Welcome to the LEVEL! Discover a one-of-a-kind experience with our online talks and lectures. We pride ourselves on delivering concise yet impactful lectures in arts and culture, fostering fresh and diverse outlooks on our world. Our approach goes beyond the surface, valuing understanding over mere knowledge. Our unique lectures are tailored to guide you through newfound perspectives and foster a deep appreciation for foreign viewpoints. Teaming up with leading experts in the field of art and culture, we offer an enriching journey that transcends traditional learning. Join us and embark on an enlightening adventure that will broaden your horizons and ignite your curiosity!
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Amsterdam’s Our Lord in the Attic Museum: Former Hidden Church
This talk will introduce ‘Our Lord in the Attic’ museum, the position of the Catholics during the ‘Golden Age of the Netherlands’, famous Catholic artists and so called Dutch tolerance and liberalism.
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Artists’ Love Letters
During this lecture we explore the private thoughts of artists as they express themselves to/about the person they venerated.
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Entertainment through the Centuries: A History of Clowns
In this lecture we will travel back in time to the origin of the clown as an entertainment figure and as the icon of the travelling circuses.
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In Plain Sight: (Un)Hidden Sexuality in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948)
This session will discuss the use of metaphor throughout Rope along with Hitchcock’s concurrently advanced and adverse representations of queer characters, which are simultaneously progressive for having centre- stage but also problematic for being villainous.
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Kryptadia – the 1800’s Secret Journals of Taboo Stories
In this lecture we will dive into the long forgotten “Kryptadia” erotic journals published in a limited prints and in total secret over the time span of 30 years at the end of the 1800’s to the mid 1930’s.
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Mother’s Day Special: Secrets and Symbols of Annunciation Paintings
The second most frequently painted subject in the history of pre-Modern Western art is the Annunciation (the first is the Crucifixion, but this one is less grisly and nicer for Mother’s Day). This is the moment when God sent the Angel Gabriel to tell Mary that she will bear the son of God. There have…
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Behind Closed Doors: Secrets and Taboos in Contemporary Art
Many people might associate contemporary art with daring, ‘out-there’ ideas or unorthodox techniques, so in this session we will delve into all the ways artists have recently tackled in their works taboo themes linking to love, sexuality and trauma. Looking back at Hockney’s pool scenes from California in the 60s, one might not recognise just…
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Unveiling Secrets in Japanese Literature
Join us for an illuminating lecture where we delve into the timeless classics “The Pillow Book” and “The Tale of Genji.” In “The Pillow Book,” written by Sei Shōnagon during the Heian period, readers are transported into the intimate thoughts and reflections of a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese imperial court. This collection of essays, anecdotes,…
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A History of Queer Women’s Hairstyles
‘A History of Queer Women’s Hairstyles’ is a deep-dive into the hairstyles that queer women have worn throughout history. From the slick, modernist Eton Crops of 1920s lesbians which at once signalled sexuality and modernity to the long locks and beehives of 1950s femmes; from the shaved head of contemporary butches and disgraced women of…
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If you are an art and culture specialist and wish to collaborate and share your expertise with our audience – we would love to hear from you! Please, reach out to us using the contact form.
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Old and New Pleasures & Pains
Cultural taboos and stigmas surrounding pleasure and pain have played a significant role in shaping the way artists approach their work. From explicit depictions of sexuality and violence to challenging mental health stigmas, artists have been reflecting the multifaceted cultural interpretations of pleasure and plain.
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Pleasure & Pain, a Duet of Emotions
The interplay between pleasure and pain encapsulated within the artistic expressions often creates magnetic images that draw audiences and immerse them in strong emotional content.
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Signs & Symbols in Art – ”The Raft of the Medusa” by Théodore Géricault
Let’s have a closer look at an iconic creation of Théodore Géricault, a French Romantic artist from the 19th century and his masterpiece ”The Raft of the Medusa”. This is a seminal work of art that transcends its historical narrative, incorporating symbols that resonate deeply within the universal cultural and human experience.