What have the Huguenots ever done for us? Mass migration and the Arts in Britain
What have the Huguenots ever done for us? Mass migration and the Arts in Britain
Lecturer: Vivienne Lawes
The mass migration of the French Protestant Huguenots in the 16th and 17th centuries impacted the arts, the military and finance sectors of the countries to which they fled after suffering Catholic persecution in their homeland. It is estimated that upwards of 50,000 people settled in the British Isles, and that perhaps one in six of the country’s current population descends from Huguenot lineage.
This lecture focuses on three areas of the arts impacted by the migration: the baroque style of Versailles that arrived in London through the great Huguenot designer, Daniel Marot, who worked for William and Mary at Hampton Court; the growth of the silk weaving industry in Canterbury, Spitalfields and later Sudbury and Macclesfield; and on the silversmiths and ceramicists who ushered the French Rococo style into Britain. This is put into the context of how their work changed material culture and was absorbed into British national identity.
Viv Lawes is an art historian, curator, author and journalist with over 25 years’ experience in the art market. She teaches at several Higher Education institutions, including the University of the Arts London, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, the City & Guilds of London Art School, SOAS (University of London) and Imperial College.
Since 2011 Viv has also been Senior UK Consultant to Singapore gallery One East Asia and has co-curated many exhibitions of Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art in London and Singapore. Viv is also Head of Education for the London Asian and African Contemporary Art Fair (founded 2020).
When time allows she lectures as an on-board art historian for Viking and Fred Olsen cruise lines.