COURSES, CONFERENCES & TALKS

Conferences & Symposia

The Lecture Theatre

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V&A conferences offer an opportunity for academics, professionals, researchers and others with a substantial interest in the subject to share the results of recent research and discuss topical issues relating to V&A collections.

Symposia are inter-disciplinary events that explore the relationship between design and other aspects of culture. They aim to reveal connections between the historical and the contemporary, making the V&A's collections relevant to today's debates and research. Invited speakers include academics, writers, visual arts practitioners and specialists from other fields.

Book online or email bookings.office@vam.ac.uk

The delegate registration form below is optional and, if completed, will be circulated to attendees at the conference. Completed forms should be emailed to tickets@vam.ac.uk two weeks before the event.

Delegate registration form (PDF file, 21KB)
Delegate registration form (Word file, 31KB)

 

Ceramics on Show: Public and Private Displays
Friday 24 & Saturday 25 September
Lecture Theatre
10.00–17.30

Explore the ways in which ceramic objects have been put on show and celebrate the new Ceramics Galleries at the V&A. Our appreciation of ceramic objects is shaped by the ways in which they are grouped and displayed. This conference will explore both contemporary and historic practice, focusing on ceramics in museums, in retail and domestic environments, in architectural settings and in the display of contemporary ceramic art. Keynote speakers will include artist and writer Edmund de Waal and Reino Liefkes, lead curator of the new galleries.

Download a full conference programme

£92 for two days, £74 concessions, £10 students
£46 for one day, £37 concessions, £5 students
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

New Research on Buddhist Sculpture
Monday 8 & Tuesday 9 November
Lecture Theatre
09.00–18.15

This two day academic symposium will bring together new research by fifteen leading scholars in the field of Buddhism and Buddhist arts. The first day will concentrate on South Asia and the Himalayas. It will feature papers on early image making in India, Gandharan sculptural schools and the relationships between Southern Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka. Other lectures will cover related aspects of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, including those of Western Tibet. The second day is devoted to South East and Eastern Asia with papers on new insights into the reliefs at Borobodur in Java and the early introduction of Buddhist images to China from India via the Yangtsi Valley. Other papers will focus on newly discovered Tang sculptures, images from the caves at Tianlongshan, mandalas in China and Japan and a previously unknown large Yongle image and its parallels. The symposium aims to further debate on regional stylistic schools, stylistic development, the relationship of iconography to religious doctrines and key cross-cultural and international links.

Supported by the World Collections Programme.
In collaboration with Asian Art in London

To Reserve a Place
Tickets will not be issued but it is essential to reserve a place as seating is limited. Please contact asiaevents@vam.ac.uk

 

Carvings, Casts & Collectors: The Art of Renaissance Sculpture
Friday 12 & Saturday 13 November
Hochhauser Auditorium
10.00–17.30

Bringing together some of the world’s leading experts, this conference explores the artistic production and cultural context of Renaissance sculpture, from Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise to the small bronzes of Giambologna’s followers. Papers cover a range of sculptural materials and forms to cast fresh light on the artists, their creative and collaborative processes, and on those who owned and responded to their work. Speakers include Gary M. Radke, Jeffrey Chipps Smith and Jeremy Warren.

Held in honour and memory of Robert H. Smith, who generously funded the Robert H. Smith Renaissance Sculpture Programme

Free, booking essential.
To book call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Going for Gold: Craftsmanship and Collecting of Gold Boxes
Friday 26 November
Goodison Lecture Theatre, Wallace Collection
Saturday 27 November
Hochauser Auditorium, V&A Sackler Centre
9.30–17.30, opening reception 17.30–19.30

A year after the opening of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Galleries at the V&A, the Museum in collaboration with the Wallace Collection is celebrating the art of the gold box in 18th and 19th century Europe. Leading international experts will speak on different centres of production including Paris, Geneva, Hanau, Berlin, Dresden, St Petersburg and London. Papers will illustrate design sources for boxes, diplomatic gifts, the challenge of recognizing fakes and the leading collections assembled by monarchs and bankers.

Download a full conference programme

£112 for two days / £94 concessions / £30 students 
£56 for one day / £47 concessions / £15 students
(Includes a wine reception at the Wallace Collection on Friday 26 and lunch at the V&A on Saturday 27)
Book online or call +44 (0)20 7942 2211

 

Calls for Papers

Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951
25-26 February 2011
Sackler Centre

This forthcoming conference will disseminate the findings of the Mapping Sculpture research project, a collaborative venture between the V&A and universities in Scotland and Ireland, and promote dialogue with scholars, curators and students engaged in related research.
The organisers are currently inviting proposals for papers relating to the project's main themes. Please click on the following link for further details: Call For Papers: Mapping Sculpture 2011

 

3rd Annual Sackler Arts Education Conference at the V&A
Engaging, creating "The main question the visitors wanted to ask was, why…" Artist and maker practitioner residencies in public spaces
6-8 April 2011
Sackler Centre

This forthcoming conference will explore the notion of 'the residency' (as a long-term engagement beyond the workshop model) for artists to explore and expand practice, within the context of the current trend for a wide variety of public learning organisations to invite artists to participate in residencies as part of their public programme of engagement with the arts. Does the presence of contemporary practitioners working in these learning environments help to make them more dynamic, creative places for visitors? Does interaction with a resident artist, designer or maker inspire visitors to engage in creative activity and practice themselves?  In what ways do host environments benefit from having artists, designers and makers in residence? How can participating in an artists' residency, that includes engagement with visitors, enable residents to enhance their own skills and practice?

This will be the third in the series of Sackler arts education conferences, which investigate aspects of arts and cultural education in the context of museums, galleries and related organisations. It will bring together artists, makers, residents, academic researchers, curators, historians, educators and interested members of the general public.

You are invited to submit proposals for papers which engage with the following conference themes:

• The benefits of residencies in formal and informal learning environments as opposed to residencies in other environments
•  Reflexive practice: the relationship between resident and host, career development, and engagement with arts disciplines
•  The audience experience, engaging with a wide variety of audiences
• How artists contribute to public learning
• Training, evaluation and assessment of residency programmes

Please submit proposals along with a completed Expression of Interest Form by Friday 15 October 2010 to d.sibley@vam.ac.uk or send to: Debbie Sibley, Projects and Planning Coordinator, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL.

For more information please contact Debbie Sibley +44 (0)20 7942 2178