We are getting ready to welcome you to our first talk next week! Stocking up on biscuits, getting the teas and coffees ready, testing out the new chairs…
All you need to do is get your ticket. Here’s an overview of our speakers and their topics so you know what we have in store. Along the way we’ll give you a bit more information about the talks structure and fun facts!
Kicking off our first talk of the series…
Madie Parkinson-Evans
Local History Researcher in St Ives’ Artistic and Cultural History on the topic of Frances Hodgkins: From Dunedin to Studio 7 – The St Ives Years.
Madie is a former history teacher, and a current volunteer at the Archive and St Ives Museum, with a special interest in the historic artistic and cultural connections to St Ives from home and abroad during the late 19th and early to mid 20th century.
Date: Thursday July 23rd, 2-4pm
Our talks will all be based at St Ives Archive’s new address – The Market House! Right in the centre of our bustling high street. The address is Market House, Market Square St Ives TR26.
Now on to our second speaker in the series…
Ethan JR Carney
Volunteer at St Ives Archive, on the topic of The Letters of Barbara Hepworth.
Ethan JR Carney is an experienced facilitator and speaker who has volunteered at St Ives Archive since 2022. His specialisms centre around the St Ives Modernists and artists connected to this group. Outside of St Ives Archive he is a Visitor Experience Manager at Tate St Ives, as well as a Learning Facilitator working with an array of different audiences.
This talk focusses on the recent acquisition of letters written by Barbara Hepworth to her book designer, and later close friend, Pat Muller. The importance of these letters is explored within the context of local, personal and international events that occurred while Hepworth was writing them, bringing new understanding and intrigue.
Date: Thursday July 30th, 2-4pm
Our talks will have an opportunity for Q+A with the speakers and networking with your fellow attendees. It is a cosy space so make sure you get your tickets early!
Introducing our next speaker(s!) in the series…
David Lay and Caroline Lay
Chairman and Owner of Lay’s Auctioneers, on the topic of Lay’s Art & Antiques Roadshow.
Established by David in 1978, Lay’s Auctioneers has become Cornwall’s leading auction house for Fine Art, Cornish Art, Antiques, Jewellery, Collectables and Rare Books. For more than four decades, David has brought a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion to the saleroom. Caroline leads the Art Department, overseeing countless successful art sales while bringing her in-depth knowledge of Cornish artists and those from further afield to clients and collectors alike.
David and Caroline are hosting a live valuation: Bring your art, antiques, and everything in between, and learn how specialists determine authenticity, rarity, and worth.
Date: Thursday August 6th, 2-4pm
Straight on to our next speaker coming all the way from the south coast…
Louis Turner
Trustee at The Royal Polytechnic Society in Falmouth, on the topic of The History of the Cornish Tourism Industry
Louis Turner was a specialist on international relations (Asian technology) and an author of 10 books, including one THE GOLDEN HORDES (1975) which looked at the pros and cons of the global tourist industry. Since retiring down to Cornwall (which, since his wife is Cornish, he has known since 1970), he has lived in Falmouth, where he is a trustee at The Poly (Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society). He is currently writing a book on the history of the Cornish tourist industry, where he is currently up to the Covid years – having started the story with the Indomitable Celia Fiennes who, in 1698, rode through to Land’s End, sampling clotted cream and leaving a chronicle behind.
How did Cornwall become one of Britain’s best-loved destinations? This illustrated talk traces the remarkable story of Cornish tourism from the eighteenth century to the present day. From pioneering travellers and the arrival of the railways to the rise of Newquay, the golden age of the Great Western Railway and the influence of Daphne du Maurier, it explores how Cornwall reinvented itself through changing fashions in travel. The lecture also examines surfing, the Eden Project, Tate St Ives, the South West Coast Path and the post-Covid tourism boom, concluding with the major challenges facing Cornwall today, including housing, sustainability and overtourism.
Date: Thursday August 13th, 2-4pm
Did you know that you can get a pass which covers every talk in the series? The price is at a discounted rate if you’re nearby and can attend every talk! Check it out below…
Phew! Then we have a week’s break between our speakers for you to catch a breath.
Then finally, to round up our summer talks series and kick off a new exciting celebration (more on this to be announced soon!), we give you none other than…
Janet Axten
Historian and Founder of St Ives Archive, on the topic of St Ives’ Archive: Women in Industry Project 2013 – 2014
Janet Axten is a researcher, writer and lecturer. She has specialised in the history of the St Ives area and the artists who lived and worked in that community. Recently she has been researching into the history of women in the textile industry and especially Crysede Silks.
Born in London, Janet moved to St Ives in 1985 from Birmingham. In 1993 she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in History from the Open University, subsequently gaining an MA in Cornish Studies with the University of Exeter in 2004. She co-founded the St Ives Archive in 1996 (she was its Heritage Manager for twenty-four years). In 2008 Janet was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh with the bardic name of Porthia y’m Kolonn-vy (St Ives in my Heart).
In September 2014 a team from St Ives Archive won the Women’s History Press Community History Prize for their ‘Women in Industry’ project. This was the culmination of an investigation into the lives and work of women in St Ives who had worked in the textile industry making clothes for Crysede Silks, and especially Flawns, between the 1920s and the 1970s.
Janet Axten will present a PowerPoint presentation alongside two short films documenting the story behind this successful project.
Date: Thursday August 27th, 2-4pm
We are so delighted to welcome these wonderful speakers to our buzzing archive. They are extremely knowledgable and are sure to take you on an insightful and exciting journey through history.
Get your tickets now – don’t miss out on this chance to get stuck into the past!
