At The Arts Society Welwyn Garden, we offer a warm welcome to members and visitors who attend our monthly lectures. We are a friendly, sociable Society, meeting on the third Wednesday of the month at 10.30am. Our venue, Campus West, is a well-appointed theatre with all the facilities conducive to a splendid lecture experience.

Our membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March and covers 10 lectures, with a break in August and December. Alongside our monthly lectures, we plan an exciting programme of coach trips, visits and events for members each year. Details of these are first publicised at our lectures, and then on this website.  

There is no December lecture, but our popular Christmas Celebration for members - now sold out! - will be held on Wednesday 10 December, from 2.30-4.30pm at the Focolare Centre, Parkway, Welwyn Garden City, when we'll enjoy some musical entertainment and festive refreshments.

Our lecture programme resumes on Wednesday January 21st 2026, when Alison Barker will talk on 'An Italian St George in England; Pietro Torrigiano and Henry VII's Lady Chapel'. This lecture will reveal fascinating details of the magnificent tomb built by Henry VIII for his father, which can be visited at Westminster Abbey.

On Wednesday February 11th we will hear the extraordinary story of 'Tulipomania - Bloom and Bust: the bulb speculation bubble in 17th century Holland' from lecturer Martin Heard. Tickets for our next pop-up trip, on Friday 6 February 2026, to the Alban Arena, St Albans, to hear wildlife photographer Hamza Yassim talk about his life and work, are now sold out, but we will be announcing more trips and visits in 2026 soon! 

Our final lecture of the current membership year will be an opportunity to revisit some of the art we enjoyed on our recent trip to Madrid and Salamanca, as Isabelle Kent will be talking on 'The Century of Gold - Spanish Art in the age of Velasquez' on Wednesday 18th March.

We welcome new members who have an interest in the Arts, whether art, history, sculpture, architecture, literature, drama or music. See full details of the year's lecture programme in the link below. For more information about joining the Arts Society Welwyn Garden please email our Membership Secretary Catherine Ferris at welwyngarden@theartssociety.org 

Visitors are welcome to our lectures. Do come along to the Hawthorne Theatre at Campus West and see what The Arts Society is all about. Visitors' tickets (£10) are available on the door or through the venue’s online booking system. https://www.campuswest.co.uk

Our Committee are a friendly team. We are always happy to encourage members to get involved in the Society, so whether you are a long-standing member or new to the Society please consider joining us or helping as a volunteer! Contact us via the email address below.