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Delivered by significant national and local art theorists, writers, artists, curators and academics, the Drill Hall’s 2026/27 lecture series offers audiences informed, complex and rounded experiences of visual art. Lecture 1: Siena, City of the Virgin, Dr Louise Marshall. At the dawn of the twentieth century modern painting was poised to assert its difference from anything that had Ever since they won a seemingly-impossible victory against hated enemy Florence by pledging their city to the protection of the Virgin in 1260 at the battle of Montaperti, the Sienese have prided themselves on their special relationship with the Virgin Mary, mother of God. This lecture concentrates on the two key sites of Sienese energy and pride, the cathedral (Duomo) and the town hall (Palazzo Pubblico). From the famous fan-shaped Campo (piazza) to Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s bustling townscape, art shaped civic consciousness, trumpeted Siena’s honour and dignity to the outside world, and above all, ensured that the Virgin Mary would always favour ‘her’ city above all others.

With topics spanning Yolŋu art and abstraction; the city of Siena; tradition in contemporary painting; local groundedness against global fascism in Contemporary Art and more, and open to students, DHG Friends, staff, alumni and the general public, this dynamic series will spark your creative and cultural passion, stimulate and inspire.