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Great Minds

A series of events with distinguished thinkers, leaders and experts that will inspire, entertain, and perhaps even surprise you.

Great minds don’t think alike. They innovate and advocate, they disrupt and inspire, and they do it all on their own terms. They’re the visionaries and the pioneers — the boldest, the bravest, and the brightest.

The Great Minds series is designed to entertain, inspire, and stir imaginations. Featuring distinguished thinkers, leaders, and innovators from every discipline and culture, Great Minds is a series for curious souls in search of a deeper understanding of the world.

Great Minds is brought to you by Nottingham Trent University’s creative programme, NTU Arts.

Past events

Monday 22 January 2024, 6 pm – 7.30 pm, Metronome

We're delighted to welcome best-selling American author Jonathan Eig for the next event in our Great Minds series.

Jonathan joins us to talk about his most recent book King: A Life (nominated for a National Book Award) hailed by the New York Times as "monumental", which presents a new portrait of civil rights icon Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Emily join us to discuss how universities can use their power and influence to help lead their communities on a Nature Positive journey, building resilient ecosystems, helping nature to recover and limiting climate change.

Emily Stott works in the University of Oxford's Department of Biology, coordinating a global network of universities signing up to start a Nature Positive journey, in collaboration with UNEP and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Emily is inspired by the concept of 'Nature Positive' to highlight the challenge and journey required to restore ecosystems, species and habitats to complement transitions to net zero carbon.

This event took place on Tuesday 14 November 2023.

In recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the Windrush migration, Author and Playwright Colin Grant presented this Great Minds talk in University Hall to celebrate the contribution to the UK of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.

Colin Grant is a historian and author of six books. They include: Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey; and a group biography of the Wailers, I&IThe Natural Mystics. His memoir of growing up in a Caribbean family in 1970s Luton, Bageye at the Wheel, was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley Prize, 2013. Grant’s history of epilepsy, A Smell of Burning, was a Sunday Times Book of the Year 2016.

This event took place on Thursday 8 June 2023.

We welcomed Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of the British Antarctic Survey, to hear about her work in the polar regions – the areas on Earth most sensitive to climate change.

Jane is the fourth woman in history to receive the Polar Medal for outstanding contribution to British polar research. Her principal research interests are palaeoclimatology and palaeobotany, specialising in the study of fossil plants and their use as tools for climate interpretation and information about past biodiversity. Jane's current work focuses on understanding past climate change during both greenhouse and icehouse periods.

This event took place on Wednesday 15 February 2023.

Watch a recording of Frozen Earth

 

At a time when there is a revival of narrative painting, Salter resolutely makes paintings that could be considered abstract. This conversation explored the embodied language of abstract painting: how the act of looking engages all the senses and demands a similar response to that of the distinctive aesthetics Salter discovered and embraced when living and working in Japan.

It focused on the importance of peripheral vision, learning to notice the edges of things and the role of looking slowly to become aware of subtle shifts and tiny details. The conversation also highlighted the importance of hearing those voices, whether abstract, female or diverse that have been overlooked and advocates for the importance of art education as an intrinsic way of learning.

This event took place on Monday 17 October 2022.

Watch a recording of Look Closer

 

Rebecca Salter in conversation with Richard Davey

 

NTU Arts

NTU Arts logo

From classical music and creative writing to contemporary art and comedy, NTU Arts offers a dazzlingly diverse programme of events, workshops and activities for all to enjoy.

With a fabulous range of opportunities — including many that are open to the public for free — NTU Arts is your gateway to Nottingham’s thriving arts and culture scene.

To book tickets, discover upcoming events, and to sign up to our mailing list visit the NTU Arts pages.

Distinguished Lectures

Before Great Minds, there were Distinguished Lectures. Check out some of our previous talks below.