Lectures
Venue and Timing
A lecture meeting is held on the third Thursday of every month excepting July and August. Lectures are free to members.
NEW VENUE FROM SEPTEMBER 2024
Trumpington Meadows Primary School CB2 9AY
Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and the meetings start at 7:30pm.
For the latest information please visit our home page.
Visitors
Members are welcome to bring guests to our lectures. A voluntary donation is requested - we suggest £7 per visit. Please email the Membership Secretary, Alison Kemp, prior to the lecture, to let her know who you will be bringing. A given guest may not attend more than twice in a calendar year.
Programme Planning
Most of our lecturers are in The Arts Society Directory. The Arts Society operates a rigorous vetting procedure before lecturers are accepted into the Directory. This gives a fantastic selection of some 250 lecturers, most offering at least 10 lectures. There are in total some 4,500 lectures to choose from. The Arts Society South Cambs's programme is initially planned by the Programme Secretary before final approval by the Committee.
Lecture Rating
After each lecture an email is sent to every member that has provided the society with an email address, asking those who attended the lecture to rate its quality as Outstanding, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Passable or Poor. This rating system is used throughout The Arts Society and the results of our surveys are reported to The Arts Society HQ so that other societies can benefit from our experience.
Visits
Planning and Organisation
The visits programme is a joint activity with two of the other Cambridge-based societies, Cantab and Granta. The programme is planned jointly by the Visits Secretaries of the three societies. For each visit, one society takes the lead. Booking Forms and flyers for all visits can be downloaded from this web site, but completed Booking Forms should be returned to the Visits Secretary of the organising society.
Departure Point and Time
Departure times vary according to the distance to the destination. The pick-up point is the Trumpington Park and Ride.
Meals
For some visits, the cost of lunch is included in the visit price. In other cases, members make their own arrangements. Please check the visit Booking Form for details.
Holidays
Each year the Society arranges a holiday, of typically 4-6 nights away, for a group of 15-30 members. The destination usually alternates between the UK and Europe, though we did temporarily suspend overseas trips in the aftermath of Covid.
For the latest information please visit our Home page
Previous holidays have been:
2025: Glyndebourne Opera Autumn 2025 - Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’
2025: The History, Art & Palladian Villas of Northern Italy
2024: The Historic Houses, Art and Heritage of Northumbria
2023: The Art & History of Glasgow, Edinburgh & Charles Rennie Mackintosh
2022: The Art & History of Liverpool
2021: The Art & History of Birmingham and the West Midlands
2019: Romania
2018: The Art, Gardens & Historic Houses of Cornwall
2017: Dutch Art & Architecture in the Spring
2016: Derbyshire Halls & Houses
2015: Magical Andalusia
2014: The History & Houses of Northumberland
2013: The Art & Islands of Venice
2012: The History & Heritage of Bristol, Bath and Tyntesfield
2011: The Châteaux & Gardens of Normandy
2010: The Art & Houses of Glasgow
Special Interest
Venue and Timing
For the latest information please visit our Home page.
Special Interest Days usually involve three one-hour sessions, enabling topics to be explored in greater depth than is possible with the one-hour monthly lectures. Doors open for coffee at 10 o'clock for a prompt start at 10:30. There are two sessions before lunch (which is included in the ticket price). The afternoon session often involves some hands-on activity. For example, it might take the form of a mini-roadshow in which the lecturer appraises objects relating to the day's topic and brought along by members of the audience.
Planning and organisation
The Arts Society South Cambs' programme of Special Interest Days is planned and the days themselves are organised by the Special Interest Day Organiser.