Swansea Art Society

2012 Annual General Meeting.....

All our current members should have received their Agenda and Nomination Forms for the forthcoming AGM.

Included in the current mailing also is:

• Minutes of last year's AGM
• the January 2012 Newsletter
• Membership Renewal Forms 
• and the new proposed Society Constitution.

It will be held on Thursday, 16th February at its usual time and venue, i.e. 7pm at St. Paul's Parish Centre, Sketty, Swansea.

There will be a raffle and any member who wishes to donate a prize should contact the President.

All 2011 members are invited to attend.

125th Anniversary Exhibition Opens.....

The opening ceremony of the society's 125th anniversary summer exhibition took place at the Grand Theatre last night.

Glenys Cour, who is a noted professional artist and former art lecturer formally opened proceedings.

She gave an interesting speech, in which she anecdotally reminded those present how the society had changed since she was President many years ago, but also how many aspects of the society's work remained unchanged.

She was thanked for her words by Chairman Brian Griffin and was afterwards presented with a colourful bouquet of flowers by society President, Eileeen Campbell Jones.

The exhibition has 106 artworks in a wide diversity of media and genre and continues for the next two weeks. Entrance to the exhibition is free and framed paintings are offered for sale.

Exhibition Opening Tonight.....

All the paintings handed in yesterday have now been expertly hung.

The artworks are available to view on the website right now, by clicking on the image link in the left sidebar (or via the PHOTO ARCHIVES link on the Navigation Bar at the top).

All members are invited to tonight's Opening Ceremony at the Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea, from 7pm onwards.

Our guest speaker is a former President of the Society, Ms. Glenys Cour.

 

IT SEEMS A LONG TIME AGO: OTHER EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN 1886!

As we're celebrating 125 years of the society's continuous existence we thought we would consider what happened in the same year as the society’s birth…..

Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and piano virtuoso, died.

Coca Cola was invented by John Pemberton, who began selling his formula (a mixture of cocaine and caffeine) at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. It was initially sold as a patent medicine for five cents a glass at soda fountains. Coca Cola no longer contains Cocaine!

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated by U.S. President Grover Cleveland. The statue was made in France, sculpted by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi and funded by the French people.

Karl Benz patented his first automobile, the Motorwagen. His company, Benz and Co., had been started a few years earlier.

Another News Clip.....

This article about the Victorian-themed event last Saturday appeared in the South Wales Evening Post on Tuesday 24th May (reprinted courtesy of the newspaper).

The event celebrated the exact day 125 years ago when the Swansea Art Society was founded.

Several more events are planned in this year's outdoor sketching programme - we hope that all members will do what they can to support the society's efforts to collectively congratulate ourselves after 125 creative years and spread the word to new prospective artist members.

Members can purchase a high quality copy of the printed photo if they wish by following this link.

 

News Clip.....

Photos taken at the recent charity Coffee Morning at the Lord Mayor's Mansion House were printed in the South Wales Evening Post last friday.

The article about the event is reproduced here courtesy of the Evening Post - just click on the graphic to view the piece.

Members may purchase high quality copies of these photos direct from the newspaper by following the contact details at the foot of the article.

Summer Programme I: Advance Notice.....

The first event of this year's Outdoor Sketching Summer Programme is on Saturday, 21st May at St. Mary's Church grounds from 11am-4pm.

This a special themed event to celebrate our 125th Anniversary and many of our members will be attending and sketching whilst dressed in Victorian costume!

Let's hope the weather is kind to us.

We hope to see you there and we ask as many members as possible to come and support the event.

Charity Coffee Morning.....

The first of a planned series of events to celebrate our 125th year took place at the Lord Mayor's Mansion House.

Members attended a coffee morning to raise funds for the Lord Mayor's nominated local charity, SPLASH.

Our President, Eileen Campbell Jones is pictured here presenting a cheque on behalf of the society for £125 to the Lord Mayor, Councillor Richard Lewis, who congratulated the Society on its 125th year and said that "Swansea Art Society's activities continue to enrich the artistic and cultural life of the city."

 Photos of this event may be viewed by clicking here.

Competition Time.....

The 2011 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition is upon us.

The deadline for entries is early July and if you want more information and download entry forms then go to the Parker Harris website.

The prize money this year is £18,000 and about 100 of the paintings submitted will be displayed at a special exhibition in the Mall Galleries, London in September.

The nearest regional drop off point for entries is Cardiff on the 30th June.

Coffee Morning......

If you want to come along to our special coffee morning, hosted by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress at the Mansion House at 11am on 26th April, 2011, then please notify the Society Treasurer within the next few days.

It costs £5 for a ticket and you can also purchase a ticket for a guest. All proceeds go to the Lord Mayor's nominated charity, SPLASH.