The Arts Society Hawke’s Bay

Founded in 2013, The Arts Society Hawke’s Bay helps open up the world of the arts to everyone. We have a friendly and enthusiastic membership who come together to enjoy an annual programme of eight talks on a wide spectrum of arts-related topics. We also support the arts through a grant giving programme. Since inaugurating in 2013, The Arts Society Hawke’s Bay has contributed more than $40,000 to local and national arts projects and causes, including many with a youth focus.

Programme Details

We gather for eight talks annually covering a diverse range of topics from architecture, design, glass, fashion, porcelain, ceramics, art and art history, sculpture and literature. The success of the Society is built on the high quality of presentations delivered by accredited specialists, many of whom are approved in the UK for their proven subject matter expertise and presentation skills.

Talks are held on a Monday evening at 7.00pm. Our venue is the Magdalinos Room in the Havelock North Function Centre, 30 Te Mata Road. The Centre is situated beside the Library in the centre of the Village. Light refreshments with a glass of wine or juice are provided after each talk. Members and guests enjoy this opportunity to mingle with friends, talk with the speaker and meet other members. For news on The Arts Society Hawke’s Bay, please follow us on Facebook and also on Instagram.

With the speakers who deliver by live broadcast, there are opportunities to view additional topics from home. Links will be sent by email.

our 2026 programme

In 2026 we offer seven accredited The Arts Society speakers from the UK and one Australian-based. Six of these will be with us in person and two will come via live broadcast from the UK. With the online talks, there are opportunities to view additional topics from home, tuning in to the gatherings hosted by the other Societies around the country.

Download a copy of our 2026 Programme here

We hope that things will run smoothly but will be ready to adapt our programme arrangements if necessary.

Membership

Returning members:  Renewing members can simply pay their subscription as outlined below. You can email us to confirm or to update any changed details if necessary: hbdfas@gmail.com

New members: To apply for membership please download and complete the 2026 TASHB Membership Form   which can then be scanned and emailed to the above email address or posted to:  Membership Secretary, TASHB, c/o P O Box 8689, Havelock North 4157.

Payment should be made by direct credit to The Arts Society Hawke’s Bay,  BNZ Bank Account: 02 0644 0164828 00
Please include your full name and reference as ‘2026 subs’ as a reference.

Early Bird Special : Take advantage of a discounted subscription rate for the full year of 8 talks – $130.00 per person for subscriptions fully paid 31 January 2026.

This is a saving on our standard subscription of $160 for individuals and $300 for a couple living at the same address.

For subscriptions received after 31 January 2026, the annual fee is pro-rated to $20 per talk for the remainder of the subscription programme. The subscription fee covers the cost of the venue and equipment, travel and accommodation costs for the speaker and refreshments after the talk. As an incorporated charitable trust we are a non-profit organisation.

Guests are welcome to attend two talks a year at a fee of $25 per talk. Membership is not transferable. The fee for visiting members from other NZ Societies will be $15.  Please notify the Membership Secretary, Jenny Corban, by the Friday prior to the talk if you are bringing a guest – by phone: 027 244 9760 or email: hbdfas@gmail.com

Please also notify Jenny if you wish to change any of your contact details.

Hawke’s Bay – 2026 Speaker Biographies and Topics

Susannah fullerton

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 23 February 2026 – 7.00pm

Susannah Fullerton, OAM FRSN, is Sydney’s best-known lecturer on classic novels. She speaks regularly at the State Library of NSW, at conferences, schools and libraries. She is a registered speaker for ArtsNational (previously the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society). She gives talks on famous writers and their novels, poems and plays at a great variety of places around NSW, Australia and overseas. Susannah has been President of the Jane Austen Society of Australia for almost 30 years. She is also Patron of the Kipling Society of Australia, a founding member of the NSW Dickens Society and of the Australian Brontë Association. She is a Lady Patroness of the International Heyer Society.
Susannah loves to share her passion for great works of literature. In addition to being the author of several books on literary figures and topics, she has published articles and reviews, organised literary events and conferences, is a tour leader and literary awards judge, and is often interviewed on TV and radio about literary concerns.

TEN NOVELS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

Literature has always had the power to change – just think of the impact of the King James Bible, Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, Dr Johnson’s Dictionary, Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, Marx’s The Communist Manifesto and Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. And yet fiction too has the power to change – to evoke sympathy, to make us take on different opinions, and even to bring about political and legal change.
This talk examines ten novels which altered our world, when it came to race relations, charity, the shape of literature, and the plight of the poor and the different. Discover which novels have had universal impact and be encouraged to think about which books you would select as having in some way brought about enormous change.

james butterwick

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 30 March 2026 – Broadcast Live from the UK – 7.00pm

James Butterwick began collecting and selling Ukrainian and Russian Art in 1985 and has established himself as one of the world’s leading dealers and experts in the field. From 1994, he lived in Moscow, becoming the only foreign member of the Russian Society of Private Collectors, forming collections, contributing to museum exhibitions and reading lectures on the history of Russian Art. In 2013, he visited Kyiv, the first of over fifty visits to Ukraine before the start of the war.
A fluent Russian speaker, James speaks on Soviet Avant Garde painters, including the Ukrainian, Oleksandr Bohomazov (1880-1930) as well as on the issues of authenticity that surround the Ukrainian and Russian Avant Garde. He has spoken at the Tretyakov Gallery and the Museum of Russian Impressionism in Moscow, New York and Cambridge Universities, the Kyiv Centre of International Relations and, in January 2021, at the seminal ‘Original or Fake’ conference, at the Ludwig Museum, Cologne. A regular on radio and television, James also had his own slot of Radio Matryoshka in London.

THE DARK SIDE OF THE BOOM: THE MASS FAKING OF THE SOVIET AVANT GARDE

The Soviet Avant Garde contained some of the greatest names of art history. Malevich, Chagall, Kandinsky, and countless others, blazed a trail through Art History for an all-too brief period. With their creativity stunted by the advent of Socialist Realism in 1932, their work disappeared only to re-appear after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, when a flood of newly-discovered works appeared on the Western and domestic markets of which the vast majority, up to 98%, were fake, having neither verifiable provenance nor exhibition history, their authenticity supported by documents from unscrupulous Russian and Western art historians and bogus certificates of chemical expertise. This scandal reached a crescendo in January 2018 with an exhibition of 24 dubious works of the period at the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium. James Butterwick examines the background behind the mass faking of the Soviet Avant Garde, the history of these paintings, universally rejected by museums and the art market, as well as the methods used to ‘create’ authenticity. James was recently an expert witness exposing Russian fakes, ‘The Zaks Affair. Anatomy of a Fake Collection’, which aired on BBC4 on March 12th 2024 and he also appeared on ‘Fake or Fortune.

Note: With his online speaking circuit, James will be delivering a second topic to the NZ Societies so there is an opportunity to view this from home. Details and links will be sent in advance.

rosalind whyte

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 11 May 2026- 7.00pm 

Rosalind Whyte holds a BA and MA from Goldsmith’s College, and an MA (distinction) from Birkbeck College. She is an experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. Rosalind lectures at Tate, to independent art societies and on cruises.

BREECHES BONNETS AND BAGS: BRITISH FASHION IN ART THROUGH THE CENTURIES

Portraits provide a fascinating insight into the changing styles of dress over the centuries. This talk follows the different fashions as revealed in paintings, looking at dress and accessories, and some of the more ridiculous styles of fashion from the 16th century to the 19th century. It focuses particularly on fashion in England but looks also at some contrasting Continental fashions.  In times when Sumptuary Laws prescribed what you could wear, according to your status in society, fashion was much less of a personal choice and more a reflection of social standing.  The colour of your clothing or a plunging neckline could mark you out as belonging to a particular class.  Whilst the ordinary working folk might have longed for a wardrobe full of reds, purples and golds (or, indeed, for a wardrobe at all!), their ‘superiors’ may well have envied them their ability to move freely in their clothes, without the restrictions of ruffs, stuffed sleeves, enormous petticoats, or headdresses the size of small animals …. sometimes also containing small animals!  Have fun exploring the wildest extremes of fashion through the ages.

charles harris

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 8 June 2026 – broadcast live from the UK – 7.00pm

Charles Harris has had a life-long career in advertising around the world, most of it as a Creative Director in global agencies (J Walter Thompson, Bates, FCB, Publicis, Leo Burnett). Responsible for the quality of the creative ideas and finished production of advertising campaigns, his work for many of the world’s great brands including British Airways, QANTAS, Sony, Nestle, Kraft, BP, Gillette, and more has earned him global awards in New York, Hollywood, Singapore and Sydney. His experience as a creative advertising man gives his poster presentations a unique behind-the-scenes insight as to what works, what doesn’t, and why.

POSTERS OF THE BELLE EPOQUE: THE GREAT AGE OF THE POSTER

This is Charles’ keystone talk relating the creative genius and remarkable craftsmanship that enabled the Poster to become the world’s first effective method of mass communication. From Manet to Chéret to Mucha, Steinlen and Toulouse-Lautrec, you’ll see inspirational work by superb artists who made the poster great. Learn how an effective poster is designed and how it plays on the mind; and why most posters today go unnoticed.

Note: With his online speaking circuit, Charles will be delivering eight unique talks to all the NZ Societies so there is an opportunity to view additional topics from home. Details and links will be sent in advance.

mark cottle

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 13 July 2026 – 7.00pm

Mark Cottle was born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall and Birmingham University where he graduated with an MA in late medieval society and culture.  His career has been spent in teaching, training and lecturing at home and abroad. He has been with The Arts Society since 2007 and has spoken widely in England, Wales and Scotland.  He has also toured in the Isle of Man, Berlin (Arts Society) and in 2023 for a month in Australia for ADFAS.

PHOTOGRAPHIC ODYSSEY: SHACKLETON’S ENDURANCE EXPEDITION CAPTURED ON CAMERA

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away.  Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer.  His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey in which a remarkable human drama is played out.  The aim of the talk is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.

charlie hall

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 17 August 2026 – 7.00pm

A passionate arts educator, speaker, and guide, Charlie Hall is based in London and Italy. Director of the highly regarded John Hall Venice Course, (est. 1965) Tour lecturer and leader for Kirker Holidays since 2013, and of independent tours in Italy. Designer and host of a series of art talks and events for the Soho House group of private member’s clubs. Designed and led courses for Christie’s Education and The Serpentine Gallery ‘Collector’s Circle’. Arts Society lecturer specializing in all things Italy.

THE VENICE BIENNALE: A MANY-HEADED BEAST THAT EMERGED FROM THE (SUPPOSED) CIVILISING, ENLIGHTENED SPIRIT OF THE NAPOLEONIC REVOLUTION

The first edition of the Venice Biennale was in 1895, thirty years after London’s ‘Great Exhibition’, and at a time when tourism and cultural events were springing up around Europe. Attracting a crowd of 224,000 visitors, and only pausing during the two world wars, it has become a hugely significant art show, and has inspired hundreds of other biennales, from Liverpool, Rio and Shanghai, over forty countries send representatives to their national ‘pavilions’. It has had a huge impact on the Contemporary Art world, being the main event for any self-respecting art collector, connoisseur or critic. This talk discusses the inception and concept of the Biennale, and its subsequent growth over the 125 years.

ashley gray

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 28 September 2026 – 7.00pm

Ashley Gray is Director of fashion and textile gallery Gray M.C.A and a recognised textile expert specialising in Modern Artist Textiles, their design and history. As a leading authority on the subject, he has published many articles and essays and is regularly invited to lecture and sit on committees of the leading International Art Fairs. As a curator, he has worked on an extensive array of exhibitions including Material Textile: Modern British Female Designers and Material Textile: Creativity, History & Process at Messums Gallery, Common Thread at New Art Centre and From Bauhaus to our House at Cromwell Place, London. He also curates the highly acclaimed Styled by Design exhibition that celebrates the innovation of modernist textile design. Ashley explores the textile innovators of the early to mid-20th century and the fusion between the applied, decorative and fine arts. From Cryséde to Cresta, Ascher to Edinburgh Weavers, Sanderson and David Whitehead. The evolution of textile design was a critical catalyst in the democratising of Modern Art. Sutherland, Hepworth, Moore, Picasso, Leger and many Modernist masters were commissioned for visionary artist textiles that brought Modernism into the home and onto the street in a blaze of colour that revitalised the post war world.

THE POST WAR TEXTILE VISIONARIES OF MODERN ART: TEXTILE REVOLUTION: POST WAR FEMALE DESIGNERS

The history of Britain is intricately woven with the history of textiles. Following World War II there was a desire for change, colour, and inspiration in the home. This energy and innovation was led by female textile designers destined to revolutionise design internationally from the 1950s to the 1970s. This talk celebrates their vision, their influences and their determination that successfully brought modern and contemporary art into the home through their designs and thereby democratising modern art for the first time by making it literally a part of the furniture.

Amanda herries

Hawke’s Bay Date : Monday 9 November 2026 – 7.00pm

Amanda Herries read Archaeology & Anthropology at Cambridge University. From 1978-1988 she was Curator at Museum of London specialising in the decorative arts 1714 to present day, exhibitions, lectures, booklets, broadcasts. In 1988-1995 she  moved with family to Japan, lecturing and writing on Oriental / Western cross-cultural and artistic influences. In 1995 she returned to UK, fundraising for arts companies, writing, lecturing and guiding tours to Japan and of gardens and general history in Scotland. Amanda has curated an exhibition on Japanese plants and gardens in London and Edinburgh as part of Japan/British celebrations in 2001 and is currently preparing an exhibition for 2026 on the Scottish Colourist S.J. Peploe. Amanda has contributed to many publications on Japanese plant and garden influences in the West.

OPIUM:  SEDUCTION, GREED, ART

The source of the stuff of dreams, the poppy is a beautiful, fragile flower with immense power. Opium (from the Greek ‘opion’ – poppy juice) is a hypnotic bringer of sleep, delightful lethargy and relief from pain. It is also highly addictive. Greed led to the introduction of this hugely desirable substance first to China, and then to Europe. The beguiling seduction of its effects led to its use to quieten troubled minds and calm agitated children and babies.  Its use – often by those with troubled minds – led to the creation of great works of art in music, art and literature. Social and art history meet as this talk unfolds.