Arts4Kent is a fund-raising charity which raises funds for the arts by organising an annual programme of events in London and the South East, including art- and architecture-related walks, lectures, visits to art exhibitions, historic homes and buildings (many not normally open to the public) and also the occasional foreign trip.
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NEWS
Booking is now open for the next 3 events of the year and also for our 5 day fully escorted tour of Northumberland.
Thursday 30th April - A guided walk around KIngs Cross
Thursday 4th June - James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain
Monday 15th June - Walking tour of Lewes
More details of these events and how to book can be found below.
BOOK NOW
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
GRANARIES, GASWORKS and GOOGLE
A WALK in LONDON’S KINGS CROSS QUARTER
with Ian Swankie
Thursday 30th April
Time: 11.00am
The area just north of Kings Cross St Pancras has seen one of the most dramatic urban redevelopments anywhere in Europe. Until just over ten years ago this was a scruffy wasteland full of disused railway buildings, gasworks, noisy industry, off-beat nightclubs and a notorious red-light district.
Since the arrival of Eurostar, the whole area has experienced an amazing renaissance. The two spectacularly restored railway stations are now surrounded by cleverly repurposed heritage buildings and many cutting-edge new buildings.
Unusually for London, it was carefully planned to satisfy the demands for residential, commercial, entertainment, education, retail and hospitality. There’s public art, green spaces and the delightful backdrop of the Regent’s Canal.
Starting from outside Kings Cross station, the walk is at a gentle pace and lasts about two hours.
There is a huge choice of venues for lunch.
Tickets: £30 per person
To enjoy this walk please contact Jane Johnson at jane.beaugie@me.com
JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER at TATE BRITAIN
Thursday 4th June
Time: Lecture 11.00am followed by the exhibition
Experience the captivating world of rule-breaking American artist James McNeill Whistler.
A truly global figure, Whistler re-wrote the rules of what it meant to be an artist. He pioneered new and innovative techniques, creating astonishingly beautiful, ethereal visions of modern life that would earn him a place as one of the most influential artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
This retrospective – the first major European exhibition of Whistler’s work in 30 years – brings together the artist’s world-famous paintings alongside rarely, or never seen, works. It includes exquisite portraits, drawings, prints, and designs, from as early as his teens in St. Petersburg to the enigmatic late self-portraits.
The exhibition presents both a boldly experimental artist and cosmopolitan celebrity, disrupting the conventions of Victorian society in pursuit of truth, beauty, and progress.
Before visiting the exhibition we will enjoy an insightful lecture given by one of the Tate’s experienced lecturers.
Tickets: Tate members £30
Art Fund members £42
Non members £52
To enjoy this lecture and visit please contact Richard Seymour at cvseymour@hotmail.co.uk
GUIDED WALK AROUND LEWES
with Alison Finlay
Monday 15th June
Time: 11.00am
This walking tour of the interesting Sussex town of Lewes will be led by Alison Finlay, a Blue Badge guide and local resident. The walk will start outside the historic Harvey’s Brewery and cover Martyrs, Murderers, Crimea to the Cold War, Thomas Paine, Magna Carta, Floods, Bonfires and ‘The Family from One End Street’. The walk will last for about two hours and, please be aware, that it will involve walking up some steep hills in the town.
Tickets: £25 per person
To join this walk please contact John Power at johnapower@outlook.com
DATES FOR THE DIARY: EVENTS PLANNED FOR 2026
Booking for these events will open later in the year
Thursday 9th July: Farleys House and Gallery - Home of the lives and work of the photographer Lee Miller and the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose
Wednesday 29th July (6.00pm): Deutsche Bank art collection. A private tour of this global collection of contemporary works
Tuesday 8th September: Firle Place
Wednesday 21st October: Kippington Lecture. Lynne Creasey, harpist, will be giving us a lecture on the history of the harp interspersed with musical extracts
Tuesday 17th November: Tate Britain - Vanessa Bell & Duncan Grant lecture and exhibition
RECENT EVENTS
WHICH ARTS4KENT MEMBERS HAVE ENJOYED
ANTONY PENROSE: Lee AND LEE, The Making of the Film
Antony Penrose, the son of American Photographer Lee Miller, the fashion model for Vogue and Vanity Fair, surrealist photographer, fashion photographer, war correspondence, combat photographer and later chef, gave us a wonderful lecture about the making of the film. The movie is based on Antony’s biography of his mother, The Lives of Lee Miller published in1985. He told us about Kate Winslet’s unwavering dedication in portraying his mother accurately, and becoming producer shaping the movie as a result of the weeks she spent immersed in the Lee Miller Archives, the lengths the film team went to in copying artefacts accurately, for example, making replicas of Lee’s Rolleiflex Camera and the special effects made by a young team, were truly inspirational. Antony was closely involved with the production as Factual Consultant. Our thanks to Antony for his dedication and Sky Arts’ for their permission to do so.
SUFFOLK: A 3 day tour
20 Arts4Kent members enjoyed a wonderful tour around Suffolk visiting the Ickworth Estate, Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury, Long Melford, Flatford for a guided tour of Constable Country and The Munnings Art Museum in Lavenham. They are also enjoyed a private tour of Kentwell Hall which is in private hands.
FIRLE PLACE
Our guided tour of Firle Place the home of the Gage family for over 500 years was hugely popular andvery interesting. The Grade 1 Listed House contains an exquisite collection ofart treasures including Old Master portraits by Van Dyck, Reynolds,Gainsborough and Zoffany. There is a curated ensemble of English and Europeanfurniture and a significant collection of Sevres porcelain.
Contact Us
If you have any comments about anything we do please email us
Charity Commission Number 1187880
© 2020 Arts4Kent
