We are showing the Exhibition on Screen film of 'Vermeer', to be followed by afternoon tea, at Alderley Edge Cricket Club at 2pm on 25 February 2026.

You are invited to the Arts Society Wilmslow lunch event with guest speaker Adam Partridge, the well-known auctioneer, antiques expert and TV personality.  It will be held at the Pinewood Hotel on 14 October at 12.30 for 13.00, £32.50 pp.  For full details of the event, and how to book and pay, click here.

Venue: Marthall Village Hall, Sandbridge Lane, Marthall, WA16 7SB

Cost: £35 (cheques made payable to TAS Wilmslow) to include refreshments and lunch

The main speaker in the morning will be antiques expert Marc Allum, who has participated in over 20 of the BBC productions of The Antiques Roadshow. He will be assisted by Lucy Bowden who is a freelance producer for the BBC, and produced 4 of the programmes last year.
Members are invited to bring a treasure or curiosity with them, some of which may be discussed in the afternoon. 

PLEASE NOTE this Study Day has been cancelled due to Coronavirus. Cheques will be returned to those who have already booked.

This is a special interest day organised by The Arts Society, Dane Valley to which members of TASW are invited. The day runs from 10.30am to 3.30pm in Holmes Chapel.  The cost is £33 which includes refreshments and lunch.

For further details of the day click here

For a booking form click here

This is a Day of Special Interest organised by The Arts Society North West Area to be held at Lytham Hall, Ballam Road, Lytham, Lancs FY8 4JX on Thursday 17th October starting at 10.30am.

The cost is £42 which includes coffee or tea on arrival, three talks, lunch with a glass of wine plus a tour of the house. Note transport from Wilmslow is NOT included.

To see the details of the day and a booking form click here

For directions to Lytham Hall click here

Venue: The Hall at Marthall, Sandlebridge Lane, Marthall, Knutsford WA16 7SB

Time: 10am to 3pm

Cost:  £35 including tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival and a two course lunch

For centuries there was a strict standard of what was, or was not, Art.  Then in the 19th century something changed.  Artists began to explore new modes of expression.   Modern art is not only a chronological era is art history but also a philosophical movement.  The birth of Modernism and modern art can be traced to the Industrial Revolution.  The morning sessions will explore the meaning and origins of modern art. 

Grayson Perry is renowned for his tapestries as well as ceramic vases decorated with shocking and unconventional images.  He has captured the public’s imagination like no other British artist since Freud or Hockney. The afternoon session will explore why Grayson Perry is one of the most important and popular artists of our time.

For more details about the day click here

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Michael Howard is Programme Leader in the School of the History of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University where he teaches both academic and studio based students. Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts,  President of Bolton DFAS and is a practising artist, painter, sculptor, printmaker and ceramicist. With his wife, also an artist and accredited lecturer for The Arts Society, he runs weekend and one day courses. Has curated many exhibitions and published widely most notably on Lowry, Goya, Whistler and Cézanne. Exhibited at the RA. His work is in Manchester Art Gallery and in private collections in the UK and abroad. Has featured on TV and radio and had many awards including a prestigious Peabody award.

Study Day 

Thursday 19th April 2018 at Quarry Bank Mill 10am to 3pm 

Cost:  £35  (includes tea/coffee and light buffet lunch)

Rosalind Whyte is an established speaker and an experienced guide at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The Royal Academy and Greenwich.             

Topic: ‘250 Years of The Royal Academy’                       

In 2018 The Royal Academy of Arts celebrates its 250th anniversary, so it is an opportune time to explore its history and the role it has played in the development of British art.  We will look at the position of artists in London before and after the formation of the Academy in 1768 and some of the characters involved, from the first President, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other establishment figures, to artists who have taken a more oppositional stance, whether individually, such as Reynolds’ great contemporary and rival Gainsborough, or as a group, such as the (initially) clandestine Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a group of young rebel artists who sought to subvert the Academy from within.  Like any important institution, the Academy has been embroiled in intrigue and controversy over the course of its history and no scandal or outrage will remain unexposed as we trace the history of one of Britain’s most important cultural bodies, from inception to the present day.

Mary Alexander trained as an art historian and graduated with a B.A. Hons in History and History of Art, and an M.A. in History of Art with Distinction from University College London. Her background combines an unusual blend of academic and communications skills and experiences, including lecturing to various arts organisations, working with design professionals on special events and publications, and writing on various aspects of the history of art and design.

After completing her first degree, she seized on a rare opportunity to work at Platt Hall, Manchester which houses an internationally renowned collection of historic clothing. Responsibilities included research and organising exhibitions and public lectures. This led to a life-long fascination with the language and codes of dress, and its place within the social and cultural history of art and design.

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Art, design & pleasure on the Côte d'Azur in the 1920s & 30s

'One could get away with more on the summer Riviera, and whatever happened seemed to have something to do with art'     F Scott Fitzgerald

Since the C19 English high society had 'wintered over' on the Côte d'Azur, but  always left by April. In the early 1920's, however, an intoxicating mix of artists, writers, musicians and international visitors, inspired by a mythological seascape of luminous colours, created a new summer season.  Sun tans and sportswear soon became 'de rigueur' in the chic new coastal resorts, villas and hotels  This liberating playground of ideas across the visual design arts was stimulated by impresarios Serge Diaghilev and Paul Poiret.

Traditional boundaries were torn down. Matisse, Picasso, Dufy, Cocteau, and Chanel merged the worlds of fashion, theatre and interiors. Cole Porter, Scott Fitzgerald, and the intriguing Gerald and Sara Murphy, introduced an American perspective and attracted an influential new set of discerning patrons and collectors.

Mary will also be bringing Côte d'Azur historic postcards and memorabilia from her personal collection for you to enjoy.

VENUE: GRANT SUITE, QUARRY BANK MILL, STYAL

10am to 3pm, cost £35 including a light buffet lunch.

John Iddon is a NADFAS lecturer in art history. He has lectured at the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery, Venice; on the Queen Mary 2 and is now part of team of Tate lecturers giving talks on art on P&O cruises. He runs John Iddon Fine Art specialising in Modern British art, and particularly that of Royal Academicians, from the 1930's to the present.

The morning lecture will focus on David Hockney and in the afternoon John will move on to Lucien Freud and will end with a discussion of the question: who is the greater artist?

Price £25, tickets available at the Wilmslow DFAS evening lecture meetings.

The meeting starts at 10-30am at the Marthall Village Hall, Sandlebridge Lane, Marthall, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 7SB

Morning coffee, Lunch & Afternoon tea are included.

Own transport required.

Situated on the edge of the Peak District, Lyme Park, House and Garden was once home to the Legh family. Lyme is now managed by the National Trust. It was used as a location for the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth. A Study Day to be led by JAMES ROTHWELL to be held in Lyme Hall, Disley, Cheshire, SK12 2NR on Wednesday 15th October 2014. Lunch will be included. We shall have access to the dining room silver and the Lyme Caxton Missal. Timeline (subject to variation): Meet at 10.30 for morning coffee. Parking is included in the fee. 11.00 - 12.30 'Silver in Context'. Introduction in the Ale Cellar then handling session in the Dining Room. 12.30 - 1.30 Lunch 1.30 -2.15 'Conservation and Care of Silver and other metals' by Julie Vint Conservator. 2.15 - 3.15 Private tour of the house by James Rothwell including the National Trust’s most important printed book, a missal of 1487 by William Caxton. Tea at the end and open for questions.