Sam Newton explores Edmund, king and martyr, beginning with the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, whose near-contemporary entry seems to place his death near Thetford in 869-870 as East Anglia faced the Danish Great Army. From that sparse historical record, later writers, artists and local traditions created one of the great legends of English sanctity. The lecture follows the path from battlefield memory to martyr cult, showing how Edmund became a powerful symbol of faith, kingship and East Anglian identity, and why his story still matters in Suffolk.

Joseph Duveen understood that Europe had art and America had money. Mark Meredith tells how this gifted, persuasive and sometimes questionable dealer sold Old Masters and Renaissance treasures to Frick, Morgan, Mellon and other titans of Wall Street. Duveen combined English charm, theatrical salesmanship and a sharp eye for prestige, helping to shape collections that now define major American museums, including the Met and the National Gallery in Washington. Was he a visionary connoisseur, a charismatic rogue, or simply the world's greatest art dealer

The Royal School of Needlework was founded to keep hand embroidery alive and to provide respectable work for educated women in need. Susan Kay-Williams follows its changing fortunes from the Kensington set and links with Arts and Crafts and Aestheticism to its home at Hampton Court Palace. The lecture looks behind the scenes at commissions ranging from wedding dresses and Oscar gowns to runway garments and ecclesiastical vestments, ending with the nine pieces made by the RSN team for the 2023 coronation

Caroline Levisse introduces the rich art and craft traditions of the Sami, the Indigenous people of northern Scandinavia and Russia. Historic spoons, bowls, knives and pouches, made from horn, wood and silver thread, reveal both function and beauty. Shaman drums open a symbolic world of sun, lavvu and reindeer, while contemporary Sami artists use painting, print, embroidery and installation to explore identity, resilience, belonging and cultural renewal. The lecture shows a living tradition still deeply connected to its roots

Steve King looks at the first half of the 1960s, when the fading rock 'n' roll era gave way to a new sound led by The Beatles. Drawing on his long career in radio, music programming and live events, he explores the major artists, songs and styles that made 1960-64 one of the most creative and influential periods in popular music history

Zara Fleming follows Tibetan art from the early twentieth century to today. The lecture traces the arrival of Tibetan objects in museums, the impact of Chinese occupation and the new visual language created by artists in Tibet and exile. Buddhist tradition, modern imagery and contemporary concerns combine as the Buddha goes Bang.

James Renshaw explores the archaic age of ancient Greece, from the eighth to the sixth centuries BC, when the foundations of classical civilisation began to take shape. The temples, sculpture, painted vases, literature and philosophy we associate with Greece did not appear fully formed; they grew from a period of experiment, travel, exchange and innovation. This lecture looks at early developments in art and architecture, the emergence of powerful poetic voices including Sappho, and the first philosophers such as Pythagoras and Xenophanes. It shows how this energetic formative age prepared the ground for the cultural achievements that still shape our imagination of Greece

Bill Powell considers Salvador Dalí as one of the great figures of Surrealism: painter, film-maker, sculptor, photographer and tireless self-publicist. Dalí’s strange dream landscapes, melting forms and technical brilliance helped define one of the twentieth century’s most recognisable artistic movements. Yet his carefully cultivated eccentricity often drew as much attention as the art itself, delighting some admirers and troubling others. This lecture looks beyond the moustache and theatrical persona to the imagination, discipline and ambition behind the image. It asks how Dalí became both a serious modern artist and a global celebrity whose reputation still provokes fascination, amusement and debate