“The banana is for scale” – Doctor Sam Bowker during his lecture on museums and rock art. Photo: Doctor Jacquie Tinkler.
Wagga art historian Doctor Sam Bowker has spent more than a decade lecturing in universities but strongly believes art history should be accessible to everyone.
A senior art history lecturer, Dr Bowker has spent many years preaching to the converted but now he is running a series of public lectures on global art histories at the Riverina Playhouse.
The Art of Everywhere Else is a 12-part series dedicated to understanding the treasures of humanity and the complexity of international art history as a series of disciplines across the world.
“Rather than being cloistered up in the university, the global histories of art should be shared with Wagga’s thriving community,” Dr Bowker said.
“I designed these public lectures for everyone to enjoy – they are entertaining discussions about beautiful objects and valuable ideas.
“I want every lecture to be memorable and rewarding and change the way we see the world through artworks.”
Following the success of Encounters with Islamic Art (2016) and Renaissance Art and Song (2017), which brought full houses to the Museum of the Riverina, and the equally popular Australian Art (2019) at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Dr Bowker said The Art of Everywhere Else would be his most ambitious lecture series yet.
The first lecture in the series, Foundations: Museums and Rock Art, was held on 12 July. The upcoming lectures covering ancient Mediterranean art to Oceania will run every Tuesday for the next 11 weeks from 6 pm to 7 pm at the CSU Riverina Playhouse.
The foyer bar will be open from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm so attendees can meet and mingle before and after each lecture.
These public lectures are supported by the Friends of the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, Charles Sturt University and Eastern Riverina Arts.
Compass Rose, Carta del Cantino, 1502. Image: Doctor Sam Bowker.
The upcoming lectures are:
- The Ancient Mediterranean: Egypt, Greece, Rome – 19 July
- European Renaissances: Centre or Periphery? – 26 July
- The Americas: First Nations, ‘Manifest Destiny’ and African American Art – 2 August
- The Art of Africa: Textiles, Power and Museums – 9 August
- Maghreb: Across the Sahel and Sahara – 16 August
- Middle East (South West Asia) – 23 August
- Silk Roads: Turkey, Iran and Central Asia – 30 August
- South Asia: India, Pakistan and the Himalayas – 6 September
- Nusantara: South East Asian Art – 13 September
- East Asia: China, Korea, Japan – 20 September
- Oceania: A Third of the World – 27 September 2022
To purchase tickets, click here.
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