Joyce Morgan leads tours with the Sydney-based company Renaissance Travel and the Art Gallery Society of NSW. She specialises in cultural tours and visits to Asia.
In the footsteps of Martin Sharp
April 2021
In the company of Joyce Morgan, biographer of Australia’s most internationally acclaimed pop artist, discover the pivotal role Martin Sharp played in the artistic explosion of Sydney in the 1970s.
Uncover Sharp’s enduring legacy with a private viewing of his works in the Prints and Drawings Room at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Then, visit the little-known Children’s Chapel at St James’ Church to understand Sharp’s intriguing relationship with faith and explore how his art of psychedelic colours was inspired by the vibrancy of the harbourside city with a private visit to his former home in Bellevue Hill, Wirian.
End in Potts Point to understand the history of the Yellow House where Martin Sharp created a bohemian mecca for artists inspired by his spirit of collaboration.
Journey along the Silk Road: Uzbekistan
September 2019
Discover the ‘Jewel of Central Asia’, a land of ancient oasis citadels with their distinctive turquoise-tiled minarets, mosques and madrassahs and a rich tradition of arts and crafts.
Uzbekistan was the crossroads of the Silk Road, the ancient trade route that connected China with the Mediterranean. For over two millennia it has absorbed diverse influences, among them Greek, Persian, Turkic, Russian and Chinese cultures, as well as Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Nestorian Christianity and Islam.
In the capital Tashkent, discover the modern energy of Uzbekistan. Explore the archaeological legacy of the conquering general Timur (Tamerlane) in the romantic cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand which are still crowned with dazzling tiled mosques. Visit Nukus and Timur’s birthplace, Shakhrisabz, meeting village artisans along the way.
Journey along the Silk Road: Xi’an to Kashgar
October 2018
Follow the 2,000-year-old Silk Road through ancient cities, Buddhist monasteries and bustling bazaars of Western China which still throng with traders from across Asia.
From Xi’an, China’s ancient capital where the Chinese Empire was born, travel west to the monasteries of ‘Little Tibet’ in Xiahe. Continue to the desert oasis of Dunhuang and the Mogao Caves adorned with 1,500-year-old statues and frescoes.
Travel onward to Urumqi and Turpan in the lands of the Uyghur Muslims, and end in the city of Kashgar, the great Silk Road crossroads and gateway to Central Asia.
Temples and Textiles of Ancient Java
August 2016
From ethereal Buddhist Borobudur to the temple towers of Hindu Prambanan, Java has some of the most sublime sacred sites in South East Asia. The trade winds of the ancient maritime Silk Route once brought ships laden with magnificent cloth, India’s gods and Chinese ceramics to Java, where foreign merchants and missionaries encountered a sophisticated island culture.
The result is a rich, living artistic tradition shaped by influences from distant lands. Beginning in the bustling capital Jakarta, explore traces of the old Dutch colonial port of Batavia before travelling east into the thriving cultural heartland. There longstanding traditions live on in the ancient palaces, intricate textiles, dance, shadow puppetry and gamelan music.
Heavenly Bhutan
March 2015
Bhutan, the last Himalayan kingdom, has sweeping mountains, towering fortress monasteries and a rich Buddhist culture. The reclusive kingdom has started to open its door to the world while maintaining its vibrant traditions.
With breathtaking architecture, dramatic landscape and a thriving artistic culture, the land of the Thunderdragon is like no other. Myth and legend intertwine in a place where monks dance and tigers are said to fly, where rice is red and men don traditional robes with argyle socks.
Spring is an ideal time to visit Bhutan when its valleys and woodlands are as fertile and colourful as the work of its many weavers, woodcarvers and painters.
A journey along the Silk Road
October 2014
For over two thousand years the Silk Road linked the Mediterranean world with the kingdoms of Central Asia and far China. Traders and spies, adventurers, rogues and missionaries all wandered its many routes spreading goods, artistic styles, ideas, and faiths.
This journey takes you along the fascinating Silk Road of China, from the Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an to the legendary Sunday Bazaar of Kashgar.
Along the way, experience a breathtaking panorama of landscapes, from fertile desert oases to snow-capped mountains; discover a rich legacy of ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic art, artefacts and monuments; meet a ‘hot pot’ of local peoples, religions, cuisines and cultures; and learn about the fascinating history of this region, and the current geo-political changes shaping its future.