Tripping the Neon Fantastic – Vanessa Toulmin

Sun 25 October, 2026 at 6:00 pm

For many years Professor Vanessa Toulmin has nurtured a secret passion… It has seen her travel the world in her pursuit of this obsession. From the bright lights of Austin to the lightscape of Blackpool, her love of neon has remained unquenched. Join us for a night of discovery on the history of Neon Lights taking us on from Paris to Sheffield from Los Angeles to Wakefield as Vanessa reveals its history in the United Kingdom, its problematic past and its embrace by contemporary artists over the last fifty years.

Vanessa Toulmin is a Professor of Early Film and Popular Entertainment in the School of English at the University of Sheffield. She is Director of Off the Shelf Festival of Words and Festival of the Mind.