Episodes
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On Thursday 15 September 2022, on the eve of the grand re-opening of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, I joined Senior Curator, Dr. Mounia Chekhab Abudaya to talk about the collection of nineteenth-century art and objects at the MIA. In this interview, Dr. Mounia shares her reflections and expertise on a remarkable group of diverse objects and paintings in the MIA which deeply resonate for her. When I received her list of works, I was enthralled by their delicacy and boldness, but also their material qualities. We will look at toolboxes, enamel cup holders, embellished jewelry, and paintings and drawings. I am thrilled to introduce you to Dr. Mounia Chekhab Abudaya today. Dr. Mounia is the senior curator of North Africa and Iberia at the Museum. She was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Sorbonne in Paris and is an expert on Western Mediterranean manuscripts and pilgrimage-related devotional materials in the Islamic world. Dr. Mounia is also a linguist and holds a degree in Literal Arabic and has studied Persian and Turkish languages. She has curated a long list of extraordinary exhibitions at both the Museum of Islamic Art and for other institutions around the world. I am particularly interested in an exhibition she did at MIA in 2015 called Qajar Women: Images of Women in 19th -century Iran and in this interview, we discuss some of the objects which featured in that show.
The music used in this episode is from a 2019 recording in Paris of Hossein Alizadeh playing the Setar and Madjid Khaladj playing the Dayereh at the Masters of the Improvisation: Iran.
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Based on my research to date, this recording explores the practice of British eighteenth-century natural history artist Sarah Stone. It suggests that her patron's eccentric museum located in Leicester Fields, London was a highly creative space for her. I reveal new biographical information about Stone and establish that she was an artist of the Metropole and one of the first women painters to take part in the burgeoning fashionable practice of sketching and painting in museums. Contrary to views that women artists in the eighteenth century practised as amateurs, Stone had at least three patrons and was clearly working as a professional artist. In fact, she may have been one of the first women artists to be given what we would call today a solo exhibition. Today, her work is located in galleries and museums in England, Australia and the USA.
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Missing episodes?
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In this episode, I am joined by feminist legal scholar, Professor Kim Rubenstein who discusses women citizen activists and their influence on the drafting of the Australian Constitution.
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This episode examines the laws relating to women in England during the nineteenth century, and the reforms women sought as they advocated for greater equality and justice. We also look at how British law applied in the Australian colonies and how their discriminatory nature fuelled the Suffrage campaigns that characterised the era.
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In this episode, we are taken on an odyssey through the evolution of the piano and the revolution in new keyboard technology that changed the sound of this instrument and the way that it was played in both the home and on the concert circuit. Recorded at the School of Music at the Australian National University, the Director of the Keyboard Institute, Dr Scott Davie introduces the University's remarkable collection of historic pianos, which is thought to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. He plays experts from the nineteenth-century repertoire on these rare and very beautiful instruments as we talk all things piano. Not only is Scott an esteemed soloist, but he is also a specialist in the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff so expect to hear a rare recording of the composer playing as well as Scott playing Rachmaninoff alongside other exquisite excerpts by other composers such as Liszt, Chopin and Debussy. You will also hear new compositions by ANU First Nations composers of the Ngarra Burria Piyanna project playing their work on the 1770 Henri Henrion keyboard, a highlight of the collection - thought to be the oldest piano in Australia. Enjoy the enduring sound of the piano in the nineteenth century.
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Recorded in the Centre on China in the World at the Australian National University, this podcast features an interview with the Chinese Australian artist John Zerunge Young. For 12 years he has been working on an episodic series of works collectively called 'The History Projects'. We sat down to explore four of the narratives featured in this monumental series including the lives of Lowe Kong Meng and Jong Ah Suig, entrepreneurial women such as Alice Lim Kee and Daisy Kwok. We also discussed events such as the Lambing Flat Riots on Wurundjeri Country and the lost relatives born of the marriages and unions between Chinese migrants and First Nations women in Queensland and the Northern Territory. John selected for his intro music, Erik Satie's Gymnopedie no. 2 here performed by Daniel Varsano who chose a surrealist painting by Leonora Carrington for his cover. For those who listened to the first edit of this podcast, our guest speaker acknowledged the work of the historian Gordon Grimwade and referred to him as having passed away recently. We are delighted to confirm that this is not the case and that Gordon Grimwade is indeed well and truly alive! He is continuing his important research into Chinese migration in Australia. We apologise to any listeners who may have experienced any distress upon hearing this most incorrect information. We also confirm that the Lambing Flat Riots referred to occurred in the district of Young in NSW on Wiradjuri Country and apologise that my pronunciation was not clear.
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In this episode, I travel to the stunning nineteenth-century Colac Botanic Gardens in the Western District of Victoria to meet with Gordon Morrison, well-known gardener and tree fancier who is also the former director of the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. Gordon reveals the many secrets and stories of four remarkable tree varieties from the Araucaria family, which were extraordinarily popular during our era. These trees become a portal into the world of gardens and plant hunting in the nineteenth century. I hope you join us for a very special on-location episode.
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Welcome to In the Nineteenth Century with Lara Nicholls, a podcast series featuring fascinating and revealing narratives about the people, places and events that characterized one of the most transformative epochs in history. Throughout the series, I will be joined by experts and scholars, and together we will delve into a myriad of topics ranging from gardens to ghouls, fashion to food, bohemians to bankrupt businessmen, artists and aristocrats and many more intriguing characters. For all its frills and flourishes, the nineteenth century had many dark corners so in the series, we look at everything with an open mind, yet a critical gaze.
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We dive into the nineteenth century with a mini-podcast about the origins of Christmas celebration in the nineteenth century.
