- This event is over. However, time travel possible through our Audio & Video! See upcoming events
Art History Made Accessible
How I Became an Accidental YouTuber
Speaker
James Payne never set out to become a YouTube sensation. He simply wanted to make art history accessible, stumbling into fame with over two million subscribers along the way. But perhaps that’s precisely the point.
“In a world of noise and distraction,” Payne says, “great art slows us down. It demands attention, reflection, and interpretation. It doesn’t exist to give us easy answers—but it does give us better questions.”
In this illustrated talk, Payne brings his signature storytelling and striking visuals to explore celebrated artworks not as distant masterpieces, but as creations shaped by real people, real pressures, real ambitions. Through visual analysis, historical context, and human stories, he reveals how art intersects with power, class, money, religion, politics, and everyday life. No academic jargon. No dense theory. Just essential questions: Why was this made? What did it mean then? Why does it matter now?
Throughout the talk, Payne encourages and guides the audience to slow down and really look. Details often missed in galleries are brought into focus, helping viewers understand how artists guide the eye, create meaning, and communicate emotion. As much as it is about learning facts, the talk is about learning how to look.
This is art history as it should be: open, democratic, relevant. Payne will be signing copies of his book after the session.
Speaker
James Payne
James Payne has a lifelong passion for art and has worked in the field for over three decades. He trained as an artist at Central Saint Martins in London, became a curator, and then opened a gallery in East London. He is also a critic and essayist, who has contributed to several art publications and books. Throughout his career Payne has made it his mission to make art accessible, and to explain why art can be thrilling and can resonate to all of us, any of us, on a deep personal level.
Five years ago, during lockdown, he created a YouTube channel as a way of keeping his own interest in art history alive and to keep himself occupied during an enforced career break. It is now the biggest art history channel on YouTube with over 2 million subscribers and over 60 million views worldwide. His new book on Thames & Hudson (now available in India through Roli Books) is an international bestseller.
