Dr Robyn Ferrell is a writer and researcher in art and culture studies. She is currently honorary professor at the University of Sydney, and has taught art history and theory, cultural studies, philosophy and creative writing at several universities throughout Australia. She trained as a journalist on the Sydney Morning Herald before completing her doctorate in philosophy.

Dr Ferrell has written several books on art and the culture industry, and writes regularly for newspapers and magazines. See her amazon page at: amazon.com/author/robynferrell

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ART HISTORY

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• New York’s marvellous art museums
New York is a mecca for Western art and its famous galleries showcase the icons of the tradition. From renaissance masterpieces at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the genius of modernism at the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), this talk takes us into the collections of these leading centres of the Art World.

• Asian Art
Dr Robyn Ferrell looks at iconic art of Asia, from calligraphy and porcelain to contemporary installation art. We look at the role images of dragons, turtles, lotuses & other mythical symbols play in these cultures as seen through their art.

• China: Creative Histories
Robyn looks at iconic cultural features of Hong Kong and China, from calligraphy to Kung Fu cinema

• Art of Vietnam
Robyn talks about the role images of dragons, turtles, lotuses & other mythical symbols play in Vietnamese culture

• Indonesian art
The Majapahit Empire was one of the last major empires of South East Asia, and at its height it stretched across present-day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, East Timor, Sulu Archipelago & parts of the Philippines.

• Majapahit: Golden Age
At its peak, in the fourteenth century, Majapahit was one of the most powerful empires in the history of Southeast Asia. Among other conquests, it would rule the Kingdom of Bali for several centuries.

• Majapahit in popular culture
Celebrated as 'the golden era of the archipelago', the Majapahit empire has inspired many writers and artists of popular culture to create works based on this era

• Ancient arts from Bangkok to Bali
This talk looks at the role images of dragons, turtles, lotuses & other mythical symbols play in these South-East Asian cultures, and how do ancient art forms still create national identity today.

• New Zealand Art
In this talk Dr Robyn Ferrell introduces us to the exciting world of New Zealand art from the nineteenth century landscapes which show the new world to the vibrant contemporary scene. We explore how Māori traditions of carving weaving and tattooing have become a rich new art form.

• Iconic Australian Art
Robyn has written extensively on Australian art and artists. In this talk, she takes us through the growth of Australian art from colonial depictions of an unfamiliar land to international art styles that have found recognition all over the world, expressing the vibrant nature of Australia now.

• Australian Aboriginal art today
In this talk Robyn explores the wonderful variety of art being made by Indigenous Australian artists, from painting and photography to installations and public art. She looks at how the art market has opened a space for the expression of their First Nations culture, along with their different experiences living and working in urban and remote Australia.

• Aboriginal Art & Story
Join Robyn to hear the story of how Aboriginal art, the oldest continuing art tradition in the world, grew to be an international art market sensation.

• Aboriginal Art Revolution
The astounding story of how an outback school teacher helped found a new art style with Aboriginal artists at Papunya in the Northern Territory – a style that has been called the last great art movement of the twentieth century.

• Aboriginal art: Secret Art Business
Today Robyn looks at traditional Aboriginal art, including bark paintings from Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory – what they mean, and why anthropologists collected them

• Aboriginal art: Global Art Local Knowledge
Aboriginal art has grown to become a global art industry. Today we look at how tribal elders became internationally acclaimed artists, and how museums and auction houses spend serious money on Aboriginal art.

• Aboriginal Art
Join Robyn to hear the story of how Aboriginal art, the oldest continuing art style in the world, grew to be an international art market sensation. We will look at how traditional art was made, how classic Aboriginal painting began.

• Aboriginal art has grown to become a global art industry.
Come and hear the stories of how tribal elders like Emily Kngwarreye and Paddy Bedford became internationally acclaimed artists, and how museums and auction houses now spend serious money on Aboriginal art.

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GENERAL CULTURAL HISTORY

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• A Short History of the Internet
The Internet is just 30 years old, going from a small messaging system linking university boffins to a ‘world wide web’ that dominates our contemporary lives. In these two talks, Robyn speaks about the rise of the internet, including google, facebook and social media, as well as the dark web.

• The Future of the Internet
Looking ahead to change that is coming from the internet, including the ‘internet of things’ directing the real world with 50 billion devices coming on line from fridges to cars, drones, planes pacemakers and oil pipelines

• Freedom On The Internet
Future trends suggest the internet presents a challenge to democracy despite its aims as a free space for free exchange

• The world according to Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is perhaps the most famous living Canadian author. In 'The Handmaid’s Tale' she created a dystopian classic about a future North America that captured imaginations worldwide. The TV version has brought her vision to millions. In this talk, we look at where Atwood drew her inspiration from for this book and how science fiction relates to reality.

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NORTHERN EUROPE

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• Iceland: Europe’s first parliament
The gathering of the Alpingi in 930 at Þingvellir began a tradition for one of the oldest surviving parliaments in the world. All free men could attend the assemblies, which became the social event of the year drawing farmers, traders, craftsmen, storytellers, and travellers.
Starting from the example of Iceland, this talk explores the history of parliaments and democracy in Europe from the middle ages.

• First Nations’ art and culture
This talk looks at the culture of several First Nations groups from the arctic region, including the Saami in Finland, Sweden and Norway and the Inuit in Canada and Greenland. We look at their traditional lifestyles, the impact on them of colonial settlement and how they see their future.

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SOUTH EAST ASIA

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• The Spice Trade
These talks look at the spice trade that began between Europe and Asia in the period BCE. The valuable Spice Trade was a key aspect of world history that drove exploration from the Silk Road to the colonies of Australia and the Pacific.

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PACIFIC REGION

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•The Pacific Ocean
was discovered first by Europeans in the 16th century when the Portuguese Conquistador Nunez de Balboa saw the ocean from Panama. Other nations became involved in the race to explore the new ‘South Sea’ including Portuguese cartographer and explorer Ferdinand Magellan and the French Count de Bougainville

• History of surfing
Joseph Banks observed people surfing when aboard the HMS Endeavour in Tahiti. Surfing played a big part in Polynesian culture; in Tahiti and Samoa it was part of a warrior’s training. In Hawaii, too, it was considered an art, and there was even a temple to it in Kahalu’u bay. Today, surfing has grown into an international sport and a youth subculture.

• Charles Darwin in the Beagle
New naturalist discoveries in the Pacific prompted Charles Darwin’s famous account of the Voyage of the Beagle, the five years he spent roaming in the 1830s. His observations led to his theories of Evolution and Natural Selection.

• Pacific culture
Europeans were fascinated with tales of the beauty, sensuality and simplicity of Island life, and many came to experience it for themselves. Come and hear about European ideas of the Pacific, from naturalists like Sir Joseph Banks, painters like Paul Gauguin to musicals like South Pacific.

• The Pacific Ocean
From volcanoes to undersea mountain ranges – The Pacific is the largest ocean on the planet and holds half the water of the ‘hydro sphere’. The natural features of this amazing geographical form include the famous ring of fire – the volcanoes and other disturbance wrought by the tectonic plates on the ocean floor. The deepest point of the world’s seabed is the Mariana trench, and the Pacific also has two remarkable sea mountain ranges that wait to be explored.

• The Pacific Ocean
The weather patterns of the Pacific Ocean affect the livelihoods and well-being of the peoples of its islands. Even as far as Australia, the effects of El Nino events are felt as drought. Sea levels rising directly impact the low lying coral atoll nations of the South Pacific. Sadly, the north Pacific is also known for its great garbage zone of discarded plastic and other human debris.

• Whalers & Sealers
The ‘South Seas trade’ was a term used in the nineteenth century for the lucrative sealing, whaling and island trading carried out in the Pacific. Whalers and sealers set up from the Southern Ocean to the Pacific Northwest of America, leaving picturesque settlements from Eden in south east Australia to Fort Ross on the northern Californian coast.

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AUSTRALASIA

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• Wild New Zealand
New Zealand is a story of land and sea – here how the country was formed by vast geological events, and how they lay undisturbed for millennia until the Maori people came from Polynesia in ocean-going outrigger boats around 1250.
Learn more about the impressive Maori culture, and especially its distinctive arts of tattooing, weaving and carving. From the eighteenth century, Britain made colonial claims in New Zealand, signing the Waitangi Treaty with the Maori in 1840.

• Remarkable New Zealanders
Today, New Zealand has grown into a prosperous and democratic nation with a lifestyle the world envies. With a population of only 5 million people, New Zealand punches above its weight. Some famous New Zealanders you’ll hear about in this talk include director Peter Jackson, actor Sam Neill, Sir Edmund Hillary the first climber to scale Mt Everest and aviator Jean Batten who flew solo around the world in the Gipsy Moth.

• Sydney’s art and culture
Dubbed the ‘Emerald City’ by leading playwright David Williamson, Sydney’s brilliant harbour and trophy views have captivated artists from Arthur Streeton to Brett Whiteley. From its convict beginnings as Port Jackson, it has grown into a renowned international city with stunning cultural icons like the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.

• Marvellous Melbourne
Gold made the city of Melbourne one of the richest cities in the world in the nineteenth century. Grand stone buildings and elegant streets attest to its colonial past as a premier mercantile port. The city’s setting on Port Phillip Bay, the largest in the southern hemisphere, has its own colourful history from colonial trading days when sailing ships carried Australia’s wealth of wheat and wool around the world. Off the back of this prosperity, Melbourne regarded itself as the cultural capital of the new Australian nation; famous legends like that of bushranger Ned Kelly and the Eureka Stockade were born.

• Hobart’s convict past
As Australia’s southernmost capital and one of its earliest settlements, Hobart has a unique cultural history. Convict landmarks such as the haunting penal colony of Port Arthur attest to the difficult lives of early Tasmanians. Colonial stories of fierce battles between settlers and Aboriginal people are highlighted by that of Truganini, the last princess of the south-east tribe.
Today Hobart is known for its maritime beauty with a leading connection to Antarctica expeditionary science. Its fabulous wine is now recognised internationally and the unique environment of wild rivers and thousand-year-old trees makes it Australia’s first carbon-neutral state.

I am resident in Sydney but spend some time each year in London, from where I am available to join cruises in the British Isles, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.