Scotland:  Wiretrace – ‘The Brain Trilogy’  In September 1963, Harold Wilson launched the idea of the 'University of the Air' which became The Open University (OU), receiving its Royal Charter in 1969. To celebrate the role of research at the OU, an innovative arts commission was launched for artists and curators of all media to deliver one of four art projects around the themes of design and technology, arts and humanities, science and social science. Each project is based in one of the four UK nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Kate Retford, ‘“The Picture was my Stage”: The Theatre of the Conversation Piece’

Dr Kate Retford, Lecturer in Eighteenth and early Nineteenth-Century History of Art, Birkbeck College, University 

Joseph Roach: The Second Life of the First Actresses

Professor Joseph Roach, Sterling Professor of Theatre, Yale University 

Felicity Nussbaum, The Forgotten Tragic Muse, Mary Anne Yates and Oriental Drama

Professor Felicity Nussbaum, Distinguished Professor of English, University of California, Los Angeles

Elizabeth Kuti, Enter A Gentleman: A One Act Play About Aphra Behn

This study day discussed the work of Michael Landy and his exhibition Michael Landy: Saints Alive, which ran between 23 May and 24 November 2013. A series of large-scale kinetic sculptures brought a contemporary twist to the lives of the saints. Saints are more often associated with traditional sacred art than with contemporary work, but Michael Landy, Rootstein Hopkins Associate Artist in residence at the National Gallery, was inspired to revisit the subject for his exhibition.

Session two: Mark Sealy (Director of Autograph ABP)

A Symposium Exploring The Work Of John Akomfrah, The Black Audio Collective And Other Visual Artists Inspired By The Work Of Stuart Hall