After nearly two years out of action, on 28 Jan 22 the PMC finally had the opportunity to co-host a real life in-person event! Though in a much larger space than we have on Bedford Square - the breath-taking Sky Room at MK Gallery, Milton Keynes.

The Show is On: Laura Knights’ Career and Contexts was a one-day conference celebrating the artist on the occasion of a monograph exhibition at MK Gallery. It is the second of a three-part collaboration with MK Gallery, the first being a conference on Stubbs just before lockdown and with another on Ingrid Pollard coming in May.

Laura Knight was a British artist, working primarily in the figurative tradition, who was known for her paintings of marginalised groups including circus performers and Romani people as well as prominent WWII commissions. She was the third woman elected to the Royal Academy. Like many female artists of the era, her work has often been overlooked, but is now gaining the recognition befitting her place in the canon.

Co-conveners MK Gallery Director Anthony Spira and Head of Exhibitions Fay Blanchard, alongside PMC’s own Sarah Turner chose a strong nine-piece line-up including an artist’s response, poetry performance and newly minted film work reframing the career and works of Laura Knight.

Programme - 28 Jan 2022, MK Gallery

Janet Axten (Social Historian),
‘“Fast, Smart and Outrageous”: Art School Fashion in Laura Knight’s Painting
Linda Bassett (PhD candidate, University of Bristol),
The “Sew” Must Go On: The Dressmaker in the Work of Laura Knight
Ella Nixon (PhD candidate, Northumbria University),
Laura Knight and the Regional Art Gallery
Catherine Wallace (Freelance Art Historian),
Technique and Experiment: Drawing as the Foundation of Laura Knight’s Success as an Artist [online presentation]
Hannah Starkey (Artist),
So, I ask you Laura Knight – how did this great work come about?
Lily Ford (Filmmaker and Historian)
Aerial Bodies: Laura Knight’s Barrage Balloon Paintings [film]
Alice Strickland (Curator, National Trust, London),
Creating a Legacy – Dame Laura Knight RA (1877-1970)
Hester Westley (Artist’s Lives Interviewer, National Life Stories, British Library),
“Like a Half-Rolled Map”: Tracing the Borders of Female Self-Narration in the Careers of Laura Knight and Subsequent Women Artists
Damian Le Bas (Writer and Poet),
The Broken Tongue [performance]

Due to the uncertainty about Omicron, we weren’t sure if the conference was 100% going ahead until about two weeks out. Thankfully MK Gallery’s Head of Public Programmes, Niki Braithwaite, was well prepared and guided guests (and me) through the viewing, conference, lunch and drinks without missing a beat. PMC Events Assistant Dani Convey was indispensable too, managing travel and accommodation bookings for our speakers. With 72 in our digital audience, vs 54 in the room, as well as two speakers presented online, we are indebted to Luke Perry - the MK Gallery Technical Manager. Thanks also to Paul Kennedy for managing the sound!

With the operational aspects being run essentially without me (no complaints), I was delighted I actually managed to listen to the papers. In typical form though, I didn’t really manage to catch the exhibition - Laura Knight: A Panoramic View - though I might buy the catalogue and pretend I did!

I admit as well, it was a strange feeling to watch along on Zoom and respond to chat there whilst in the room. I’m sure I confused the guests behind me following the conference on a screen! There was a real buzz around the day to be together again, but I’m glad we were able to cater to two audiences. With an imminent ‘tech revolution’ at the PMC, I have a lot to learn from the likes of Luke in terms of hybrid events!

Thanks to all at the MK Gallery including House Manager Patrick Philips and Exhibitions Coordinator Alice Riddy who I didn’t get to mention before. And to all at the PMC, every one of these bigger events is a group effort. And most importantly to our speakers, presenters and chairs for such thoughtful and well-researched papers breathing new life into the legacy of Laura Knight.