Art Decades series of talks look to unveil the hidden lives of rock artists outside the recording studio and finds out how they coped when they were really tested to the limit.
16 July 2026
Girls Keep Swinging
6 - 7pm
The female of the species must fight their corner in any art form but in the macho world of rock music, the gutsiest as well as the most subtle she-talents have emerged. This Art Decades celebrates the famous and the unjustly neglected or overlooked, from Madonna to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, from Carol Kaye to Kim Gordon and many more, with further reference to other disciplines including art, photography and cinema.
Photo credit: Max Nash
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20 August 2026
Music at the Movies
6 - 7pm
More than just a compilation of rock biopics, this Art Decades explores the representation of music and music makers on film, taking in a wide range of genres, and tracing where directors and artists have triumphed against the odds or suicidally courted disaster. Music at the Movies showcases works dominated by rock stars as well as those that offer tantalising glimpses of artists in embryo, revealing a rich genre in cinema.
Photo credit: Michael Ochs
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29 October
Money Changes Everything
6-7pm
Cries of sell-out have haunted many a musician who originally embarked on an artistic crusade. In this Art Decades, the tortuous relationship between rock music and commerce, where compromises can be unavoidable, is examined, generating absorbing stories and spectacles in rock music, including lost innocence, altered images and diabolical cynicism – proving that money really does change everything.
Photo credit: Mark Seliger
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6 Aug 2026
18:30 – 20:30
The Art of Graphic Novels: An illustrated talk with the Rickard Sisters
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