At the heart of the symposium is an exhibition, The Nomenclature of Colours (named after Werner’s 1814 Nomenclature of Colours – a taxonomic guide to the colours of the natural world).

Slade staff, students, alumni and guests have been invited to produce a single work with the title of the show being the theme for the work. The exhibition is curated by Jo Volley, Deputy Director (Projects), and Stephanie Nebbia, artist and TFAC Manager, ColArt.

The symposium will take place in the Slade Research Centre on the 20 and 21 March with workshops/lectures on the materiality of colour from:

• Dr Ruth Siddall, Slade Scientist in Residence, Geologist and Pigment Analyst
• Prof. David Dobson, Earth Sciences on his invention of a new blue and will demonstrate the making of a synthetic pigment: Vivianite.
• Mark Cann, Chief Chemist, ColArt on the new non-lead based cadmium range watercolours he has developed.

Lectures/presentations on colour by:

• Estelle Thompson, Slade, on Artists, Colours, Words
• Dr Emma Richardson, UCL, History of Art and Materials on dyeing processes
• Ian Rowlands on Colour Mixing
• Antoni Malinowski on Colour Poetics of Space.

Readings and performance/screenings to date include: Professors, Sharon Morris (Slade), Andy Leak and Roland-Francois Lack (UCL French) and Caroline de Lannoy’s Colour Tale, poet George Szirtes and philosophers Dr Edward Winters and Taylor Enoch. Jayne Parker’s film Amarylis will also be shown. Presentations by Professor Michael Berkowitz, Dr Onya McCausland, Dr Henrietta Simson, Dimitris Mylonas and Liz Lawes.

Seminal works in the Slade and UCL collections i.e. Josef Albers Interaction of Colour and Jean Spencer’s colour collection will be available to view. Malina Busch will present a lecture entitled ‘Experiencing Colour with Albers’ and be available to discuss the Albers print collection.