As part of Welcome Week activities, the Arts & Humanities Society has invited journalist and lecturer Ann-Marie Michel to give a talk focused on art and the working class. For many people, art is seen as a luxury for the rich that has little to do with their own workaday lives. Historical and social forces have conspired to keep art in the hands of a privileged few, and this talk outlines the reasons while also exploring a long tradition of British artists and British art critics calling for a broader conception - art for the working class. From John Ruskin to Banksy, we look at the struggle to reclaim art and bring beauty to everyone.
Ann-Marie Michel has written extensively on art themes for magazine articles and radio documentaries in Europe and the United States, and now lectures in the UK. Her work experience includes three years as writer-in-residence at HMP Lancaster Castle before it closed as a prison in 2011, and she is now part of the Regional Heritage Centre at Lancaster University.
Links to join all Welcome Week events will be available in the Welcome Week chat on - the chat platform for OU students - from Friday, 23 January 2026. You don't need to create an account to access this platform, you'll be redirected to log in with your OU credentials. The link to join will also be posted here on the day of the session.
Our online events are intended to be welcoming and friendly spaces. Please read our before joining this session and keep this in mind when taking part.
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