Activities for Adults and Young People

We have brought all our adult talks online for you to enjoy from the safety of your own home with our virtual sessions:

What Are Virtual Sessions and How Do They Work?

These talks on art and art history are live, last an hour and include time for questions. We are currently working on different online platforms, including Zoom, Google Meet and Jitsi. We are also happy try the preferred digital platform of your group. We will arrange a test run of the talk a week before it is scheduled to iron out any technical issues.

How Much Do They Cost?

Sessions are £65. Please scroll further down the page to see the full range of talks that we offer.

How Do I Book?

Please fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page, or contact our bookings officer Becky, who will guide you through the booking process, on 023 8083 2810 or gallery.education@southampton.gov.uk providing the following information:

1st/2nd/3rd choice of dates and preferred time of day
Size of group
Session you are interested in
Any access or special requirements

Which Topics Can You Cover?

We offer the following talks based on our collection and exhibitions:

Southampton City Art Gallery: The History of a Collection
The Life & Work of Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
Current Exhibitions; including John Hitchens: Aspects of Landscape
Women Artists in the Collection
A History of European Art Movements Illustrated by the Collection

We can also offer specialist art history talks on a range of other themes:

JMW Turner: Born in the Age of Sail and Died in the Age of Steam
A Blagger’s Guide to the Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelites and their Weird Extended Family
John Constable: Pioneer and Proto-Impressionist
Uncanny Surrealism: From the Dadaist Hugo Ball to Leonora Carrington
A Whistle-Stop Tour of Abstract Art
A Whistle-Stop Tour of The Baroque
A Whistle-Stop Tour of the Art of Northern Europe: From the Dutch Renaissance to the Golden Age
A Blagger’s Guide to the Life and Work of Artemisia Gentileschi
A Blagger’s Guide to the Life and Work of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Georgia O’Keeffe: The Mother of Modernism
A Rough Guide to Pop Art
Street Art: Art in Public but not Public Art
Vincent Van Gogh: A Life in Pain(t)
Leonardo Da Vinci: Renaissance Man
The Romanic and the Sublime: Art of the Early 19th Century
20th Century Art and Beyond
The Changing Face of Portraiture: From Van Eyck to Warhol
Peter Paul Rubens: ‘The prince of painters and the painter of princes’
Capture the Castle: The Birth of the Picturesque
A Blagger’s Guide to The Impressionists
AB EX Vs Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Art of Andy Warhol
AB EX: The New York School
80s Art: From Neo-Pop and Neo-Abstraction to the Birth of the YBAs
The Art of Today: From Performance to Dialectical Exchange to Socially Engaged Practice
Bridget Riley: Insightful Seeing

Higher and Further Education Groups

Formal Learning activities are available for Sixth Form and University Students encouraging independent learning and developing research skills. We can focus on special exhibitions, such as John Hitchens’ Aspects of Landscape or take a walk through Art History looking at Art Movements represented in the Gallery’s Collection.

When our usual programme resumes, we would also suggest students take advantage of our public events programme which includes: Art History Study Days and Saturday Life Drawing.

Self-guided visits

When we’re open to visitors once more, we’d love to hear from you if you’re thinking about a self-led visit too. Entry to the Art Gallery and its temporary exhibitions is free of charge, but it’s helpful for us to know when you intend to visit.

Continuing Professional Development and INSET

As well as catering for pupils, Southampton City Art Gallery offers CPD training and INSET opportunities for teachers and art facilitators.