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 next lecture will be this Wednesday 17 July, when Paul Rabbitts will take us through 'A history of London's Royal parks'. See the attachment below for more details and our full 2024-25 lecture programme. 

During our August lecture break we have a coach trip, on Wednesday 28 August, when we will visit the magnificent Audley End, as well as have a private showing and talk at the Fry Art Gallery in Saffron Walden, which features both contemporary local artists and works by renowned 20th century painters including Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious. To book your place and for more information, see the information attached below.

Our Wednesday lecture programme resumes on September 18th with a talk on 'Kandinsky and the Blaue Reiter' by Russian art expert Natalia Murray. This will be followed on October 16th by lecturer Julia Musgrave talking on 'Cezanne and Van Gogh: death as a career move'. Our final lecture of 2024 will be on November 20th on 'The Elgin Marbles - A History of Meaning', when Alan Read will consider the significance of these cultural objects and the surrounding controversies. 

Also in November we are offering what we are sure will be a fascinating and popular Study Day, on 'How the European art market developed from the Renaissance to the present'. Given by art historian and writer Tom Flynn, this will be held on Thursday November 14th at the Focolare Centre, 69 Parkway, Welwyn Garden City. Booking details will be available at our July 17th lecture and more information and a booking form is also attached below. 

Our membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March and this year covers 10 lectures - one more than in previous years! - with a break in August and December. We welcome new members who have an interest in the Arts, whether art, history, sculpture, architecture, literature, drama or music. To join us please email our Membership Secretary Catherine Ferris at welwyngarden@theartssociety.org or complete and send the form attached below.

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/

We also run an exciting programme of coach trips, 'pop-up' visits and holidays for members throughout the year. Details are publicised at our lectures and on this website - watch this space!

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