Category Archives: Past events

Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and the unmade Macbeth – Tuesday 2nd June 2015, 6pm

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Vivien Leigh and Laurence

Dr Jennifer Barnes explores the story of Laurence Olivier’s unmade Shakespeare film, Macbeth.

Since Macbeth was shelved in 1958 it has gained a reputation as representing a gap in the fabric of Britain’s national cinema with a variety of scholars and cultural commentators wondering just what exactly Olivier’s fourth and final Shakespeare film might have looked like and how it would have fitted in alongside Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1945) and Richard III (1955).

In 2012 Jennifer discovered 13 hitherto unseen screenplays for Macbeth in the British Library. In this talk Jennifer discusses how the screenplays offer us a unique insight into Olivier’s approach to filming Shakespeare and how they reveal something significant about Olivier himself.

Reading the screenplays alongside Olivier’s autobiography and accounts from fellow theatre stars, Jennifer shows how the unmade Macbeth exemplifies Laurence Olivier’s tendency to interpret moments of personal and professional crisis through appropriations of Shakespeare. Written during a fraught period that would end with Olivier’s divorce from Vivien Leigh in 1960, it becomes clear that this unmade cinematic Shakespeare plays out, through the Macbeths, the very public downfall of the so-called ‘Theatre Royals.’

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Places are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 5pm. This event is likely to last one hour.

 

 

Rethinking What Art Is (And Can Be) In A Digital Age – Tuesday 5th May 2015, 6pm

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Google tea towels

Thomson & Craighead 2002

Mobile devices, computer networks and new ways of accessing information and people across space and time, has led to a revolution in art – one which some museums have been reluctant to acknowledge. Artists have long experimented with new tools, but ‘new media art’ has, over the last 30 years, embraced technologies such as the web, not just as a new tool, but a medium – a place to make and share art, often outside of the museum. Although museums are catching up with our new digital lives (remotely-controlled robots have been roaming the Tate Galleries at night!) artists are still forging ahead.

Curator Dr Sarah Cook from the University of Dundee, is co-author of Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media and has given invited presentations around the world on emerging art forms and curatorship. Sarah will lead this talk and discussion to explore some characteristics of recent art projects which might get you to rethink what art is now.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Places are limited so please arrive early to avoid disappointment. Doors open at 5pm. This event is likely to last one hour.

Making Jewellery Work – Tuesday 21st April 2015, 6pm

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Founded in Dundee in 2009, Vanilla Ink
celebrates and Vanilla Inksupports emerging jewellers in an open and honest environment; breeding creativity, skill sharing and strengthening the sector across Scotland and beyond.

Vanilla Ink builds a community that engages with its surroundings in a transparent way, empowering and enriching the maker and their experiences.

Founder and director, Kate Pickering will discuss the ethos of Vanilla Ink and the importance of networks, creative communities and facilitation. Kate will be joined by some of her Vanilla Ink Alumni to discuss their own experiences of the programme.

Vanilla Ink will be taking a year out to reflect on its successes and the not so successful, develop strong partnerships and review the landscape for opening both a new Vanilla Ink in Glasgow and plan Vanilla Ink Dundee 2.0.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

Mary Slessor – No Ordinary Missionary – Tuesday 3rd March 2015, 6pm

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Poster imageMary Slessor was an Aberdeen quine, who moved to Dundee in the 1850’s when the mills were at their height and worked tirelessly with the Church to improve lives for the working class. She then moved on as a Missionary to ‘The Calabar’ in modern day Nigeria. Here she fought for the lives of children, women, and slaves; for human rights. She was brave and feisty, warm and untiring in her struggle.  She also outlived all her family in Dundee despite the risks in the Calabar, also known as “The White Man’s Grave.” In the Calabar she is known still as “The Mother of all Peoples”, yet here her story is relatively unknown, despite featuring on the Clydesdale Bank £5 note!

With biographical story, song and personal insight, Ruth Kirkpatrick weaves the threads of Mary’s remarkable life, into a rich tapestry, to commemorate the centenary of her death.

Born in the North East of Scotland, Ruth Kirkpatrick has performed at Storytelling festivals all over, including India, Singapore, Iceland and Dubai. Her strength is in forming a warm rapport with her audience, respecting the tradition but giving her performance a personal, feisty sparkle.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic. Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

 

Seeing Double: The Colour Blind Test Series – Tuesday 3rd February 2015, 6pm

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Artist David Lyons hides visual messages in Goatsplain sight by investigating the idea that artwork can be intentionally created to be experienced differently dependent on one’s visual abilities. His work both communicates unique details to individuals with colour blindness and contains imagery visible only to those with typical colour vision.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

Dundee and the Great War: Patriotism and Propaganda – Tuesday 2nd December 2014, 6pm

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Dundee became a leading centre of British press patriotism and propaganda. As ‘war hysteria’ quickly reached fever pitch the Dundee press encouraged the public to actively participate in their campaign to pillory any ‘shirker’ not in uniform and castigating as ‘lunatics’ or ‘liars’ any Conscientious Objectors (COs) who refused military service.

This talk examines how the Dundee press helped promote and encourage military recruitment and public patriotism during the Great War.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

What Shape Is The Internet In? Tuesday 4th November 2014, 6pm

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The way in which we retrieve Future of the Internetand consume information has changed considerably in recent years, with the evolution of the digital world fast developing. Is this the future, or is there radical change to come?

From arts, science, culture, and policy, Prof Jon Rogers will discuss a new way of thinking about digital and the web. In this talk, he describes his work with various organisations, including NASA, Mozilla, BBC, the Met Office, and Microsoft, and discusses what shape the future of the internet might be.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.

The Referendum: Taking Stock – Tuesday 7th October 2014, 6pm

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Three weeks after Scotland’s independence referendum, Prof Chris Whatley, Scottish historian and author of the acclaimed The Scots and the Union: Then and Now (2014), reflected upon the campaign for independence, the result, and the future for Scotland, either within or outside the UK. Chris charted the emergence of the movement for Scottish independence and identified the successes and failings of the Yes and Better Together campaigns.

He discussed the result in the context of the long history of the British union state, and argued that the Union, as envisaged in 1707, and as it had developed over the subsequent three centuries and more, is no longer fit for purpose. But is Britain broken? Are we now closer to the situation Scotland and England were in before 1707 but after the union of the crowns in 1603? Or is this arrangement too – with Scotland and England sharing a single monarch – outdated and under threat? What of Scotland’s relationship with England – and the rest of the UK – in future?

Shaping our Creative City – Tuesday 2nd September 2014, 6pm

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If you missed Gillian Easson’s inspiring and thought-provoking talk you can watch it here

Dundee is at a unique point in time, a city with a major transformation underway, it’s shape, size and scope present a number of opportunities for its citizens. Gillian Easson from Creative Dundee will look at some of the creative initiatives happening across Dundee and consider some projects happening around the world, which are helping shape cities of the future.

Creative Dundee amplifies and connects talent, through its online platform, events and partnerships. Founded in 2008, before the current developments were on the horizon, Creative Dundee has been involved in a number of grass-roots projects including We Dundee, the crowd sourcing campaign which saw almost 4,000 contribute their ideas to the future of the city.

Whose Transition Is It Anyway? Tuesday 6th May 2014, 6pm

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Starting school, moving classes or moving schools are exciting progressions in the life of every child, however some children find these educational transitions difficult. To understand how to helpimage3 children make these transitions a wealth of research has been undertaken that focusses on the pupil.

Divya Jindal-Snape argues that we also need to understand these transition from the viewpoint of parents, siblings and teachers – termed ‘significant others’. The impact of the pupil’s transition on significant others is under-researched and not considered fully in educational practice.

This talk will highlight Divya’s research which explores the interaction between the transitions of the child and significant others and reinforces the importance of involving significant others during transitions. We will also discuss creative ways that can be used by parents, teachers and other professionals to support transitions of children starting school, moving to new classes or schools.

Join us in the relaxed atmosphere of the McManus Café for a short talk followed by your chance to ask questions and discuss the topic.

Everyone is welcome. Free. Non-bookable. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment. This event is likely to last one hour.