We are Explore

Thanks to all our brilliant speakers (and singers) at Explore this week! It’s been a marvellous mixture of ideas with so much to learn and think about. Whether you’re up early for the solstice or up late for a match, stay cool and enjoy the weekend!

With special thanks to our guest speakers this week:

Anne Sutherland - Tom McGuiness Exhibition (The Auckland Project)

Kasia Pirog - ‘Deciphering the Molecular Mechanisms of Osteoarthritis’

Paul Dryburgh - ‘Plus ça change: Commemorating the Norman Conquest in the 21st Century’

Mat Hunsley - ‘Tales from the Stage & The Things We Need’

Dr Frank Wilson - ‘Exploring the Elegy in English: Renaissance to Present Day’

Karen Dobson - ‘Wellbeing & the Environment at ‘Scotswood Garden’

‘All the world's a stage’ they say, and this week's speakers have shown it can be filled with music, fashion, storytelling and life. With special thanks to Peter Brewis of Field Music and SunOrbitUs project, who never miss a beat from the Sunderland streets, and to David Rosier for his years of expertise on Chinese Imperial textiles and silk. Thanks to Michael Ayton for his insight into Monteverdi's libretta of bravery & loss and to John Griffiths who walked the talk around one literary star's locale. And to Professor David Young for his brilliant research into genetic responses to the world around us. Read more details below and join our mailing list to stay in touch about public events coming up.

David Rosier - The Origins & Evolution of Chinese Silk
Peter Brewis - ‘SunOrbitUs Project: Using Data from a City & its People to Create Music’
John Griffiths - Evening Walk ‘Jack Common's Heaton’
David Young - Epigenetics: One Way in which Genetic Changes Cause Disease
Michael Ayton - ‘Monteverdi's Lamento d'Arianna & Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda’

Is there a doctor in the house? We've welcomed a few to speak at Explore this week, all trusted experts in their fields (they don't all need a stethoscope) sharing their knowledge from GPs to AI, philosophy to British history and Global politics. With special thanks to all our regular & guest speakers this week for sharing their work and expanding our minds.

Our guest speakers this week included:
-Alison Diamond ‘Time Well Spent: The Work & Inspiration of the Artist’
-Olive Hogg ‘Ancient Egypt Painting’
-Keith Jewitt ‘Joseph Cowen & European Revolution’
-Prof Jordi Diaz Manera ‘Using AI in Diagnosis & Follow-up of People Living with Neuromuscular Diseases’
-Peter Quinn ‘F2F Film Special: My Dinner with Andre’
-Dr CK Foo ‘The Work of a GP – Past & Present’
-John Griffiths Evening Walk ‘The Forth & Stephenson Quarter'

Time flies when you’re having fun and it feels like this year is whizzing by here at Explore. It’s not too late for new members to join for the second part of the season though, so get in touch to arrange a free Taster session or find more details on our website (see comments below for links).

Mad, bad and dangerous to know... all about? From Lord Byron's poems to 'Lady of Letters' Harriet Martineau, this week's speakers have brought plenty of drama, politics, insight and intrigue to our talks.

With special thanks to Malcolm Grady, Clare Jackson, Tim Crocker and Ian Ground, and to everyone who plays a part at Explore this week.

-Tim Crocker ‘How to Approach the Poems of Lord Byron’
-Clare Jackson - George Mackay Brown’s 'Beside the Ocean of Time'
-Ian Ground - Frederick Reece's Forgery in Musical Composition: Aesthetics, History and the Canon
-Malcolm Grady ‘A Lady of Letters: Harriet Martineau in Tynemouth’ & ‘The Cullercoats Collection: The Art of Winslow Homer’

A huge thank you to all of our fantastic members who made it to the AGM this week - such a positive and supportive meeting discussing what Explore has achieved and what we’re planning next.

And of course thank you to our speakers this week, including sessions about life in the Ouseburn (when it was less tranquil and fun as nowadays) Roman slavery and some very wyrd, wonderful & woeful ideas from supernatural Tudor England.

Get in touch to find out more!

Mike Greatbatch - ‘Life in the Ouseburn 1840-1960’
Peter Jones - ‘Roman Slavery’
Jo Bath - ’Encountering the Supernatural in Tudor & Stuart England’

There's gold in these here hills! And silver, flurospar, lead and iron... Our gem of a tutor, Derek Teasdale started this week teaching us all about some of the less well known mining industries in the region in 'The Mineral Wealth of the North', before we dug further in to 'Art of the Rennaissance' with Peter Quinn's talk on Donatello. Then from Venice to The Forbidden City, as our members enjoyed a fascinating curator's tour of 'Journey of a Century' with Qin Cao at Durham's Oriental Museum. Another week full of hidden treasures at Explore.

To find out more about Explore join our mailing list (link in the comments) or get in touch.

If you missed our first week at Explore there’s still another nine to enjoy this season - get in touch to arrange a free taster or find out more.

With special thanks to all our speakers this week and to all our fantastic members.

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend and see you soon for more great sessions at Explore!

- Gary Bankhead ‘Roman Sunderland’
- Anthea Lang ‘JB Priestley: An English Journey’
- Roger Mitchell ’What is Film Noir?’

It’s been a great start to the new season - thanks to everyone who came along today, including our brilliant speakers Gary Bankhead, Anthea Lang and Peter Quinn.

If you missed our Taster Event there’s still time to arrange a free session and join for Season Three - just take a look at our programme online and get in touch!