Our Lunchtime Talks are delivered by staff, students, academics and researchers at the Barber and our wider University of Birmingham community. Focused on key works in our exhibitions and collection, the talks take place in the gallery and are an informal and interesting way of looking closely at artwork.

Starting from John Spencer Stanhope’s painting, Thoughts of the Past, this informal conversation will explore how the senses can enable us to access historical artworks in new ways. Art historian, Dr Kate Nichols and artist, Dr Bharti Parmar will draw on their research and practice to reflect on how Victorian sentimentality and emotions cross paths with histories of empire and plants, offering different modes of thinking about the past.

See our access page or contact us at learning@barber.org.uk for accessibility support.