If you love art and culture but have never heard of NADFAS, you have a treat in store. NADFAS (National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) is a national arts charity with 90,000 members and we have a local branch. We are the Brighton and Hove Decorative and Fine Arts Society and we meet at the Brighthelm Centre in North Road, Brighton on the first Tuesday of the month at 10:45am.

At each meeting there is an illustrated talk by well-known experts, both in their subjects and in presentation, chosen from a national list of speakers tested and approved by our panel at our London headquarters. Lectures happening in 2016 include Anthony Penrose on ‘The Boy who bit Picasso!’; Lucia Gahlin on ‘Egyptian Art for an Afterlife’; and Gillian Hovell on ‘A Mediterranean Tour’, as well as talks on the Astors, the Rothschilds and the Sackville-Wests. Diana Lloyd will be guiding us through ‘20th Century Ceramics’ whilst Sue Berry takes us back to the decorations in later Tudor houses.

You may also like to join us for study days and a range of outings and holidays, sometimes in conjunction with other local NADFAS groups, and you will certainly want to read our excellent quarterly arts magazine, ‘Review’ which, as well as listing events at major art venues across the country, has a variety of fascinating articles and great presentation that matches the quality of any of the top art magazines available to buy at the newsstand. All this and free entry to lectures is included in the annual subscription of only £45.

The venue where we meet has just undergone a major renovation and is a lovely setting for the Tuesday morning lectures, with new acoustics and projection in a comfortable, warm but well-ventilated environment. Additionally, the café where members like to gather from 10:00am for coffee or even breakfast, also offers a wide lunch menu for those who want to dine and mix with friends after the show. Indeed, the combination of these facilities with our lecture programme makes this the ideal society to make new friends with people of similar artistic and cultural tastes.

So why not give us a try? You can choose up to two individual lectures to attend in a season for £5 each or go for full membership immediately. If you  want to learn more do please ring me, Thomas Jones (Membership Secretary) on 01273 945407 or 07775 736126.