Events Archive

Events ARCHIVE

This page contains information about our PAST events at Explore.

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2024

International Women's Day Events

As part of this year's IWD celebrations we welcome all members and non-members to events presented by highly respected women and experts in their fields. Our lead event is a Free Public Lecture for all on Thursday 7th March. In addition, we have two additional sessions which non-members are welcome to attend alongside our members - just get in touch to arrange a Free Taster.

7th March 2024 - 18.00 to 19.00

Prof. Louise Robinson DBE

'Dementia: Care and Prevention as well as Cure'

Face-to-Face and Online Options Available

Professor Dame Louise Robinson will present the special public lecture about current research in three key areas of dementia; care, cure and prevention.

You can read more and book your FREE ticket via the green buttons, with both Face-to-Face or Zoom options available.

Book Your FREE Face-to-Face Ticket HERE Book Your FREE Zoom Ticket HERE

11th March 2024 - 13.30 to 15.00 (via Zoom)

Dr Alexandra Makin

'The Pioneering Women of Early Medieval Textile Analysis'

See details on our Blog or Page 13 of our Online Programme

4th March 2024 - 10.30 to 12.00 (via Zoom)

Prof Elizabeth Cumming

'The Art & Craft of Phoebe Anna Traquair'

See details on our Blog or Page 9 of our Online Programme

2023

'All At Sea; Travels & Travails of the Tyne Sailor' with Michael Chaplin

Tuesday 12th September 2023 - 18.00

Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle upon Tyne or via Zoom (Face-to-Face or Zoom ticket options available)

In the Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture 2023, writer and Explore Patron Michael Chaplin will take his audience on an epic journey spanning 2,000 years and the Seven Seas of the world, with one common thread: the ships in this story all began or ended their voyages in the River Tyne.

The Romans started it. They usually did. Their discovery of outcropping coal at Benwell created the richest of exports from the river over two millenia and a constant search for cargoes to bring back: timber, tar and herrings from the Baltic; citrus fruits, olive oil and wine from the Mediterranean; millstones from the Loire; mahogany from Mexico; tea from China and guano from the world’s most desolate shores. Seamen from the Tyne faced many dangers and privations to make safe passage home, many didn’t succeed. Without them Tyneside would not have grown as it did, but now these men are pretty much forgotten.

In his talk Michael seeks to put that right and in the process tell their stories - comical, tragical, compelling and sometimes jaw-dropping – and honour the memory of these mythic travellers of the past.

Please join us for this voyage through time and space. Here be storms and stowaways, heroes and villains, fortunes made and lost, epic battles, shipwrecks and mutinies…

All welcome - please select either the Face-to-Face or Zoom/Remote access Ticket options to book your place.

Explore lifelong learning 2023 Michael Chaplin Adult Education

BOOK for ZOOM TICKET OPTION Michael Chaplin GB Lecture BOOK for FACE-TO-FACE TICKET OPTION Michael Chaplin GB Lecture

2022

'People, Religion & Change in the Hinterland of Hadrian's Wall'

- historian Lindsay Allason-Jones OBE

The Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture via Zoom

Wednesday 14th September 2022 at 18.00

The area immediately to the south of Hadrian's Wall is often forgotten when Roman Britain is discussed, as it is seen as being neither part of the Military Zone nor of the civilian south. However, recent excavations are beginning to reveal the area to be of great interest, reflecting the changes wrought by the Roman invasion. This talk uses recent work on the sculpture from the region to shed light on the changes experienced by the inhabitants of the area, whether military or civilian, in their religious and cultural lives.

Everyone is invited to this FREE ONLINE event - you only need 1 ticket per household.

Lindsay is a leading authority on Hadrian's Wall and Roman Britain. At Newcastle University. She was previously Director of Archaeological Museums and is now a Member of the University's Materiality, Artefacts & Technologies in Culture & History Faculty Research Group.

2021

'Understanding the Northumbrians: Excavating the Foundations of North East Culture'

- author Dan Jackson

The Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture

Wednesday 22nd September 2021 at 18.00

Our 2021 annual public Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture was held on Zoom and welcomed writer and historian Dan Jackson to present his lecture 'Understanding the Northumbrians: Excavating the Foundations of North East Culture'.

In this talk Dan Jackson, author of the best-selling ‘The Northumbrians: North East England and its People, A New History’ explored the roots of the distinctive culture of the lands between the Tweed and the Tees, and how centuries of border warfare, heavy and dangerous industries, and the sociability and hedonism that so defined the communities of the North East has left an enduring cultural imprint.

LISTEN to an audio version of Dan's fascinating talk via the button the right.

Explore lifelong learning 2021 Dan Jackson Understanding the Northumbrians Lecture adult education

AUDIO

2020

FREE event for British Science Week 2020

Our Diverse Planet - Coral: Past, Present & Future

Saturday 14th March 2020

11.00 to 13.00

Green Room, 4th floor, Commercial Union House

In this special session we welcomed three speakers to present three talks about the evolving areas of geology, biology and ecology involved in the study of the Coral Reef. Speaking at the event we have Derek Teasdale - 'Past', Prof. John Bythell - 'Present' and Dr Adriana Humanes 'Future: assisting corals to survive climate change'

Explore lifelong learning 2020 Our Diverse Planet British Science Week 2020 adult education

FREE event - A Celebration of Women in Art

Monday 9th March 2020

10.45 to 15.30

Green Room, 4th floor, Commercial Union House

A trio of amazing women artists and academics celebrated women in art for International Women's Day, including talks by Theresa Poulton, Louise Mackenzie and Victoria Horne.

Theresa Poulton - 'From Geometric Abstract to Working in the Community: My Role as an Artist'

Theresa is a practising artist living and working in the North East. She has taught and run workshops in India: worked on collaborative projects between Durham University and Gem Arts. She is currently developing workshops for Syrian and Sudanese refugees as well as running drawing projects for Newcastle University and the arts community. Theresa will talk about her role as an artist with the community.

Louise Mackenzie - 'Lab Based Research into Microbial Organisms as a Practising Artist'

Louise is an artist based in the North East. She is a member of the Cultural Negotiation of Science Group: an associate of Genetic Medicine. She is a member of the Cultural Negotiation of Science research group and an associate of the Institute of Genetic Medicine. Louise has exhibited in Australia, the USA and China and was recently invited to return her audio-visual work on cyanobacteria to the 10th anniversary Lumiere festival. Louise will talk about her practice and will describe how her recent experience working in a genetics lab with microbial organisms as tools for genetic/artistic research has led her to reconsider the biological body.

Victoria Horne - 'Women in Art'

Victoria is a senior lecturer in Art History at Northumbria University specialising in the cultural and intellectual history of Anglo- American Feminism. She is currently researching cultural attitudes towards reading and in particularly the depiction of women in artworks. Victoria is currently developing a programme based on second-wave feminism and recent developments in feminist inflected perspectives in art and aesthetics. Today, she will talk about her research into the depiction of women reading in artworks.

Explore lifelong learning 2020 Celebration of Women in Art International Women's Day 2020 adult education

2019

Future of Humankind workshop

Saturday 9th November 2019

14.00 to 17.00

4th floor, Commercial Union House

In this workshop we will explore whether we feel a certain nervousness with the idea of a brain implant.

Does it feel different to the bio-medical advances with which we are more familiar such as heart and liver transplants, prosthetic limbs and pacemakers?
What does it mean when we talk of trans-humanism?
Might this lead to the enhancement of humankind?
And as these technologies develop, what might humankind look like in fifty or a hundred years time?

This session is provided by:

CANDO - a ground-breaking project led by Newcastle University which is hoping to develop a small light-based brain implant to control epileptic seizures which cannot be eased with either drugs or surgery.

Operating Theatre - a drama company which works in the area of health and social care using theatre to explore the broad range of issues involved.

Witches & Cunning Folk in the North East

Saturday 5th October 2019

11.00 to 13.00

4th floor, Commercial Union House

Not so long ago, plenty of men and women offered their services as "cunning folk", able to give magical help when other avenues had failed. Find out more from tutor Dr. Jo Bath as well as about what happened when many women - and one or two men - found themselves accused of "maleficia", black magic.

We will have a chance to look at, and discuss, some original seventeenth century accusations to see how neighbour came to suspect neighbour - and what happened when a witchfinder came to town...

This FREE, PUBLIC event is part of the Silver Sunday campaign.

Explore lifelong learning 2019 Dr Jo Bath adult education

UPDATE: currently SOLD OUT for public tickets. The event will be repeated in January 2020 at the start of our Season 2.

Explore@the Lit & Phil:

Which scientific ideas will last for ever?

Thursday 19th September 2019

Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1SE

Come and hear from Associate Professor Dr. Peter Vickers about which scientific ideas are likely to stand the test of time. All welcome at this FREE public lecture.

This was the 2019 Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture in collaboration with the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science & Society (CHESS) and the Lit & Phil.

This FREE, PUBLIC event was part of the Festival of Learning's 'Have a go' month.

Explore lifelong learning 2019 Peter Vickers adult education

A Clash of Symbols: Exploring the Use of Symbolic Imagery in the Visual Arts with

Friday 10th May 2019

4th Floor, Commercial Union House

Speaker: Gail Nina Anderson

'Have you ever been puzzled by an odd Pre-Raphaelite details or an unlikely object in the hand of a Medieval saint? In art, what you see isn't always what you get...

From classical to contemporary art, we'll examine how symbolic content offers visual puzzles, gloriously illogical images or enriched nuance and possibility. '

Explore lifelong learning 2019 Gail Nina Anderson event adult education

William Turner - a medical pioneer?

KEVI Heritage and Explore Lifelong Learning

Saturday 27th April 2019

Advanced Study Centre, KEVI School, Morpeth, NE61 1DN

Dr. Marie Addyman discussed the work of William Turner in which he broke new ground medicinally in the sixteenth century. There were refreshments as well as an opportunity to look round the new KEVI William Turner garden.

Further details on the Eventbrite listing here

Explore lifelong learning 2019 William Turner event adult education

Free PUBLIC lecture

The Gateshead Glacier

Tuesday 26th March 2019

Joseph Swan Academy, Gateshead

Speaker - Derek Teasdale - glacial researcher, Fellow of the Geological Society of London and former Chair of the North Eastern Geological Society.

'Gateshead and Newcastle were once smothered in ice. The Team Valley was a lake with ice bergs. Learn how these events formed the world around us, and if the ice will return!'

Explore lifelong learning 2019 Derek Teasdale Extra adult education

Explore FREE British Science Week events!

Explore was delighted to put on three FREE public events as part of British Science Week 2019!

Women in Science at Explore

Friday 8th March 2019

In conjunction with International Women's Day and British Science Week, this special event invited three 'women in science' to speak about their current work as part of British Science Week 2019:

Dr. Azadeh Fattahi-Savadjani
Johanna Weston
Dr. Laura Greaves

This event was chaired by Maria Goulding.

Explore lifelong learning 2019 Chris Burridge, Maria Goulding, & Dr. Azadeh Fattahi-Savadjani, Johanna Weston, & Dr. Laura Greaves adult education

Making for the Light - the science of optogenetics

Wednesday 13th March 2019

Professor Andrew Jackson discussed optogenetics, which involves the use of light reactive proteins, and is providing scientists with a means to understand the brain to a greater level than ever before. This extended session provided an introduction to a groundbreaking technique and explored how it is being used to try and treat epilepsy. This was followed by a hands-on workshop, led by professional local artists, to explore the impact optogenetics may have on individuals and the wider society.

This session was also part of Brain Awareness Week.

Identifying Future-Proof Science

Saturday 16th March 2019

Dr. Peter Vickers, Associate Professor asked "Is science getting at the truth?" In this talk he explored the issue of how we can identify the scientific theories that will still be with us in a thousand years (if the human race lasts that long!).

This was a public lecture hosted by JCLLC in collaboration with the Centre for Humanities Engaging Science and Society [CHESS] of Durham University.

2018

Being Human Festival Events - Here at Explore!

This year Joseph Cowen Lifelong Learning Centre and the Explore Programme team were delighted to establish a relationship with Newcastle University’s Humanities Research Institute, who have successfully bid to be a North East ‘Hub’ for the Being Human Festival. The festival ran from 15th–24th November 2018, and Explore hosted events on the theme of ‘Origins and Endings’.

Explore lifelong learning 2018 Being Human Festival

10.30 to 12.00 Thursday 15th November 2018

Michael Mulvihill - ‘Tyneside after doomsday: visualising nuclear attack upon the river Tyne’

'In the early 1980s when I was a small boy growing up in South Shields I used to run home from school as fast as could to see if I could make it home within the Four Minute nuclear attack warning. This was a time of grave geopolitical tension as the United States and Soviet Union squared up to one another over deployments of nuclear forces in Europe: the 1983 War Scare the closest the world ever came to Nuclear War. Over the past two years I have been the first artist in residence and doctoral researcher at RAF Fylingdales Ballistic Missile Early Warning Radar Station. My art practice has emerged from the effects of the 1983 nuclear brinkmanship and the real possibility of the end of the world. This presentation will look at one of the world’s first pieces of computational geography that investigated the effects of nuclear war upon the United Kingdom in the 1980s, carried out by Stan Openshaw, a geographer working at Newcastle University whose data informed the BBC nuclear war drama Threads (1984). It explores what might have been the fate of Tyneside had brinkmanship failed.'

Sarah France - ‘Before The End: Cultural Precarity, Crisis and Futurity in Pre-Apocalyptic Narratives’

'In a flourishing of scholarly interest in apocalyptic fiction, critical focus has generally been drawn towards the events after catastrophe, and how societies are restructured following devastation. My research looks instead to pre-apocalyptic narratives: texts whose focus lies on the period prior to disaster. These texts allow us to explore how knowledge of impending doom impacts societal structure, concepts of morality, and attitudes towards futurity. I argue that surges in apocalyptic fiction are bound to historical points of cultural crisis, and my research considers how a growing sense of cultural precarity is reflected in texts such as H.G. Wells’ ‘War of the Worlds’, (First World War) Nevil Shute’s On The Beach (Cold War) the present day - Ben H. Winters’ ‘The Last Policeman’ trilogy. How do people respond to the knowledge of annihilation? Are we taking more responsibility towards these events?'

10.30 to 12.00 Thursday 22nd November 2018

Stephen Moore - ‘The Blitz in the north-east conurbation during the Second World War’

'The East Coast Blitz' actually encompasses both the origins and endings of my research. I discovered the much heavier attacks against Newcastle which occurred once the accepted Blitz ended (in June 1941) while I was doing my MA, and this led me to research the series of attacks along the east coast during autumn 1941 at the beginning of my PhD. It was only while writing about the heavy bombing of Sunderland in May 1943 this year that it became apparent that the overall scale of attacks along the east coast was much greater than has been previously documented, and is missing from the current historiography.

Caroline Rae - ‘Gothic Water and the Monstrous Reality of Interconnection’

'All biological life on this planet has its origins in our oceans. Water on our planet is finite and all the water that exists here, in this moment, has existed since our planet’s beginning. Our wateriness also means we are engaged in processes of exchange and interaction with other human and nonhuman bodies on this planet. As we cry, sweat, urinate and drink, our water is recycled through processes that connect us to other bodies across time and space. With water on our planet currently facing myriad of anthropogenic crises, what are the environmental and ethical implications of this process of watery exchange and interaction between and among bodies? In this talk, I claim that the Gothic is perfectly positioned as a tool for cultivating ecological responsibility toward water. The Gothic is often deployed to chart anxieties of the contemporary moment and I identify what I have termed a ‘watery Gothic’. While Gothic tropes of madness, monsters and haunting have historically worked to undermine the agency and sovereignty of the human subject, ‘watery Gothic’ uses fluid and aqueous modes of embodiment to undermine the mastery of the human over nature and emphasise the monstrous reality that we are all interconnected.'

14.00 to 16.30 Thursday 22nd November 2018 Being Human : New Voices in Humanities Research

Scholars across the North-East are conducting cutting-edge research in the Humanities. Doctoral students from the region’s universities competed for the opportunity to present their work, and the eight successful candidates were given 10 minutes each to tell us about the areas of study they have chosen, what aroused their interest and where it has led them.

You can find the speakers and subjects listed below, or more detailed descriptions of each subject HERE.

* Daniel Gane - The mariner’s voice and the description of the ocean in the eighteenth century

* Emily Anderson - “When the Germans come to Alnwick – Never Mind” Humorous First World War Literature 1914-18

* Lucy Carolan - Picturing a cloud of unknowing: photography, lostness and dementia

* Raffaella D’Antonio - The Role of Civil Society in Fighting Environmental Crime. A lesson learned from the Victims of the Land of Fires

* Alex Blanchard - Deprogramming the Revit Technician

* Megan Todman - Young People and Museums

*Ellie Schlappa - “Deprived of both Modesty and Reason”: medical and cultural portrayals of the female onanist in eighteenth-century England

*Ruomei Yang - Power, Wealth and Philanthropy

Explore FREE Taster Event!

25th September 2018

A packed house enjoyed our FREE taster event with mini lectures from our expert tutors on the history of Newcastle, asteroids and classic Hollywood cinema.

Book for our next FREE taster event here!

Explore lifelong learning 2018 Malcolm Grady, Fred Stevenson & Elayne Chaplin adult education

Tutors: Malcolm Grady, Fred Stevenson & Elayne Chaplin

Inaugural Gordon Brown Memorial Lecture

19th September 2018 at the Lit & Phil

Dr. Bill Lancaster explored the different sides of Joseph Cowen including his many paradoxes: a republican who was a strong advocate of empire and imperialism; a capitalist who spent his life advocating working-class interests; and a liberal politician who was a founding member of what soon became Britain’s first Marxist political party.

Explore lifelong learning 2018 Dr Bill Lancaster & Dr Dorothy Stainsby with NUJ banner adult education

Dr Bill Lancaster & Dr Dorothy Stainsby (JCLLC chair) with the NUJ Newcastle banner featuring Joseph Cowen himself Photo credit: NUJ Newcastle

Sunderland History Fair

June 2018

A recent trip to Sunderland History Fair - letting people know about Explore and our FREE taster event in September!

Explore lifelong learning 2018 Sunderland History Fair adult education

Max Adams: A Saint, a Slave Boy & Three Rivers - Northumbria in the Viking Age

April 2018

Max Adams, the critically-acclaimed author of The King in the North and a popular Explore tutor, is an archaeologist, traveller and writing coach. His journeys through the landscapes of the past and the present, of human geography, music, art and culture are a continuing source of inspiration in his writing.

At this public lecture, Max spoke about his new book Aelfred's Britain: War and Peace in the Viking Age - a companion volume to The King in the North and In the Land of Giants.

Explore Lifelong Learning 2018 Max in full flow! adult education

Friends of Explore organised this event in aid of the Explore Lifelong Learning programme and provided canapés and drinks before the talk .

Explore Lifelong Learning 2018 Jo at Max's talk adult education

Explore Lifelong Learning 2018 John Grundy at Max's talk adult education

Engineering Newcastle/Gateshead: Under & Over

A British Science Week event

March 2018

Three engineers described their consulting engineer roles in the building of major structures in the north east: Alan Rispin-Tunnelling the Metro under Newcastle, Steve Barrett - Metro Construction and Saeed Chauhdry-The Sage – Lifting the Lid.

Quote from attendee: 'Absolutely fascinating! Will look at Newcastle streets for evidence of Metro artefacts. Also, will look at Sage in a new light. Awesome. A winner.'

Friends of Explore provided a simple lunch after the event.

Explore lifelong learning 2018 Under & Over adult education

2017

Explore Christmas Party

December 2017

The Explore Christmas party is a laid-back opportunity to get together for nibbles and fun before we break up for Christmas. The event welcomes anyone interested in Explore; members, Explore Evenings joiners, tutors, friends and anyone who might enjoy sharing time with some like-minded thinkers. We know December diaries can book up quickly so this year we're having an earlier start with an afternoon party, starting at 12.30 on Friday 8th December. After the fun here, party animals can continue on to other events, busy bees can get on with their Christmas shopping and wise owls can head home for a relaxing evening and an early night.

Explore lifelong learning 2017 adult education

Friends of Explore Walkers Group

Sunday 22nd October 2017

A walk led by Nova Brockbank around Blaydon Burn nature reserve.

The walk is about 3 miles, mostly on good paths but some steps to and from the car park. There is a choice of routes depending on the weather, and some industrial archaeology to see too!

Sunday 25th June 2017

A walk led by Geoff Cullen, historian and wine buff! Starting just past the Cenotaph in Whitburn village the walk will take in panoramic views of the North Sea, Tyneside, Wearside, Cheviots and as far south as Redcar - you might like to bring binoculars!

Explore lifelong learning 2017 walk adult education

Saturday 27th May 2017

A walk up by the Carey Burn, one of the prettiest Northumberland valleys. Expect to see lots of upland birds and flora. (Harry saw ring ouzels, dippers, grouse and slow worms at the end of April with lots of primroses and gorse in flower).

Please click HERE for full details.

Sunday 23rd April 2017

The 23rd April walk was an adventure in Tynemouth led by Harry Rose.

The walk covered Tynemouth village, round to North Shields Quay and Old Low Light Museum café, ship wrecks, King Charles and a hidden river? Fight the Dutch, prisons, hospice, coffins, torpedoes, mines.... and then back to the station.

Book Launch Event - Bronwen Calvert's 'Being Bionic: The World of TV Cyborgs'

March 2017

This free public event invited anyone and everyone to celebrate the launch of Bronwen's new book 'Being Bionic: The World of TV Cyborgs'.

You can find out more about the book by viewing the invite here.

A British Science Week event

'Parsons and Pametrada Marine Steam Turbines in the Great Liners"

March 2017

A FREE,drop in, public talk on turbines and the era of the great liners given by Geoff Horseman, Chief Turbine Engineer, Siemens plc. This talk looked at the Parsons-type turbines which were installed in many of the great passenger liners from Mauretania up to the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, including the four funnel super-liners plus many notable ships including the Titanic, Aquitania, Empress of Britain, Bremen, Europa and Rex.

Explore lifelong learning British Science Week 2017 adult education

2016

Front Street gig
November 2016

Max Adams' band, Front Street played a gig in aid of the Sybil Durno Memorial Explorers' Fund.

Great photos below by Explore member Rob Campion.

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The Late Shows

The Late Shows take place in mid May each year as part of the 'Museums at Night' national event. Explore has regularly taken part in the Late Shows courtesy of Ampersand Inventions. Our expert tutors have given a series of mini lectures to give an idea of the programme for visitors.

Watch the short video of tutor Miguel Ángel Gomes telling the story of Beowulf in old English!

Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn Visits Explore

March 2016

Jeremy Corbyn MP visited Explore on Monday 3rd October 2016 on the first morning of our new season for 2016-17. Our VIP visitor said hello to members who were enjoying art tutor Peter Quinn's lecture on the 'body in art'.

Jeremy was interested in and impressed by our innovative, member run, professionally delivered programme.