Teme Valley Arts Society Lectures: Revolution in the Art School: The Bauhaus 1919-1933

A talk by Vivienne Lawes

Wednesday 18 February 2026

Organised by

Contemporaneous with the Art Deco design movement, the Bauhaus revolutionised art school education, despite only running for 14 years in its native Germany. Members of staff escaping Nazi Germany soon established teaching practices in America, and the famous Preliminary course eventually formed the basis of art foundational training in Britain. The Bauhaus was unusual for an art school of the period in that it encouraged students to produce work in the avant-garde modernist style in all fields of art, design and architecture, with an eye to industrial production – all at a time when art schools elsewhere still drew from 19th century plaster casts.

Vivienne Lawes (Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn) is an art historian, curator, author and journalist with over 25 years’ experience in the art market. She teaches at several Higher Education institutions, including the University of the Arts London, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the City & Guilds of London Art School, SOAS (University of London) and Imperial College. In January 2021 she received the Geoffrey Bond Bursary for Art, an annual prize awarded by the Worshipful Company of Educators to an “outstanding educator”. Vivienne’s articles, essays and reports have been published in numerous specialist journals, newspapers, catalogues, handbooks and websites, aimed at both the academic and general readership. Since 2011 she has co-curated many exhibitios of South East Asian and contemporary art both in London and Singapore. When time allows she lectures as an on-board art historian for cruise lines.

Attend as a Visitor:

You can attend our lectures for just £8 – pay on the door.  Should you subsequently become a member your first lecture fee will be refunded.

Timings

• 1:45 pm onwards – Members Free Registration / Visitors £8 Ticket
• 2:00 pm Auditorium Doors Open
• 2:15 pm Lecture Begins
• 3:30 pm Refreshments Available.  Meet other members and visitors.

Become A Member:

Our annual membership of £50 or £95 per couple gives you:

• Free Access to 9 Lectures per year
• Exploration Days, Visits and Social Events (extra cost)
• Volunteering opportunites in preservation and conservation projects.
• A quarterly glossy magazine from The Arts Society
• Information on current and local upcoming cultural and artistic events

For membership please see the Teme valley Arts Society website here.