The Arts Society Falmouth

26/06/2026

The Arts Society Falmouth is a proud sponsor of the inaugural Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize, to be awarded on Saturday July 4th at 4:00pm, followed by readings of winning poems and those of runners up.

19/06/2026

Music in Art – and at the Princess Pavilion, in our most recent lecture

Have you heard of the shawm? Or perhaps you’re more familiar with the rauschpfeife, crumhorn, or sackbut? Chances are, these early woodwind instruments are unknown to you – but for Sophie Matthews, they are central to her highly successful career as a music historian, instrument maker and lecturer. On Friday last, in her exhilarating lecture MUSIC IN ART, Sophie introduced Society members to a variety of arcane instruments, and explored their place and symbolic significance in selected works of art from the Middle Ages onwards. As Sophie explained, many of our historical references for musical instruments can be found in paintings, drawings, engravings and prints. These windows into the past show us what the instruments looked like but also the social context in which they would have been played. Her talk was interspersed with lively demonstrations on replicas of the instruments depicted, so it’s no surprise to learn that Sophie is famed for her prowess on the English border bagpipes, plays a variety of early woodwind instruments, and is one of the few British players of the baroque musette, an 18th century French bagpipe. For more information on forthcoming lectures see www.theartssocietyfalmouth.org New members and guests are very welcome.

11/06/2026

Please join fellow Arts Society members at Falmouth University, Woodlane Campus, on the weekend of 3-4 July, for the Festival of Matthew Lanyon. The winners of the inaugural Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize, with funding for the Poetry Prizes donated by The Arts Society Falmouth and West Cornwall Arts Society, will be announced on Saturday. You will be able to enjoy readings of at least six poems, and The Prize has attracted over 600 poems. The judges are Luke Thompson of Guillemot Press, Zelda Cahill-Patten, a young poet who is also leading our poetry workshop on Friday, and Judith Lanyon.
The whole event is curated by the Matthew Lanyon Archive, hosted and supported by Falmouth University, and sponsored by Zennor Asset Management, Matthew Lanyon Estate, Basil and Anne Wolf. We are very grateful to sponsors and all those who are working hard to create the event.
YOU NEED TO BOOK now on eventbrite through the website for film screenings, and the free events - see full programme – some are already almost full. www.matthewlanyon.org
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06/06/2026

Mother Mary (15) at The Poly – an enthralling film and a discount for The Arts Society Falmouth members.

Long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer Sam Anselm on the eve of her comeback performance.

The Arts Society Falmouth members enjoy a discount – use code Anne Hathaway to reduce the ticket price to £3 (£4.50 including booking fees).

The Poly
Saturday 6th June, 7.45pm

19/05/2026

Invigilators needed for 'Mirrors' exhibition – can you help?

16 May 2026-26 September 2026
10:00-17:00

Falmouth Art Gallery, Municipal Buildings, The Moor, Falmouth, TR11 2RT

Appearances can be deceiving, but they can also be a powerful and authentic expression of our true selves. We all construct our own identities but often there is a push and pull as we navigate our inner truths and the expectations of the outside world.

This exhibition explores how artists use self-expression to question roles, challenge norms and reveal the shifting nature of the self. Featuring Sarah Ball, Claude Cahun, Ithell Colquhoun, Gluck, Naomi Frears, Maggi Hambling, Diane Ibbotson, Kirsty Latoya, Marco Livingstone, Ken Nwadiogbu, Grayson Perry, SHARP, Cindy Sherman, Henry Scott Tuke and others.

The Arts Society Falmouth is proud to support Falmouth Art Gallery. Invigilators are needed to sit in the gallery space for 1 ½ to 2 hours at a time on a Saturday and potentially other times during the week.

Can you help? Please contact [email protected]

Image: Gluck by Gluck, oil on canvas, 1942
© National Portrait Gallery, London

10/05/2026

WE'LL BE AT THE FORM ART FESTIVAL – come and say hello!

FORM Art Festival returns to Princess Pavilion this coming weekend and The Arts Society Falmouth will be there to greet friends old and new.

Showcasing Cornish art, sculpture, and design, this free-entry, 3-day event features over 75 artists and makers, live music, and creative workshops, highlighting Cornwall's creative culture.

10/05/2026

Heather Firbank: A tragic life, and an astonishing wardrobe

Before her lecture, author and journalist Tessa Boase promised us SECRETS OF AN EDWARDIAN SHOPAHOLIC. What she delivered was an extraordinary and poignant tale of shopping, high society, seduction and ruin in the years either side of the Great War. At its heart was a debutante named Heather Firbank, and her Edwardian couture clothing. Saved from a Brighton hotel by Firbank’s faithful maid following her mistress’s death, the priceless wardrobe formed the genesis of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s Fashion and Textile department.
But who was Heather – and what secrets do her clothes yield? From the country house ‘Saturday to Monday’ party, to the risqué fashion shows of couturier Lucile, this was an intimate portrait of one woman, and how her runaway passion proved to be her downfall. From love letters, receipts and other documents unearthed during her extensive research, Ms Boase has constructed an enthralling and sometimes desperately sad story. This was social history at its most personal, unguarded and revealing, made real by an acknowledged expert.
For more information on forthcoming lectures see www.theartssocietyfalmouth.org New members and guests are very welcome.

03/05/2026

SECRETS OF AN EDWARDIAN SHOPAHOLIC – 8 May lecture

An extraordinary personal collection of Edwardian couture clothing lies in the vaults of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, once worn by a debutante named Heather Firbank.
When Heather’s maid persuaded the museum to accept her former mistress’s entire wardrobe, the V&A’s Fashion and Textile department was born.
Who was Heather – and what secrets do her clothes yield up? From the country house ‘Saturday to Monday’ party, to the risqué fashion shows of couturier Lucile, this is an intimate portrait of shopping, high society, seduction and ruin in the years leading up to the Great War. In her enthralling lecture SECRETS OF AN EDWARDIAN SHOPAHOLIC author, journalist and campaigner Tessa Boase explores social history at its most personal, unguarded and revealing.
The lecture will commence at 10.30 am at the Princess Pavilion 41 Melville Road Falmouth; arrival time from 09.45 am please. New members and guests are very welcome. For more information see www.theartssocietyfalmouth.org

01/05/2026

Mrs Fouracre and the Married Widows of Cornwall: A talk by Dr Lesley Trotter
8 May 2026 18:00-19:00
The woman portrayed in Henry Scott Tuke’s work, The Message, currently on display in the Falmouth Art Gallery Collections Display, was his housekeeper, Elizabeth Fouracre.

The Arts Society Falmouth members are invited to attend for a fascinating talk with Dr Lesley Trotter as she explores the unexpected connections between Mrs Fouracre’s life and one of the lesser-known aspects of the great Cornish emigration story, that of the thousands of wives ‘left behind’ by Cornishmen leaving to work abroad in the 19th century, the ‘married widows’.

Falmouth Art Gallery, Municipal Buildings, The Moor, Falmouth, TR11 2RT

https://shop.falmouthartgallery.com/products/mrs-fouracre-and-the-married-widows-of-cornwall-a-talk-by-social-historian-dr-lesley-trotter

01/05/2026

Titania, at the Tolmen Centre, 8 May

Shakespeare lovers among our Society members will enjoy this one-woman show. What happened after the end of A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Titania, the fairy queen, now cleans the theatre where she lives. Yes, she’s been through a lot in the four hundred and thirty years since Shakespeare’s play. Her husband’s wound himself into a cocoon, Puck’s gone cyberpunk, and Titania’s just stolen something – or someone – who she really ought to give back. Can her magic even exist in this fractured world of ours? Comical, tragical, poetical, ecological, our new one-woman show will take you deep into the forest.

Venue Opens: 18:00
Event Starts: 19:30

Tickets £12, £10 (children)

Titania – A new one-woman show by D R Hood. Performed by Nia Gwynne at The Bear Pit Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 24 – 25 April. Other dates and venues: 8 May: The Tolmen Centre, Constantine, Cornwall; 25 June: The Lyric Theatre, Bridport, Dorset. Running time: Approximately 1 hour 15 minut...