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A Life in Intense Colours

, –
Past
  • Free
  • Screening
  • Speech-to-text
  • Hearing loop
Film still from 'Typist Artist Pirate King' showing a view from a car dashboard of two women driving in a car wearing sunglasses.
Film still from Typist Artist Pirate King. © Modern Films.

What you’ll do

Watch a special screening of the film ‘Typist Artist Pirate King‘, about the forgotten artist Audrey Amiss. The film is inspired by her extensive archive of diaries, letters and art, held by Wellcome Collection. Watch the official film trailer.

You’ll be able to discover more about Audrey’s colourful life at two supporting events, open to ticket holders before and after the screening as follows:

  • 11:45–13:45
    For a rare chance to see some of Audrey's archive, drop in to a temporary display of artworks, scrapbooks and notebooks from the Audrey Amiss archive located in the Viewing Room on level 2. The archive is held in our library stores and available for research to library members. You can read more about Audrey's archive in a series of articles on Stories on our website.
  • 14:00–15:45
    The screening of ‘Typist Artist Pirate King’ is in the Auditorium on level -1. The screening is captioned.
  • 15:45–16:30
    There will be a break for refreshments in the Williams Lounge, adjacent to the Auditorium on level -1.
  • 16:30–18:00
    The final event of the evening is a conversation between the film’s director Carol Morley and Wellcome Collection archivist Elena Carter about their relationships with Audrey through her archive. You’ll have an opportunity to ask them questions as well. The discussion is hosted by author Sinéad Gleeson and live-captioned in the Auditorium on level -1.

There will be a Chill-Out Room near the Auditorium if you’d like to lie down or relax, with low lighting, comfortable seating, cushions and mats throughout the room. You can also make use of ear defenders, earplugs, board games and materials with different textures.

The film is produced by Modern Films. 

Dates

, –
Past

Need to know

Location

We’ll be in the Henry Wellcome Auditorium. To get there, take the stairs or the lift down to level −1. The auditorium is fitted with a hearing loop.

Place not guaranteed

Booking a ticket for a free event does not guarantee you a place. You should aim to arrive 15 minutes before the event is scheduled to start to claim your place. If you do not arrive on time, your place may be given to someone on the waiting list.

Speech-to-text

This event will be live-transcribed, with text displayed on a large screen.

Hearing loop

There will be a hearing loop at this event.

For more information, please visit our Accessibility page. If you have any queries about accessibility, please email us at access@wellcomecollection.org or call

Our event terms and conditions

About your contributors

Black and white photograph of the head of a middle-aged woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and glasses. The woman is looking directly at the viewer with a slight smile.

Carol Morley

Speaker

Carol Morley is a BAFTA-nominated writer and director. Her films include ‘The Alcohol Years’, about her teenage life on the Manchester music scene, ‘Dreams of a Life’, about Joyce Vincent, who lay dead in her flat for three years, and ‘The Falling’, a BBC Films/BFI-backed film about an outbreak of mass psychogenic illness in an English girls’ school in 1969. She also wrote and directed a film adaptation of her own autobiographical novel ‘7 Miles Out’. Her latest film, ‘Typist Artist Pirate King’, about the artist Audrey Amiss, is the result of her research during a Wellcome Screenwriting Fellowship, followed by an archive bursary.

Colour photograph of Elena Carter

Elena Carter

Speaker

Elena Carter focuses on developing the collections at Wellcome to challenge the way that we think and feel about health. Elena is particularly interested in radical and social histories and material that gives voice to marginalised groups. As Collections Development Archivist, she works directly with people to find the best home for their materials, with a focus on working collaboratively and ethically.

Black and white photograph of a middle-aged woman with shoulder length dark hair. The woman is looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

Sinéad Gleeson

Facilitator

Sinéad Gleeson is an author and editor. Her essay collection ‘Constellations: Reflections from Life’ won Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the Irish Book Awards and the Dalkey Literary Award for Emerging Writer. She is the editor of four anthologies, including ‘The Art of the Glimpse’ and the award-winning ‘The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers’. Sinéad has engaged in multi-disciplinary collaborations with artists and musicians, including commissions from Wellcome Collection, BBC and Frieze. Her debut novel, ‘Hagstone’, will be published in April 2024 by 4th Estate.