Join us at The Arts Society Southeast Suffolk

When you mention The Arts Society the first thought most people have is that we are a painting group, which is not the case. We are just one of the many societies nationwide, affiliated to a national organisation –“The Arts Society”

In Ipswich we have  three organisations with similar names-Ipswich Arts Association, Ipswich Art Society and The Arts Society, Southeast Suffolk. We are the last one and as you will of course have noticed we are ARTS plural . Our modus operandi is that we hold monthly lectures on a variety of arts related topics, organise visits for our members and in addition reach out into the community to support arts related projects.

The society started in Ipswich in 1992 as part of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts, aka NADFAS.  Indeed, NADFAS is easily recognised by many people even though it was changed some years ago when our Head Office decided that rebranding was essential to our credibility in the 21^st century and that we should encompass more than the visual and decorative arts. Each society was tasked with choosing its own name and we became ‘The Arts Society Southeast Suffolk’, aka ‘TASSES’.

We meet monthly in Ipswich, although to be precise at Kesgrave in the Community Centre. Woodbridge has a society of its own and being Suffolk the catchment area for both is  not confined to the towns themselves.

At  a recent coffee morning members who were involved from the  inception of the society were invited to bring along memories, both their own and  those in visual form.  We saw photographs of trips and heard some interesting anecdotes. We saw past minutes including those of the inaugural meeting at the town Hall in 1992. It was a strong reminder of the energy which went into making us the vibrant society we continue to be.

Both  members and guests comment on  the quality of our lecturers, all of  whom are carefully chosen, originally via a rigorous process at head office, then by our dedicated programme organiser. The lecturers are  all highly professional and most have an academic background.

We are just one of the, sometimes hidden, gems of Ipswich’s cultural scene and we welcome inquiries and new members  —tassoutheastsuffolk.org.uk

All of our monthly lectures are listed on Ipswich.love here:

The Arts Society South East Suffolk

We offer a programme of lectures, study days, cultural visits, social events promoting the understanding and enjoyment of the visual arts and arts volunteering projects.

Events with The Arts Society South East Suffolk

• Oscar Wilde: A Life in Epigrams – TASSES Lecture
  Tue 1st Apr 2025
• Picasso and His Legacy – TASSES Lecture
  Tue 6th May 2025
• Durer: The Italian & Northern Renaissance- TASSES Lecture
  Tue 3rd Jun 2025
• Lucien Freud: The Art and the Man – TASSES Lecture
  Tue 2nd Sep 2025
• Now You See It, Now You Don’t – TASSES Lecture
  Tue 7th Oct 2025

Who wrote this about Ipswich?

Sam Sherman

Sam is a Co-Founder of Ipswich.love. Passionate about Ipswich, Sam looks to see how we might jointly reverse some of the recent negativity and bring some deserved positivity back to our beloved Town.