BBC RADIO FOUR: IN OUR TIME

THURSDAY 21 JUNE 2012, 0900 AND 2130 - AND ON BBC I-PLAYER

Annie Besant

Duration: 43 minutes

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of the campaigner and writer Annie Besant. A radical political voice, Besant was involved in the 1888 matchgirls' strike at the Bryant and May factory, which brought the appalling working conditions of many factory workers to greater public attention. Later she campaigned for self-rule in India, and was a prominent member of the mystical Theosophical Society.
Producer: Thomas Morris.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/annie_besant

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of the campaigner and writer Annie Besant. A radical political voice, Besant was involved in the 1888 matchgirls' strike at the Bryant and May factory, which brought the appalling working conditions of many factory workers to greater public attention. Later she campaigned... > Show more

Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies

Victorian Spiritualities

One Day Colloquium on 17 March 2012

This one-day colloquium will explore Victorian Spiritualities from a wide range of perspectives. Contributions on literary topics explore key figures such as Dickens and G.M. Hopkins, as well as lesser-known writers like Fitz-James O’Brien and T.E. Brown. Contributions on art history include a presentation on Evelyn de Morgan and Emily Ford, and there are also papers on ballet and textiles. Psychology, postcolonial studies and philosophy are also represented. The day will cover a wide variety of religious traditions, including Catholicism, Anglicanism and the Oxford Movement, Spiritualism, the Russian Orthodox Church, Quakerism, Judaism, and Buddhism. The keynote speakers are literary critic Elisabeth Jay and art historian Michaela Giebelhausen.

Registration Fee: £40 (includes copy of the Leeds Working Papers volume for the colloquium containing c.25 articles, plus lunch and refreshments). For more details and to register, contact j.hamblin@leedstrinity.ac.uk.

Colloquium convenor: Jane de Gay

Dreams of nature. Symbolism from Van Gogh to Kandinsky

24.02.12_17.06.12

Symbolism was a pioneering movement in painting of the late 19th-century. Its roots lie in philosophy and poetry, and it was closely associated with music. Symbolist artists endeavoured to evoke dreams and visions, rather than record visible reality. A reaction to the growing industrialisation and materialism of Europe, symbolist works reflect feelings of fear and pessimism, as well as a longing for spirituality and mythology.

This is the first exhibition dedicated to the symbolist landscape in Europe. Some 70 poetical and evocative paintings of nature from the period 1880–1910 will offer a new perspective on this intriguing movement. Artists used their landscapes to represent their vision of death, dreams, infinity and the cosmos, feelings of nationalism or ideas about science and the modern age.

The exhibition will cover a wide range of artists, from forerunners of symbolism, like Böcklin and Whistler, to Mondrian and Kandinsky, who provided the impulse for major 20th-century movements, such as surrealism and abstraction. Works by renowned painters, like Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Munch, will be presented alongside lesser known, but equally fascinating artists from the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe.

Music accompanying the exhibition
Symbolism emerged from philosophy and poetry and was closely connected to music. For instance, Kandinsky was inspired by the music of Schönberg, and Rachmaninoff wrote music to accompany Böcklin’s Island of the dead. Visitors to this exhibition can experience the mutual influence between these different arts for themselves by listening to compositions from the Symbolist period.

Themes
The exhibition is organised into the following six themes:

• Ancient and new paradises: Artists like Böcklin, Von Stuck and Puvis de Chavannes took inspiration from classical antiquity and mythology. Others, such as Signac and Gauguin, looked for paradise in unspoiled places far away from modern society.
• Nature and suggestion: Rather than just faithfully representing reality, landscapes by Symbolists such as Gallen-Kallela, Sohlberg and Hodler also reflect the feelings that nature evoked in the artist.
• Dreams and visions: Gauguin, Munch and Malczewski tried to open the gates to the unconscious mind. They painted dreams and visions, the world beneath the surface of observable reality.
• Silent cities: Many Symbolist artists saw modern city life as a threat. Whistler, Degouve de Nuncques and Khnopff transformed the city into a mysterious, dreamlike landscape born of memory and imagination.
• The cosmos: Through their landscapes, painters such as Watts, Van Gogh and Willumsen expressed their ideas about natural forces, cosmic energy, the eternal cycle of the seasons and the insignificance of human beings in the face of nature.
• Into the mystic: In their quest to express the sublime and spiritual, many artists (such as Whistler, Signac and Ciurlionis) drew connections between painting and music, while others (like Mondrian and Kandinsky) took the first steps towards abstraction.

Touring exhibition
Dreams of nature has been organised by guest curators Richard Thomson and Rodolphe Rapetti, specialists in the area of landscape painting and Symbolism. The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with The National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh (14 July - 14 October 2012) and the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki (16 November 2012 - 17 February 2013).

Publication
Landscapes of the imagination. Symbolism from Van Gogh to Kandinsky by Richard Thomson, Rodolphe Rapetti, Frances Fowle and Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff.
In this publication the authors present an entirely new perspective on these special landscapes, from the precursors of symbolism, such as Böcklin and Whistler, to Mondrian and Kandinsky, whose variations on landscape themes provided the impetus for their later abstract work.
(208 pages, 130 illustrations English, Dutch, French, Finnish, Swedish, softcover, approx. € 29.95, Van Gogh Museum/The National Galleries of Scotland/ Ateneum Art Museum / Mercatorfonds, available from February 2012)

Sunday lectures

• 26 February 2012 - Europe 1900: New landscapes for changing times by Richard Thomson, Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art, University of Edinburgh (English spoken). 1 April 2012 - Symbolist landscapes and silent cities by Frances Fowle, Curator of French Art, National Galleries of Scotland (English spoken).
• 6 May 2012 - Dream landscapes and music. From Debussy to Schönberg by Edwin Becker, Head of Exhibitions, Van Gogh Museum.

The exhibition has been supported by the Dutch government: an indemnity grant has been provided by the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.

Dreams of nature is made possible with support from the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation.

REMEMBERING MARY BRACE

Photo by Mary's good friend, Queenie Hamilton

The esoteric atmosphere created at 50 Gloucester Place by over 75 years of Theosophy and spiritual aspiration is a source of comfort and inspiration to many people. Mary Brace, a TS member since 1987, was undoubtedly one of them. Not feeling truly at home where she lived, she found inner peace at TSHQ. She was a familiar face in the front row at Sunday lectures for many years, and at Blavatsky Lodge meetings.

Born a short distance from 50 Gloucester Place (in Chiltern Street at 84 Wendover Court), she much liked the atmosphere of the Marylebone area and regretted leaving it. In her spiritual life although brought up Catholic, she became a Baptist, later to find Theosophy. Her career began with nursing, and developed into welfare and social work. She had multiple interests including: photography, ballet, swimming, French, German, Egyptology. Her good heart caused her, aged about 60, to run the London marathon, sponsored for charity.

She never married, but with her good friend Mike, she travelled to far-flung places such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and The Gambia. Her next great adventure began suddenly at home in snowy mid-December, aged about 80. Her quiet, peaceful presence at TSHQ is much missed.

Edward Archer

(The London Theosophical Post will have room to honour all our members and rememberances are welcomed. - Ediitor)

Next Events at 50 Gloucester Place W1U 8EA Three events on Sunday 20 November 2011 11.0am- 4.0pm THE JOY OF MEDITATION Sunday Intensive - beginners welcome Dhyana Centre of The Theosophical Society.  Leader: Alan Perry The Dhyana Centre holds regular introductory courses for beginners on weekdays, dovetailing with weekend intensives that cover the same ground in a truncated form. Courses teach the theory and practice of meditation as a spiritual discipline. Admission free, donations welcome For details of retreats and other events, go to www.dhyanacentre.orgor info@dhyanacentre.org

4.45pm THEOSOPHY: HIGHWAY TO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT Introductory Course on the Ageless Wisdom, with Edward Archer Sunday afternoons 18 September – 4 December, 4.45 – 5.45 pm An informal session in which the basic teachings of the Divine Wisdom are explored and discussed. Everybody on this planet is in the Great School of Life - of spiritual development. Over the weeks we shall look at the great hidden truths which make sense of our lives and which gives them purpose. This is a basic grounding in The Eternal Mysteries, and it has absolutely no strings attached! The book The Key To Theosophy is recommended for newcomers. Leader: Edward Archer, who has been a member of the Theosophical Society in England for 35 years. Free admission. Arranged by Foundation for Theosophical Studies 6.0 pm BROTHERHOOD AS A LIVING REALITY IN DAILY LIFE Wayne Gatfield There is much talk nowadays about ‘Brotherhood; but it is mainly of a political or social nature. True Brotherhood arises from Soul Solidarity and the dissolving of the sense of Separateness that keeps us apart from our fellow human beings. Spiritual ideas of Brotherhood are based upon the essential Oneness of ALL living things and the fact that not a thought or action can be done without affecting others. This talk looks at ways we can try to activate True Brotherhood in our day to day lives. Wayne Gatfield is President of Bolton Lodge and the editor of the North Western Federation Journal of the Theosophical Society in England. He is a national lecturer for the Foundation for Theosophical Studies and contributes articles and poetry for the Theosophist and other publications. £7, £5 concessions. Arranged by the Foundation for Theosophical Studies

THEOSOPHICAL TEA PARTY
Wednesday 26 October 2011    3.0 - 5.30 pm











You are cordially invited to these gatherings in aid of the Theosophical Order of Service  http://www.tos-uk.org.uk - See our elegant Georgian building, including the lending library - Meet fellow members, guests and friends - Share your interests (do networking!) - Have tea or coffee and cake Entry is free and everyone is welcome. Please make a donation to the TOS!
This time we will be showing a film (in English) about Adyar, the Theosophical Society's International Headquarters at Adyar, Chennai, India. Here is a taster from TS members in Mexico.

We plan to hold Tea Parties meetings at 50 Gloucester Place every few months, so please let us know if you can not attend on the above dates but would like to come in future.
Contact George McNamara at HQ or by e-mail: george@whatever-will.be

Three events  on Sunday  23 October 2011 

6.0 pm THE HEALING VOICE

Jill Purce

This experiential lecture - including chant, mantra and overtone chanting -will explore how sound and the voice have been understood and used in different traditions not only as a description of cosmic creation and resonance but as one of the most effective ways to balance the mind and body and ultimately achieve enlightenment. The voice was used to re-enchant , which literally means to make magical through chant. Jill demonstrates how we can empower our lives by using our voice to release a uniquely powerful energy which can be used for physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual healing. By freeing the voice in certain ways it is possible to find physical health and emotional joy and spiritual ecstasy.

Jill Purce, international lecturer and author, pioneered the international sound healing movement through her discovery of ancient vocal techniques, the power of group chant and the spiritual potential of the voice as a magical instrument for healing and meditation.
£8, £6 concessions. Arranged by the Foundation for Theosophical Studies

4.45pm THEOSOPHY: HIGHWAY TO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

Introductory Course on the Ageless Wisdom, with Edward Archer

Sunday afternoons 18 September – 4 December, 4.45 – 5.45 pm

An informal session in which the basic teachings of the Divine Wisdom are explored and discussed. Everybody on this planet is in the Great School of Life - of spiritual development. Over the weeks we shall look at the great hidden truths which make sense of our lives and which gives them purpose. This is a basic grounding in The Eternal Mysteries, and it has absolutely no strings attached! The book The Key To Theosophy is recommended for newcomers.

Leader: Edward Archer, who has been a member of the Theosophical Society in England for 35 years.
Free admission. Arranged by Foundation for Theosophical Studies.

And
10.0-4.30 Astrological Lodge of London:2011 History Seminar 

Nicolas Campion – the History of Astrology Today, Kim Farnell – Strange Case of Dr Lambe, Anna Estoroth,- Ancient Egyptian Astrology, Clair Chandler – Astrological Symbolism in the Greek Magical Papyri.

AL Members £30; non-Members £40 - pay on the door. 
  
http://www.astrolodge.co.uk/diary/2011-history-seminar