Exploring Hilma af Klint’s Spiritual Quest through Art
A Symposium with Workshops
Including a Performance by the Eurythmeum Stuttgart - Else Klink Ensemble

Hilma af Klint was an artist and a spiritual seeker. These two strands intertwine in her artistic creations and prompt pertinent questions such as: What was the nature of her esoteric practice and what role did it play in her artistic process? Is she attempting to make invisible experiences visible in her paintings? In general, what is the relationship between esotericism and modern art? We invite you to explore such questions in the symposium, workshops and performance at Rudolf Steiner House, near Regent’s Park, London.

Symposium
A series of speakers will discuss Hilma af Klint’s relationship to the prevalent esoteric streams of her time and place her work in the wider context of modern art. Their most recent research will be shared in a lively format that encourages discussion and interchange and will culminate in a panel discussion on the theme of af Klint’s contemporary relevance and popularity.

 Symposium I: Hilma af Klint – An Artist in her Time

• Was the Invention of Abstract Art Inspired by Esoteric Movements? - Raphael Rosenberg, Professor of Modern Art History at the University of Vienna
•  The 1913 Stockholm Exhibition: Theosophical Receptions of New Forms of Art - Marco Pasi, Director of the Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam
• Hilma af Klint: A Steiner Rosicrucian Theosophist who became a Lifelong Anthroposophist - Kurt Almqvist, President of Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for Public Benefit; co-editor of Hilma af Klint’s Catalogue Raisonne, Stockholm

Symposium II: Hilma af Klint and Rudolf Steiner

• The Infamous Studio Visit – Truth and Fiction in the Story of Hilma af Klint and Rudolf Steiner - Hedvig Martin-Ahlèn, PhD Candidate at the Centre for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam
• Hilma af Klint and her Encounter with Rudolf Steiner - Anne Weise, Editor at the Rudolf Steiner Archive in Dornach, Switzerland

 Symposium III: Hilma af Klint – An Artist in her Time

• Relating to Hilma af Klint’s Paintings - Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Painter, transdisciplinary artist and cultural practitioner, Oxfordshire
• Plenum Discussion: Kurt Almqvist, Hedvig Martin-Ahlèn, Anne Weise, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Raphael Rosenberg, Marco Pasi

Workshops 
To honour Klint’s quest as artist, participants can choose to take part artistically in a painting or eurythmy workshop or focus on related themes in a small group discussion. Photographs of Hilma af Klint and the journey of her paintings will be exhibited in the foyer.

1. Painting workshop: Exploring Colour Dynamics and Form - Angela Lord, international artist and author
2. Painting workshop: Exploring Space, Composition and Colour in the Work of Hilma af Klint using large format - Johanna Berger, visual artist and art therapist
3. Eurythmy workshop: Moving Colour and Form - Coralee Frederickson, eurythmist
4. Discussion: Rudolf Steiner and his Artistic Impulse – Christiane Haid & Fritz Wefelmeyer, Humanities Section of the School of Spiritual Science
5. Discussion: The Life and Work of Hilma af Klint - Kurt Almqvist & Hedvig Martin -Ahlèn (see above)
6. Exhibition with Discussion: Introduction to the Goetheanum and Rudolf Steiner’s Architecture – Andrew Wolpert (see above)

Performance
A performance of Inscapes by the Stuttgart Eurythmeum - Else Klink Ensemble will complement and round off the day’s exploration. Just as Hilma af Klint’s paintings draw us into a dynamic interplay of freely floating forms in colour landscapes detached from the hard contours of day-to-day reality, so the performing art of eurythmy invites us into a weaving soul-landscape of movement, music and colour. Inscapes is a diverse and vibrant programme with works for piano by Beethoven and Rachmaninov and modern pieces for alto & tenor lyres and flute by Jitka Kozeluhova, Yoichi Usami and Christian Giersch.

• Pre-performance talk - Severin Fraser, Co-director Else Klink Ensemble
• Performance: INSCAPES – Eurythmeum Stuttgart - Else Klink Ensemble

Price
£85 full, £60 concession (proof of over 60s, unemployed and benefits), £45 students (with valid student card)
Please note, the price includes the evening performance of INSCAPES, which is also open to the public.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Registration
Registration will be between 9h30 and 10h.

Workshops
You will be asked to indicate your first, second and third choice of workshop when booking.

Click here to see the contributors' biographies

Click here for the programme

Meals
There is a limited capacity for lunches at the venue, the last order can be made by midday on Thursday 1 June. Teas and coffees will be available throughout the day. Alternatively, there are plenty of eateries in the area.

Travel
BY TUBE
‍The nearest underground stations are Marylebone and Baker Street. Both stations are only 5 minutes' walk from Rudolf Steiner HouseBY BUS
The following bus routes stop right in front of Rudolf Steiner House: 13, 113, 139, 189, 274, N113.
BY BICYCLE
There are 2 cycle stands right in front of Rudolf Steiner House, fitting 4 bicycles. There are two more cycle stands across the street, also fitting 4 bicycles.
BY CAR
The closest parking space is NCP London Marylebone Road, 5 minutes' walk, and Q PARK - Church Street, 10 minutes' walk. Rudolf Steiner House is outside of the congestion zone.

Address
Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT

This event has been organised and sponsored by the Anthroposophical Society in Great Britain