Art appreciation for everyone…
The group has been meeting for well over a decade and we have examined, debated and admired a wide variety of artistic themes including, painting and drawing, sculpture, illustration, photography, stained glass and more. We try to maintain as broad a look at art as possible.
The group meets at the Whitworth Centre in Darley Dale on the second Tuesday of each month at 2pm. There is a small charge to cover the costs of room hire and refreshments. The charge will vary, depending on the number of members attending.
Our membership as the saying goes ‘covers a broad church’, ranging from highly knowledgeable individuals whose working life has one way or another been based in the world of art through to people like me, the current coordinator of the group, who have no background in art at all but who just enjoy appreciating the endeavours of others in creating great pieces of art. So we welcome people with all artistic tastes and levels of expertise.
The mainstay of our meetings are presentations from members on artistic matters about which they are enthusiastic. That could be for example sharing images on a particular theme or a favourite artist or a significant art gallery. These presentations lead to lively discussions. Presentations can be long or short, formal or informal. No member is pushed into participating in a way with which they are not entirely comfortable.
Topics are chosen democratically by the group and are broadly-based, to allow everyone an opportunity to learn and contribute equally. Within each theme members explore their interests and each topic may last several months or it may last half an hour!
Past topics have included 17th century Spanish Art, Henri Toulouse Lautrec, Flemish artist Peter Breugel and more recently Art and Artists selected for the Festival of Britain, the development of Poster Art, Joseph Wright of Derby and the multi faceted artist John Piper.
We occasionally forgo our meetings at the Whitworth in favour of outings to see works of art in real life. In autumn 2023 we had a trip to Derby Museum for a guided tour of their Hogarth Exhibition and in May 2024 we shall be visiting the home of the daughter of the late Ronald Pope to see examples of his sculptures. We are also planning a trip to the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield.
We normally view artworks using Matlock U3A’s laptop and data projector, though reproductions from books postcards and of course those drawn from the internet. Members are not required to have any particular IT skills to participate – there will be always another member on hand to help out if required.
If you have any questions about the group and its activities or would like to join us at a forthcoming meeting please do contact the coordinator, Patrick Wright, on the following e-mail.
We look forward to seeing you soon.