Join University of Sunderland researchers and creative practitioners to find out more about the Sunderland artist Audrey Amiss (1933-2013)

Tuesday 8th December | 6 - 7:30pm

Bright Sparks: University of Sunderland Research Talks: connecting research, people and place.

Rediscovering Audrey Amiss

New perspectives on art, community and creative practice.

Join University of Sunderland researchers and creative practitioners to find out more about the Sunderland artist Audrey Amiss (1933-2013). Relatively unknown until the 2022 Carol Morley film 'Typist, Artist, Pirate King', Audrey Amiss was a prolific artist and campaigner who won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Arts in the 1950's. She left the course before completion because of a mental health crisis but painted and campaigned all her life alongside a career in the Civil Service. Her huge collection of art, journals and scrapbooks were donated after her death to the Wellcome Collection. Her life and work are now celebrated through exhibitions in London and Sunderland. Professor Caroline Mitchell (University of Sunderland Centre for Creative Practice Research) will introduce three researcher talks about the class and social context of Sunderland (Dr. Robin Finlay, University of Sunderland Institute for Economic and Inclusion); the influence of community based research about Amiss's creative practice and journalling (Lyn Killeen, Creative Director Southwick REACH) and Jonathan Weston, Curator Northern Centre for Contemporary Art will talk about the current exhibitions in Sunderland and London.

'Audrey Amiss: The Surviving Exhibitions' at the Welcome Collection London , 10th July 2026 - 7th February 2027 and 'Kitchen Sink Realism' at Northern Centre for Contemporary Art at Culture House, Sunderland, 12 September 2026 - 17 January 2027.

A LIVE Lit & Phil Event | £5. Students Free

(If you would prefer to book directly over the phone, please call the Library Desk team on 0191 232 0192 and they will be happy to help)

Image: Audrey Amiss Beach Scene c.1950s 26 x 31cm colour offset lithograph print on paper | Credit: Courtesy of the Wellcome Collection, London

Description supplied by the event organiser.