanish leather, otheriwse known as gilt leather. For about 800 years it was the  must-have interior decorative item of the age. There will be samples of both original and replica panels to examine after the talk.

Patricia who is a practising iconographer will provide an insight into the process of painting an icon with reference to the history, setting and meaning of this sacred art form that had its beginnings in the Christian church nearly 2000 years ago and continues to this day.

Rowland Hilder was a watercolourist and oil painter noted for his scenes of the English countryside and life around the Thames. Although born in America, he was very much of this locality. He trained at Goldsmiths College and lived in Blackheath for many years.

David Rosier's talk will focus on the costume and dress accessories that fell outside the scope of regulated formal court costume. These were the clothing worn informally by either members of the Imperial Family, Civil or Military Officials and those in the highter social classes in the Qing Dynasty China. Of particular interest will be shoes of the period worn by Han Chinese ladies with their bound feet.
 

Blackheath's position on the road from London to Dover has featured often in novels, poems and plays. We will hear of the famous figures (Chaucer, Shakespeare, Dickens) but Jonathan will concentrate mainly on some of the less well-known people who have written about or are connected with Blackheath and its surroundings. This will include the world premier of the poem, A Walk on Blackheath, commissioned by the Arts Society Blackheath from Lorraine Mariner.

Henry Moore became a towering figure on the international art scene after the Second World War. Anthony Caro studied sculpture in the 1940s, and became Moore's studio assistant for two years. This lecture traces the career of both Moore and Caro, and describes their time together, their falling out, and their respective impacts on modern sculpture

The churches, Halls and civic buildings in the City of London house some of the most interesting stained glass windows, each of which tell its own part of London's history. Many can trace their story back to the early foundations of the City. We will be shown the hidden gems of the streets of the City of London.

We will be shown some of the extraordinary images that exist in over 700 churches in England. Much social comment can be gleaned from these carvings though there are no records why these images were chosen.
 

The director who was in charge of the restoration of the Painted Hall, William Palin, will describe how the conservation work was done, including the arrangements through interior scaffolding, to allow the public to see the ceiiling up close and to meet the conservators at work.

Caravaggio's paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more, from Orazio Gentileschi to Peter Paul Rubens, to name just two. Yet for many, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is famed as much for his criminal record as for his art. We will see how the dramatic backdrop of his life and times influenced his art and why and how his influence spread so far.

A tour of the history of this enduring and peculiarly British institution, from its origins in 16th century Italian commedia dell'arte, through the influence of 19th century music hall, to the family shows that are still much loved today

The events surrounding the birth of Jesus have been favourite subjects for artists through the centuries. Nigel Halliday who gave us our first virtual lecture, Easter in Art, will be presenting a talk on the great masters and their paintings, pointing out less well known details of famous scenes associated with the Nativity.

Janie Ramsay is well placed to spill the beans on what goes on behind the scenes in the antiques trade. She had two shops in Tunbridge Wells for many years. She also worked for 25 years at Sotheby’s, retiring as a director.

William Morris considered a beautiful home to be “the most important production of Art” and much of his working life was devoted to bringing art and beauty into a wide range of homes. He created first at the Red House in Bexleyheath, then at Kelmscott House in Hammersmith, and finally at his country home, Kelmscott Manor, a series of interiors that exemplified his ideas about art and design. This lecture explores not only the decoration, but also the relationships and lifestyles associated with each of these very different homes.

'Wonder Workers and the Art of Illusion' is a whistle stop tour of the history of mystery from 3000 BC to the 21st century. Egypt was the cradle of magic. Sorcerer Priests used scientific principles to create illusions for worship and to hold power over the people. With the emergence of the Music Hall, legendary tricks such as pulling a rabbit from a hat and sawing a lady in half were born. Even today, in the age of super advanced technology, the wonder and surprise of magic are as popular as ever.

The Fan Museum in Greenwich is the first museum in the world to be devoted to fans.  The story of how it came to be is interwoven with the fascinating biography of its founder, whose own fans form the basis of the Museum’s collection. Jacob Moss, the museum’s curator, will take us through the key objects amongst the Museum’s more than 5,000 fans.

The first British seaside resort was, improbably, Scarborough, nearly 300 years ago. Later came Eastbourne and other resorts. Nicholas Reed will give an insight into the representation of the seaside and seaside resorts by Victorian painters such as Frith and Berthe Morisot and 20th century artists such as Picasso, Stanley Spencer, Dorothea Sharp, and the Newlyn School.

This lecture will explore the master weaver, James Leman’s designs for woven silks in the Leman Album, produced between 1706 and 1716, which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It will also examine the silk weaving industry and the appetite and market for fashionable silks in early eighteenth century London.

This talk is on Zoom only and will be available at 2.30pm on 25th March. The link to the meeting will be sent to members on 23rd March. Guests are welcome at £8 per person. Contact kim.causer@gmail.com for further information.

Turner’s “Fighting Temeraire” was voted the nation’s favourite paining in a BBC Radio 4 poll of 2005: since 20 February 2020 it has also featured on the back of the new £20 note, with a self portrait of the artist. We will look briefly at the ship’s history, notably its part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and why Turner chose to paint it after the Navy sold the ship at auction for breaking up in August 1838

This talk is on Zoom only and will be available at 2.30pm on 25th February. The link to the meeting will be sent to members on 23rd February. Guests are welcome at £8 per person. Contact kim.causer@gmail.com for further information.

Emma Johnson, the celebrated clarinettist, divides her time between performing, writing and lecturing. In this talk she will explain classical music is not all about seriousness and Teutonics, there are funny bits too….!

This talk is on Zoom only and will be available at 2.30pm on 28th January. The link to the meeting will be sent to members on 26th January. Guests are welcome at £8 per person. Contact kim.causer@gmail.com for further information.

Royal Food Historian Marc Meltonville was part of the team tasked with finding and recreating the Chocolate kitchen of King George II at Hampton Court.

Marc will take us on a journey to find the King’s Chocolate kitchen, what might have been cooked there and discover why chocolate was so glamorous and desirable in the 18th Century.

This tour is on Zoom only and will be available at 11am on 26th November. The link to the meeting will be sent to members on 25th November. Guests are welcome at £8 per person. Contact kim.causer@gmail.com for further information.

London’s West End is today the number one theatrical destination in the world, having overtaken New York’s Broadway a few years ago.  This virtual tour of London’s Theatreland will take you from the National Theatre back in time to the place where women were first seen on the stage in the 1660’s.  As well as seeing some of London’s most famous theatres, you will also meet some of the most famous theatrical figures of the last 300 years, including an actress who was so theatrical, she ordered meat from her butcher as if standing on stage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and an actress who’s ashes were given to St Paul’s the actors church in a tea caddy!

About Pepe Martinez

Pepe Martinez is an award winning London Blue Badge Tourist Guide.  He was born in the East End and has lived there all his life.  He is a accredited Institute of Tourist Guiding Trainer and is currently tutoring on the London Blue Badge training course

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

A whistle stop tour of the history of mystery from 3000BC to the 21st century.

Egypt was the cradle of magic. Sorcerer Priests used scientific principles to create illusions for the edification of worship and to hold power over the people. Where there was power there was magic. Magicians were known as ‘Jongleurs’ lest they be sentenced to death for ‘witchraft and conjuration’ under the edicts of Henry VIII.

With the emergence of the Music Hall, Magic gained a new respectability and audiences flocked in their thousands to watch the extraordinary feats of The Great Illusionists. This gave birth to legendary tricks such as pulling a rabbit from a hat and sawing a lady in half. Even today in our super technical age of ipods and broadband, the wonder and surprise of magic are as popular as ever.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

This talk will explore the master weaver, James Leman's designs for woven silks in the Leman Album, produced between 1706 and 1816, which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It will also examine the silk weaving industry and the appetite and market for fashionable silks in early eighteenth century London.

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC. IT IS HOPED TO BE REARRANGED FOR NEXT YEAR.

An insight into the representation of the seaside and seaside resorts by Victorian painters such as Frith and Berthe Morisot and 20th century artists such as Picasso, Stanley Spencer, Dorothea Sharp and the Newlyn School

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC.

A light-hearted look at changing attitudes to sexual morality down the ages, using the portraits and careers of some of history's most notorious mistresses and courtesans. We will be shown as well how anonymous working girls at the lower end of the social scale have been represented in art from the 17th to 20th century

THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN CANCELLED BECAUSE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC. IT IS HOPED TO BE REARRANGED FOR NEXT YEAR.

Janie Ramsay is well placed to spill the beans on what goes on behind the scenes in the antiques trade. She had two shops in Tunbridge Wells for many years and although now retired, she also worked for 25 years in Sotheby's, rising to be a director there.

The talk will explore all aspects of Art Deco and examine the cultural background of its sleek and glamorous style that flourished around the globe in the years between the wars

Often paintings, whether religious or secular, use the same imagery across the centuries. By learning to understand these signs and symbols, we will be better able to decipher the messages within them.

Lights, camera, action! Inside stories of the art and artifice of the early decades of Hollywood. We follow the work of stills photographers, costumiers, publicists and the actors and movie moguls who made it all happen.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centruries, Gillray's cruel wit was the talking point of smart London. He was the prime satirist of the day and his caricatures were equally ruthless whether attacking politicians or royalty.

Our own Visits Secretary shares some magical travel moments and discusses the role of a Cultural Tour Manager with a special focus on a tour of Normandy from 2018, studying the work and lives of the Monet and the Impressionists.

John Fisher, a renowned artist and member of our society, offers up a unique insight into the lives of some of the world's most famous painters, writers and musicians. He shows the very scenes where great art was created. Part 1 of his talk was a great success. You will not want to miss part 2

Artists have always been as preoccupied with cash as the rest of us. Our speaker who had to cancel this talk last year, offers "financial vignettes" - stories of five centuries of artists grappling with their accounts.

An abstract painter in the 1930s, John Piper was also a writer, critic and typographer and his love of architecture – especially medieval churches and stained glass – made him a highly sensitive observer of his surroundings. During the Second World War he became one of the best-known Official War Artists, creating powerful images of the destruction of Coventry Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament and of the city of Bath, as well as recording a wide range of buildings, from derelict Welsh cottages to the grandeur of Windsor Castle.

He worked on the Shell Guides to Britain with his close friend, John Betjeman and designed sets and costumes for the operas of Benjamin Britten. In his fifties he began to design stained glass, creating monumentally beautiful windows for the new Coventry Cathedral and the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, as well as tiny, jewel-like lunettes for country churches near his home in Buckinghamshire. Piper’s love of architecture and landscape informed all his work, and in this lecture we’ll explore the many ways in which his interests and enthusiasms led to prolific creativity.

Staatliches Bauhaus was an art school founded under Weimar Republic by the architect Walter Gropius. From 1919 to 1933 its tutors combined crafts and the fine arts in a radical new approach to design education.

Less well known is the influence of the Bauhaus and other German design schools on design and art education in Britain in this period. As the impact of the economic ‘Slump’ of c.1929-34 hit British manufacturing sales, many in local and national government took the view that Britain’s struggling industrial base could be improved if moves were made to provide for better design education. This lecture looks at some the work of the key artists involved in improving British design in this period – including Paul Nash, Eric Ravilious, Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Roger Fry; and at Unit One – formed by Paul Nash in 1933 to promote modern art, architecture and design.

Andy McConnell recounts his life and times. First he was a journalist, then he worked in music, films and television - all before he realised he was truly in love with antique glass. He has been the BBC's Antiques Road Show glass specialist since 2005. He owns the largest collection of glass in England in his gallery in Rye.

There's more to the world of street art than Banksy.Hidden Canvasses is a beginner's guide to the biggest art movement since pop art. From train writing in New York to interactive technology that brings murals to life, the concept of un-commissioned public art is a very different beast to that which it once was.

Hidden Canvasses explores the key stages in street art's growth, examining the different elements and styles that comprise the scene with no rules. From the international superstars to the local underground heroes, you're guaranteed to leave knowing your Invader from your Aryz - and who knows you might even start looking at the world a little differently.

Doug Gillen is heavily involved in documenting the street art scene in London and abroad through his project Fifth Wall TV, and can offer a genuine insight into this world.

The cartoonist, Carl Giles, once said that he loved his creation, Grandma Giles – that fearsome, black-clad, gambling, drinking battleaxe – because she allowed him to say things through his cartoons that he was too polite to say in person. She helped him to poke fun at authority in all its forms, from Hitler to traffic wardens and even his employers at the Daily Express.

His admirers included Prince Charles, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Tommy Cooper, and it was no surprise when he was voted Britain’s best-loved cartoonist in 2000. Few people realise, however, that this likeable and humane satirist was also a war correspondent who witnessed the horrors of Belsen, where he found that the camp commandant, Josef Kramer, was also a great fan of his work.

Giles gave us a remarkable picture of a half-century of British life. He was also, as his editor John Gordon put it “a spreader of happiness’ and ‘a genius…with the common touch’.