Talks
Holding it Together: Making, Maintaining and Mending from the Early Modern to the Present
‘Holding it Together’, a two-day symposium taking place in late June 2026, addresses this gap, bringing together makers and scholars of material culture to co-create new and robust concepts of lastingness rooted in both historical understanding and contemporary practice.
| Mon 22 June | 5:00PM - 6:30PM |
Vicken Parsons, David Batchelor and Jeff McMillan in conversation Artists Vicken Parsons, David Batchelor, and Jeff McMillan discuss the place and importance of colour. |
| 5:30PM - 7:00PM |
Public lecture by Professor Kathleen Thelen (MIT): Cloud capitalism and the AI transition This public lecture (based on joint work conducted by K. Thelen and J.S. Tan) explores the origins and implications of a new cloud business model that is powering the advance of AI. |
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| 5:30PM - 7:00PM |
Roskill Lecture 2026: Dame Karen Pierce on ‘Do we still need the special relationship?’ In this twenty-first Roskill Memorial Lecture, Dame Karen will be drawing on her experience within the UN and her time as Ambassador to the USA to talk about the special relationship with the USA. |
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| Thu 25 June | 9:00AM - 5:30PM |
Highlight Holding it Together: Making, Maintaining and Mending from the Early Modern to the Present ‘Holding it Together’, a two-day symposium taking place in late June 2026, addresses this gap, bringing together makers and scholars of material culture to co-create new and robust concepts of lastingness rooted in both historical understanding and contemporary practice. |
| Fri 26 June | 9:00AM - 5:30PM |
Highlight Holding it Together: Making, Maintaining and Mending from the Early Modern to the Present ‘Holding it Together’, a two-day symposium taking place in late June 2026, addresses this gap, bringing together makers and scholars of material culture to co-create new and robust concepts of lastingness rooted in both historical understanding and contemporary practice. |
| 6:30PM - 8:00PM |
Evening Public Lecture at the University of Cambridge Climate & Nature Research Showcase 2026 The Operating System of Life: Why Planetary Health is the Story of this Century - Professor Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood |