Autumn Art Lectures

The Autumn Art Lectures are a series of free, public events held annually at the University of Bristol since 1905. Open to members of the public, students and staff, the lectures consider a new subject every year, with recent series focusing on the public art of television, the city of Bristol and modernist art.

Art, Place and Community will be the focus of the 2026 Autumn Art Lecture Series. Conceived as a platform for Art and Art History in what was then University College Bristol, the series has remained a highlight in Bristol’s cultural calendar. Over the course of its lifetime, the series has explored themes ranging from the monstruous to the celestial and hosted such luminaries as David Olusoga, Gwyneth Hughes, Kenneth Clarke and Laura Mulvey.

Details of the 2026 series will be announced soon. In the meantime, recordings from previous events, including the 2025 series, along with information on more than 100 years' worth of lectures, can be found on the right-hand side of this page.