Location: The Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk (ticked but free)

As an artist, Sarah Rawlins finds inspiration in the vibrant colours and shapes found within nature, combining realism with the abstract, to produce powerful visual images, influenced by Cubism and Van Gogh. Her dynamic compositions, painted in acrylics, watercolours and oils, draw the viewer in, capturing the magic and wonder of the natural world. Sarah will discuss her art practice and how it has evolved since she first picked up a paintbrush at the age of three. 

Her work is regularly exhibited in Surrey and London, and she is a founder member of The Glad Rags Gang, the volunteer-run textile group at West Horsley Place, where she transfers her vibrant designs onto fabric and handsews them into artistic homeware products. She has been nominated for Surrey Artist of the Year 2023 and 2024, and is exhibiting in Vienna, Austria this year with ArtCan.

To book your free ticket: info@sarahrawlins-artist.com

Location: Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk

Hosted by: Tammy Ellis

Over the course of her career certain artists and their works have inspired former Guildford Institute tutor and current trustee Tammy Ellis in various ways. In this special talk for Guildford Festival of the Arts, Tammy will explore artists including Frederic William Burton, Gustave Caillebotte, Laura Knight, Frida Kahlo, Elaine de Kooning and Damien Hirst and consider how their works answer the question ‘Art – What is it good for?’

The bar will be open before the talk and also during the interval.

Price: Non-Member: £21.75; Member: £19.25

Book via guildford-institute.org.uk or call 01483 562142

Location: Yvonne Arnaud (Cafe)

Event type: Talk

John will primarily talk about how he photographs people.  His projects include: the repertory theatre work, A S Neill’s democratic school, ‘Summerhill’, published by Penguin Education, life at the AA School of Architecture in 1975 where he was a part-time lecturer and shooting in schools, particularly in Special Needs units where great sensitivity is needed.  Come and ask anything you like.

Free event - turn up on the day

Location: Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk

Hosted by: Ronnie Ireland D.A. (Drawing and Painting; Glasgow School of Art) B.A. (Hons) Open University

The archetypal, misunderstood, solitary artist, Vincent van Gogh dies barely acknowledged. However, after his death his legend took root. Now van Gogh’s works are among some of the best known and most valuable in the world. Can we dig through the layers of mystique and sentimentality to see his work as he saw it and perhaps find what it means to us now?

V Café will be open for refreshments and lunch. 

Price: Non-Member: £26; Member: £23

Tickets can be bought here or call the Guildford Institute on: 01483 562142

Location: Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk

Hosted by: Olive Maggs BA MA PGCE

John Russell RA was an English painter renowned for his portrait work in oils and pastels, and as a writer and teacher of painting techniques. Born in Guildford, Russell was one of the eighteenth century’s leading pastel portraitists. In 1789 he was appointed Painter to King George III, then later to the Prince of Wales and to the Prince Regent. However Russell captured the character of sitters from all walks of life, from royalty to local personalities of Surrey.

Price: Non-Member: £17.50; Member: £15.50

Tickets can be bought here or call the Guildford Institute on: 01483 562142

Location: Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk

Hosted by: Andrew Curtis

Andrew will talk about how he approaches drawing music live at festivals and gigs, offering examples of his work. He will demonstrate his methods and give the audience practical tips. Participants are encouraged to bring along their own sketchbooks and have a go. Andrew is the former Head of Art at the Royal Grammmar School in Guildford.

Location: Guildford Institute

Event type: Talk

Hosted by: Monica Popham

Monica Popham is a Gibraltarian landscape artist based in London. Her work is inspired by the Mediterranean light of her upbringing in Gibraltar, exploring how sunlight interacts with architecture. Through vivid colour and bold compositions, she often transforms everyday shadows cast by palm trees, washing lines, or windows into subjects in their own right, capturing the warmth and stillness of sunlit spaces.

In 2024, Monica won Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year, which led to a major commission for the London Science Museum, where she created a piece reflecting Orkney’s pioneering renewable energy landscape. Since winning the competition, she has been working as a full-time artist, continuing to expand her practice and explore the emotional power of light in her paintings.