Ey Up with Harry Meadley

I’m going to be quite busy on a big project opening 2 March at Touchstones, Rochdale, so have had to put the podcast on hold for a little while.To sign up to receive an email notification when the podcast returns please click here.And can you also find the secret link by clicking here.

The Leeds West Indian Carnival is something very close to my heart, and those familiar with the carnival may have, like myself, always noticed that almost every notable image published of it over the years was photographed by someone called Max Farrar. A long standing local of Chapeltown, activist, sociologist, and author of The Struggle for ‘Community’ in a British Multi-ethnic Inner-city Area (2002), I was honoured to finally get the chance to meet and talk with Max about his own history within the area, his five decades of social action, and the work of the David Oluwale Memorial Association he is part of.For those not familiar with David Oluwale, I don’t feel it right to shorten his story in these episode notes, but be assured that his story will be re-told loudly and widely in the upcoming months as we approach the 50th anniversary of his death. You may remember from Episode 6 with Jade Montserrat, in which she speaks of Rasheed Araeen’s work For Oluwale (1971-73), that has surprisingly never been exhibited in Leeds. This work will finally be presented as an updated version at The Tetley from the 16th February.

I have found myself on occasion referring to Sally as the ‘spirit of the Leeds art scene’, a title I wish only to imbue with the utmost respect and reverence. Anyone who has put on or been to at least a couple of art or poetry events in the city over the last 15 years or so will have recognised and most likely encountered Sally. She quite literally goes to everything. No one else, or no where else, have I come across such a dedicated, interested, and incredibly supportive audience member, and even referring to her now as just an audience member seems a serious understatement.She is a much loved and appreciated person but equally quite a private person, and in many ways although she is someone deeply interested in others, many of us in fact, who have known her for years, don’t know that much about her, her life, and how she came to be the wonderful and iconic character of the city she is.Merry Christmas!

Mick (Episode 22) recommended I get in touch with Tony, as he had recently moved over from Chicago and become co-director of Chapel FM - an arts centre and radio station based in East Leeds. With a background in journalism, theatre and radio, Tony kindly shared with me many of his experiences from how the impact of watching Tiananmen Square on television lead to starting a student theatre group in Wuhan, to starting to work at WFMT radio and developing the Studs Terkel Radio Archive - a collection of well over a thousand local radio programmes by Chicago legend Studs Terkel who interviewed many of the great characters of the 20th century.We discuss the medium of radio, its relationship to theatre, podcasts, and how specific local-level activity and oral histories can have equal universal appeal and power; and beginning to ask “what does it mean to not be a bystander in the city that you live in?”

I recently had the pleasure of seeing some new video works by Clare Charnley and her long-time collaborator Patricia Azevedo at Film Free and Easy in Nottingham – that you may remember from Episode 38 with Pete Ellis. My memory had failed me again, as this episode begins with Clare telling me about how her and Patricia met, though it transpires that they had in fact told me that exact story as part of a project from over a decade ago I had completely forgotten I’d done!I find Clare has a particularly interesting body of work and has in various ways sought, as she puts it, to ‘demonstrate cultural ignorance’ through her often collaborative, and actually quite brave performance works that have taken place in countries such as Estonia, China, Israel, Mexico and Kurdistan. Now finding myself starting to make works in more international contexts, it was great to be able to learn from Clare’s many experiences, sensitivities, and her assertion of the importance of seeing ourselves in an international world.

With The Tetley celebrating its 5th birthday on Nov 28, I had the pleasure of catching up with one of its co-founders, and long-time Leeds art advocate Kerry Harker. Since first becoming an art student in 2005, many of the artist-led projects Kerry has initiated and run since that time have been hugely influential and significant in my own development as an artist - but far more importantly, have contributed hugely to the cultural landscape of the city itself.Speaking about her time as an art student and early-career artist, from the complexities of being in the New Contemporaries to the valuable support received by East Street Arts’ DECAP programme, Kerry reflects on how these experiences fed into moving on to more curatorial artist-led activity, and the incredibly steep learning curve involved. We also hear about her PhD research into the history of artist-led activity, establishing the East Leeds Project to further support artistic activity outside the city centre, and why it's difficult to both change and stay the same.

I’m currently on the Alchemy Film & Moving Image Residency at Café Tissardmine, on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. This message will appear if I’m unable to upload the latest episode whilst I’m out there. Full episodes will return Monday 19th November.

Having heard about the the somewhat mysterious ‘Art Doctors’ discussing and prescribing artworks to members of the public, noticing Liz’s involvement in setting up and co-running the wonderful 105 Women project at Union 105, and then finding out about the collaborative group / studio F= she is a part of who are currently embarking on their The Erotic Power of F= Conduit Tour 2018, I was very interested to invite her in and hear more about it all. We hear about her tendency to make projects in response to injustices, realising that working in the studio wasn’t for her but now starting to desire it, the curious town of Ambleside, the importance of playfulness, conversation, and art being a conduit to bring people together.With a way of working which commonly involves people in its process, often sitting alongside or outside of usual exhibition programming, or going directly into different community groups, Liz is an incredibly active, yet non-hierarchical and ethically conscious artist who’s many collaborative projects you often have to be a part of, or be directly engaged by to really experience.

When I started this podcast I made the decision that I wouldn’t do any extra research, or really prepare in any way going in to each recording. There were a number of reasons for this, mainly that the best source of information is the person themselves, and I find it’s much more fun to discover things then and there. For instance, I’ve known Matt for quite a few years and had no idea until this conversation that he grew up in Tanzania and the profound influence it has had on him and his work. I have always been curious about his approach to making, as in many ways it carves quite a unique place for itself; so it was great to have this opportunity to delve a bit deeper. From welding up sections of Elland Road to the recent sculpture out the front of the The Tetley, we talk Tutankhamun’s tomb, Dean Clough Studios, and the healthy realisation that art often isn’t as important as we think it is.

Alfie is someone I have had the pleasure to get to know and witness develop as an artist a few years after he moved to Leeds about ten years ago. Though as is often the case, in all that time it felt we hadn’t really sat down and talked at length about it all. Prompted somewhat by his imminent departure from the city to start an MFA elsewhere, it felt like a nice point to reflect with him on this last decade: how it wasn’t until after art school he really started to learn, how socialising and collaborations have shaped his thinking, and becoming more interested in other people’s ideas than his own; the sometimes depressing nature of art making, dismantling and rebuilding your practice, getting older, and making room for the newer generation.He also shares a little bit about his quite unusual upbringing in North Wales surrounded by the occult and esotericism, and how reconnecting with this through his work lead to a collaborative exhibition with his father at PERICLO, Wrexham, and ultimately brought them closer together.

Quite a few years ago now - whilst still an art student myself and as an artwork in itself, I set up a small art prize for students on the Leeds Foundation course where I had previously studied. Though generated by a different set of circumstances, the creation of the Northern Art Prize at that time was clearly an influencing factor. Every year I invited the winner of the Northern Art Prize to be one of the judges on my one – and this was how I first met Pavel. It always stayed with me how seriously he took this role and how diligently he approached it – especially given how publicly he expressed his uncertainties of art prizes (and of the one he’d just won).Known by many as an influential educator, internationally exhibiting artist, and regular subverter of symposiums, I have always enjoyed any chance I’ve had to speak with him, and hear some of his usually quite eventful stories. This time however, somewhat foregoing his own personal biography, he chose to share many of his thoughts on the nature of art, the teaching or inability of teaching it, and its many nonsenses.

Episodes will return Sep 10 on a now biweekly basis.

It wasn’t until this conversation with Charles that I found out he was behind the wave sculpture which stood for many years in Wakefield station – that was always a favourite of mine. Over the years Charles has produced a wide range of quite major public art commissions around the country. Although I knew he lived in Leeds, I had never had the chance to meet him. Part of the reason for that is that for the last couple of decades much of his working life has been in Preston teaching Public Art and co-running In Certain Places, a research project and commissioning body which has had a major influence on the city.Charles also tells me about his time in the Leeds art scene during the eighties and early nineties much of which I was surprised to know very little about, such as the Leeds Art Space Society and Breadline Gallery. We also talk model railways, ‘the shooting of the budgerigars’, H Block, subverting the National Grid, making work on instinct, and sitting on council meetings being part of his work as an artist.

I first got to know Nina as part of the Liverpool Biennial Associate Artists programme we have both been a part of. Having exhibited with her a couple of times and shown her work at blip blip blip, I still find her work a mystery. Often paired down to the simplest of means, it demands of you a serious level of looking in both senses of the word. She also doesn’t generally disclose much about the work, or even herself and so I was really made up she accepted the invitation to be a guest on the podcast. I’m still not sure how much I was able to find out but came away feeling personally much more reassured from our conversation and even more curious.Nina is currently exhibiting as part of We Are Where We Are, Baltic 39, Newcastle, and Oh, it is easy to be clever if one does not know all these questions, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague.

Though having only met her briefly on a couple of occasions, I had been interested to have a longer conversation with Emma particularly as she has been producing and developing work through the use of table reads – something I’ve wanted to work with as a format myself but not quite figured out exactly how yet. Though more than that, she is the wielder of a critical and significant voice who has carved out a space for herself and supported many others. As well as being co-editor of Gordian Projects Emma also co-ran the Place & Memory project spoken about by Amanda Burton in Episode 27 and it was so great, albeit surprising, to learn the other half of that story.Emma Bolland’s recent essay ‘Manus’ was published as part of On Violence edited by Rebecca Jagoe and Sharon Kivland; and her forthcoming book and sound work ‘Over, in, and Under’ described as ‘a psychotic free-associative prose-poem translation of Sigmund Freud's essay ‘Screen Memories’’ will be published by Dostoevsky Wannabe Experimental in 2019.

At the time I don’t think I quite appreciated how fortunate I was to have had Pete as my personal tutor in the first year of my degree. As many of those who were taught by him I’m sure will testify – he would stand up for you and your work, especially against certain members of staff who held quite firm views about what did and didn’t constitute art making. He was a champion of inclusivity and of difference. At what was usually – as its fair to say many of his students would also hear a lot about during tutorials – quite a personally quite difficult time for him.Last year Pete retired from teaching, leaving alongside a large retrospective of his work at &model gallery, Leeds, and is now part of the Film Free and Easy screening and performance events. It was a genuine pleasure to have what was essentially one final tutorial with him. And as ever: contains strong language.

Maybe its because this episode comes out on my second wedding anniversary, and maybe it’s because during this conversation both me and Michael get rather uxorious – or rather that we discuss the idea of love within art, but I do feel this is something that is often over-looked as either the driving force behind or the content of a work itself. If anything, this podcast is a labour of love, and has given me license to connect or re-connect with people in what feels like a meaningful way. Michael is certainly one of those people and someone I have always loved talking to. On a brief trip back from his new home of São Paulo it was great to catch up with him, verbally recount some of his works (which often only exist within their verbal recounting), and talk about another shared love of ours – art education.

Garry has long been a stalwart of art education within Leeds College of Art, from first setting up a print workshop in 1974 to a vast list of positions, new courses and even centres. He has, however, always prioritised the educational experience of his students above all else, and had a profound effect on thousands of them over the years. We touch on this a little bit, but really I was interested to hear more about his own journey – his philosophies on art making, education, and life.I somehow managed to never have the fortune of being directly taught by Garry so thought I would take this as my chance. We talk about his relationship with his hometown of Dudley, the value of a bodily education, loosing his accent, always seeming to be visualising problems, how certain life experiences such as the birth of his first child shaped his practice, and his growingly popular Aphorisms for Young Artists.

A couple of years ago whilst doing an exhibition at Turf Projects in Croydon I met Chris. He had quite wisely come to a crit session I was asked to lead at the gallery, not so we could discuss his work, but because he was going to be leading the next one. It struck with me as quite a smart and sensible thing to do, and something I probably wouldn’t have thought to do myself. Since then I’ve noticed him frequently putting out really great work and projects, which have the nice habit of often wanting to exist much more within the real world. The morning before the opening of a collaborative exhibition with Liam Geary Baulch at serf in Leeds (with another group exhibition at the brand new LOWER.GREEN opening in Norwich) it was nice to sit down with Chris and probably get to know him. Chris Alton will also be part of this years New Contemporaries and Jerwood Space’s upcoming Survey show.

The past episode ‘Harry’s Easter Message’ ended with a recording sent in by artist Pamela Crowe of her children practicing their reading skills from the episode list of this podcast. After receiving this lovely recording I became interested in Pamela’s work as well as the various workshops she has been developing that in her words “all of which are conversations”, it seemed fitting somehow to invite her in to be a guest on the show to find out more. Needless to say we had quite an in-depth conversation and given her focus on trauma and kindness it was at times quite heavy, and at others very uplifting.Pamela Crowe has just initiated the peer support Creative Mothers Project at Aire Place Studios – and is currently developing Pamelashop for the upcoming Love Arts Festival.

Following a recent exhibition we put on at blip blip blip of Rory Macbeth and Laura Lord’s much mythologised fake student Frances Neil – who was officially enrolled, though regularly marked absent, on the Central St Martins Foundation course over twenty years ago, I was able to get time to talk with Rory about not just this project but many of the almost mythical elements of his own life.It’s fair to say that Rory was hugely influential to me on both artistic and educational terms – in fact without his intervention I may well have not completed my Fine Art degree. His non-hierarchical and anti-authoritarian attitude certainly saved me a couple of times, and I believe is a big part of the evident impact he had as an educator. Over the years he has mentioned odd bits and pieces of his past to me but wasn’t until now that I really got to find out his story in more detail. Though that being said, we probably only scratched the surface of it.

The other week Pavilion held a talk by Ismal Muntaha and Bunga Siagian from the Jatiwangi Art Factory, Indonesia and artist/curator George Clark who had recently undertaken a residency there. I was partially taken with JaF – though knowing quite what to describe it as is rather tricky – a mix of people, projects, festivals, and myths, where art aims to underpin everyday life itself.I was keen to hear more from George who between his various film and curatorial projects, not to mention being assistant curator of film at Tate Modern for a while, has a particularly in-depth and quite unique knowledge when it comes to artist and more experimental film making. It was great to hear his thoughts about cinema, de-centralising art history, de-centralising himself, balancing his various roles, the simple desire of wanting to show things no-one else would show, and why he is not interested in expressing himself.

Sometimes, or at least for me, it can get quite disheartening when you go a long time without seeing an exhibition or artwork which really excites you. Often the longer this goes on, the less effort you start putting into trying to see shows or seek out new work. This had been the case last autumn until by happenstance I ended up visiting Andy’s and his father’s collaborative Artangel commission Natural Selection. I really don’t think I’d ever seen such an engaging, interesting, and maybe significantly - educational, exhibition. Maybe in simple terms, and in more ways than one, it was achieving lots of things I wish I could do. I was envious.It was around this time I had just started the podcast and Andy quickly jumped high up the list of people I wanted to have on as a guest. Thankfully the exhibition has now made its way to Leeds Art Gallery (who in fact were one of the co-commissioners I’ve come to learn) and I was able to get chance to speak with him. Needless to say he is pretty much just as he appears (and sounds) in his work, though was great to discuss that distinction as well as the complications and consequences that arise from placing yourself within your own work.

A while ago Nicola gave a talk at Castlefield Gallery, which explicitly stated she was going to talk about her transition into becoming a full-time artist. This is something rarely spoken about, let alone publicly, and what I’m also trying to go through now. Though I wasn’t able to attend this talk, I thought it might be good to go to the source, and also to meet my mum’s favourite contemporary artist – they’re both from Manchester and both love libraries. Her recent exhibition at The Portico Library is a perfect example.Talking with Nicola was wonderful and it really felt like we share lots of similar experiences and attitudes. Namely, what is the gamble, risk, and ultimately compulsion, of pursuing art, and the uncertainly and adrenaline of that often being a driving force. This questioning and risk-taking has taken Nicola through a wide-ranging body of work (though don’t ask her to work with paper again). She is now taking it to the stage, which as something I’ve done recently, it felt good to be able to give some advice back on, given how much she gives me throughout.

Very few artists have been able to produce works or projects that incorporate skateboarding into their process or outcome that are embraced or appreciated by skateboarders ourselves – we can be quite fickle when it comes to these sort of things. I first became aware of Keith’s work through one such project, one that was embraced, and one I was jealous not be able to participate in (i.e. to skate it). It had a sensibility that always made me wonder if he himself was also a skateboarder, and was pleasantly impressed when finally being able to speak with him to learn that in fact he wasn’t. However, there is an interesting parallel in the way he embraces trial and error, failure, and ultimately risk taking in the way he approaches his work. It was also a pleasure to learn of the deeper, more personal significance behind many of his often quite spectacular works.Keith Harrison is currently exhibiting in Material Environments at The Tetley, Leeds.

Without getting overly sentimental I can confidently say Sean Kaye has easily been the most significant person in my development as an artist over the years. From interviewing, and accepting me onto the Leeds Foundation course, teaching me, hiring me to then teach (which in itself was probably the biggest learning curve) and co-running blip blip blip, the amount I have learnt from, and also feel I owe to him, is massive. I think it’s fair to say that I am one of hundreds of people who also feel the same.Now the head of the Foundation course at the British Higher School of Art & Design in Moscow, I catch up with Sean whilst he is briefly back in the UK to basically ask him about all the stuff I should have asked him over the last decade or so and to find out more about his own art education experience and how that came to form his highly reputable approach to teaching and management style.

Following her recent solo exhibition The Irregularity of Order I speak with artist and jewellery designer Amanda Burton who very generously shares her story of how following a breakdown during her time studying Biochemistry and starting to volunteer at creative mental health service Inkwell Arts lead to her developing her own artistic practice. She also explains how these significant experiences inform the work and approach she now takes both artistically and in her job as Development Worker for Inkwell – something she never thought she may have been able to do.I feel we sometimes have to be careful in saying that artistic activity and mental health have an intrinsic link, but there is something to be said for their relationship to one another. This can be as a coping mechanism, a form of recovery, and sometimes as a causation (for either). However, there is possibly more to be said for a perception, which maybe appears on both sides, that more mainstream artistic activity and arts-based mental health support are different, or separate, from one another – hopefully this episode goes someway to challenging that assumption.

The day after the opening of their exhibition Lecture Theatre at CAVE (Centre for Audio Visual Experimentation), Leeds, I sit down with Dave and Hardeep to not talk about any of that, but rather the growing amount of rap music they have been both individually and collaboratively been putting out over the last couple of years alongside other artists such as Violence Jack, Windi, Seeker, and producers such as The Punishment of Luxury and Snuffed Out Records amongst others.We also hear the exclusive announcement of the release date for their forthcoming collaborative album ‘Final Destination 6 Reloaded Chapter 1’.Ghoul Baby – soundcloud.com/welcometothemudhouseLiar Hydrant – soundcloud.com/bonethugsandhardeep

Sometimes the real pleasure in making these recordings is just turning the mics on, sitting there, and listening whilst someone lays out their story. A debriefing - to use a military analogy, such as Simeon likes to do. I’ve known Simeon for many years since our days at Leeds Met together and have always been a huge admirer of both his work, him, and, of course, the way he dresses. ‘Simeon wears all clothing Louis Vuitton’ written beneath his portrait for a recent i-D article will give you a good sense.I knew little bits and pieces of his life before he decided to pursue art, which for many years I sensed he was maybe quite guarded about - and something I can definitely relate to. In recent years there has been a transformation in his work, and alongside it himself, to more openly incorporate and recognise the value of his lived experience - which more and more I’ve come to learn is the step necessary to really start making meaningful work.

After visiting the pop up Playlab and seeing the great work being done there, I was able to catch up with Emma who established and runs PlayfulAnywhere that has also been responsible for the immersive take over of the old Border’s store, and the Playbox shipping containers that seem to crop up all over the place. I believe her job title is Chief of Play. Prior to this Emma was known for running the online magazine the Culture Vulture and as an events manager for things such as the Northern Art Prize and the opening of the Howard Assembly rooms.Often it seems that play, fun, and conviviality can be quite undervalued, or even hard to achieve, when putting on or making spaces for creative activity but Emma prioritises these things above all else - building something that doesn’t necessarily even need to be understood or viewed in artistic terms, and maybe is better as a result.Playlab is open everyday 10am–4pm until 6 May at 21 New York Street, LS2 7DT, Leeds.

Though I’ve never been directly taught my Harold, I’ve felt I’ve been able to learn a lot from him, and his many works and projects over the ten years since first meeting him; having this chance to speak with him much more at length and start to understand how his own educational and artistic experiences have informed his generous and arguably unique approach to art and education – and why in his case they are one in the same – I, not surprisingly, learnt quite a lot.Maybe more so than any other artist, I really look up to Harold as a model for how to produce socially engaged work, usually with nothing more than himself, in ways that seem to cut through many of the social or class obstacles which often seem to surround the notion of art.Harold will be exhibiting as part of the upcoming exhibition Material Environments at The Tetley, Leeds.

I’d always seen Mick around at art openings in Leeds - often dressed more like what you might expect an artist to look like than the Deputy Director of Adults and Health for Leeds City Council. Though we’ve had a few short conversations over the years, it was wonderful to be able to talk much more at length and learn about his many years in social care, his appreciation and integration of artists into it, and his famous Grandfather; but also to talk through his difficult youth, starting work at 16, gaining confidence through trade unions and political activism, and eventually being in a position to influence his beloved Leeds United to become one of the first dementia friendly football clubs, and currently attempting to make them more LGBT+ friendly.Though I’m only in the position to try and get commissions, it was also fascinating to learn about his approach to commissioning with multi million pound budgets and wondering if certain models or methodologies could be applied to artistic commissioning.

For more information on The Conversation Club / Leeds Conversation Project please visit their website or facebook page.

In this first attempt at a live audience recording made upon my return to Leeds, and to resuming the podcast at The Tetley, I speak with their artistic director Bryony Bond about how the podcast has been going and what I’ve learnt from it. All while essentially trying to ignore the presence of the audience who had kindly attended. It became more of a performance work than I would have predicted – an odder situation than might be obvious from the recording itself in which I’ve also tried my best to remove their sonic presence. Made it feel more like an artwork at least.More importantly, however, we were able to learn about Bryony’s artistic origins, her thoughts on curating, working with artists, really, really liking exhibitions, the first ever project she worked on now being re-shown as part of Mark Dion’s current exhibition at Whitechapel Gallery, shaping an organisation, institutional personability, and we generally realise our approaches and intentions are not too dissimilar. Also realised something I should have done at the event itself is to massively thank Bryony, Georgia, and everyone at The Tetley for letting me record the podcast there and for all their wonderful support – thank you!

On my last day in New York I was very fortunate to be able to interview Mei Lum, who generously made time out of what I imagine is her particularly busy schedule running both the Wing on Wo & Co store in Chinatown and the associated W.O.W Project which through localised arts and culturally based activity aims to reclaim the area against the onset of gentrification.It’s very difficult to ignore the negative impact gentrification is having on New York as a whole, and particularly in Chinatown where over a hundred art galleries have opened up or moved to in recent years, naturally paving the way for what we know follows – ultimately the displacement of people and communities. Knowing how to combat this, or even to open up dialogue surrounding it, is a major challenge but Mei and her colleagues are taking an approach I can only personally define as truly inspirational.Mei shares with me the story behind the store, how she came to now run it, some of the complexities of Chinatown itself – particularly in relation to gender, and the difficulties and pressures that come with some having expectations of her as being the person to “save Chinatown”.

During my time in New York, mainly just out of interest (or you could call it artistic research), I undertook the Improv 101 course at the now famed Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Little did I know I had in fact signed up to the class of one of the best teachers and improvisors out there – Chelsea Clarke. Following our class show Chelsea very generously agreed to speak with me and answer many of the questions I had about improv, to learn more about her, and to generally process what she had put me and my classmates through – an experience I could not have expected to be as transformative as it was.Apologies in advance if a lot of the improv language we use doesn’t make much sense, though hopefully it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. After several weeks in the UCB world I sort of forgot long-form improv has its whole own language. It really is a world unto itself and one I am very sad to not be able to continue within. In a way I believe had I of had the chance to discover improv at the same age Chelsea did as she was studying to be a visual artist, I might very much have stayed in that world and all.

In this final episode recorded with my fellow ISCP residents I sit down with the wonderful Carolina Falkholt, who’s work very much precedes her, and speaks very loudly on her behalf. However, as with many people who make work you can’t ignore, or have appearances and personalities you can’t ignore, sometimes the actual individual and their personal history can be overlooked. Spending some time discovering more about Carolina, her path to the artist she is today, the strength, resolve, and great sense of humour that requires, was an honour and a privilege. She also coins the term “social gladiatorial aesthetics” and explains why she has a bigger penis than the president.

When I learnt about Ken and Julia’s lives as a married artist duo living on a farm in rural Japan, it pretty much seemed like the life I dream of having. I was fascinated to learn more about how their practice came about, their respective decisions to leave their jobs in pursuit of art, and the concerns that underpin their work. Reassuringly I think my romanticisation of them and their lifestyle is something I’m even more envious of; though I did forget to ask about their upcoming presentation at the Armory Show. Then to further indulge my own interests, I spoke with Raul, who having seen a presentation I gave in which I showed a selection of photographs I took of benches for my On the Bench project; told me he also has a collection of photographs of benches and is working on a bench-related project himself. And maybe unsurprisingly it turned out we have a lot of other shared interests and opinions as artists.

As such a lovely, lovely person it is hard to imagine David spending three years in the army - even if it wasn’t as a fighter. He has a sensitivity and a sensibility in both his work, and his thoughts, that are very infectious, which makes him a pleasure to speak with. It was fascinating, although disheartening, to learn of his childhood as a Mizrahi (Middle Eastern Jew) in a mainly Ashkenazi (European Jew) neighbourhood and school system, and how those differences have now got even worse. They did, however, form him into a great artist and educator.It was great to share our experiences of ending up teaching on the courses we loved as art students, and the insecurities of having to teach students not much younger than ourselves (and how it gets easier - naturally); and like all good educators, he dished out lots of good advice.

I was keen to speak with Knut because from what I had seen of his work it achieves quite a lot of the things I feel I am somewhat trying to move towards. He also seemed to share an interest in trying to engage non-professional-art audiences, or to place his work slightly outside the safety of the art context, such as his project Mobile Egress. So being able to get the chance to learn from him, and more about how he approaches making his films was really helpful – even if this did turn more into a tutorial than an interview.It was also fascinating to hear about the cultural, military, and environmental concerns as a result of the wealth generated by Norway’s nationalised oil industry, and how these issues have been informing his more recent works. Plus his efforts to help support the future of artist produced films, and to build a more collective production model, that sits outside the limitations of traditional film funding.

On my first day in New York I went along to the Visible Award’s Temporary Parliament at the Queens Museum, where I’m happy to say the Brigada Puerta de Tierra project I voted for won the prize. Though whilst I was there, the first person to speak to me, and in fact was the first person I met in New York, turned out to be none other Jim Costanzo – not that I realised it at the time.I was really honoured he accepted to be a guest on the podcast, and extra appreciate that he did so whilst not being particularly well. It was great to learn more about his long history of art and activism, his longstanding and ongoing battle with Wall Street, and the Aaron Burr Society he established in 2008 just before the financial crash.His new book wall street in black & white: foto & text of an occupier which he kindly gave me a copy of is proper good too.

The day before recording this conversation Remy had given a presentation about his work which I thought was totally amazing. He introduced it by playing a short film made on the occasion of his exhibition ‘Crossing the Water’ at the Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag, and went on to explain in more detail how his works explore and connect Modernist art movements such as De Stijl with the aesthetics of the Maroons of Suriname from which he is descended. I had loads of questions and was eager to learn more about him, so was super made up he agreed to be a guest on the show the very next day.

As you will hear in this episode, and I’m pretty sure I bring it up a lot, I have an issue with the prevalence of observable drawing ability in children as being a marker of future artistic talent. Imagine all the potentially great artists we’ve lost just because drawing may not have been their thing? Although this was the case for Sonia, thankfully, she kept close enough through photography, being a jazz vocalist and writing about artists significant to her, that she ended up one anyway – and as is often the case when having not been confined by art education, is a particularly good one at that!It was nice to discover that many of our approaches seemed quite similar, particularly in terms of a growing need to utilise improvisation, valuing localism, and to connect with people as, rather than just through, the work itself. So totally makes sense why it was such a good time sharing our experiences, thoughts, lessons, and also concerns.For more on Sonia Louise Davis please visit https://sonialouisedavis.com.

As an artist who makes quite mysterious work, I was really keen to learn more about Elisabeth, what’s behind her artistic approach, and really hadn’t anticipated the answer I would receive. Along the way we discovered quite a few shared experiences - and friends - and she somehow got me to reveal more than she probably did! It was clear how much she is interested in what’s underneath the surface level of most things we perceive, both in her artwork and as a person in the world, so was extra fascinating to see beyond hers.It was also really nice to talk about one of my other great interests - ants. For instance, not many people realise that practically all the ants you ever see are female, or that they don’t even have lungs. Maybe in future I should try record a podcast with a Myrmecologist!Elisabeth Molin is currently exhibiting as part of the exhibition When things become thoughts: a sinkhole in my terraformed mind, MAW Gallery, NYC; and has recently published two new book works Lies and Diet Coke and Black Rooms.

Having only recently arrived on my residency at ISCP I was very fortunate to speak with follow resident Anna Nykyri just as she was returning to Finland. As someone who has worked in television and directed films, as well as operated within the fields of contemporary art and dance, she was someone I really felt I could learn a lot from. Though her documentary works explore her chosen individuals in much depth, she herself professed to being quite a shy and private person, so I was very made up she agreed to talk with me.From hearing about some of her experiences, I felt I was able to gain a better insight into how my own work is developing - as well as the importance of carving out the right place for your work, rather than just trying to fit into the pre-existing models.

Eight years ago, on my first ever day of tutorials as a visiting artist I met Joseph Buckley. That tutorial, sat on the roof terrace of Leeds College of Art Vernon Street, has always stayed with me as a significant moment - for me at least. Being only a few years younger than me, having only grown up a few streets up from me, and attending the same high school; it was a surprise our paths had not already crossed. Talking with Joe on the advent of 2018, with both of us now in New York (which I partly owe to him), I learn the even greater, and sadly much darker, significance that roof terrace has for him – though on a lighter note have just realised he finally explained to me why he was late. Even then, all those years ago, Buckley had set out plans for a massive body of work, under the title of the Elegy Series, which sought to conclude in 2018. Now he has finally reached this point, he recounts the tragic origin of the series, how it formed his artistic practice, and why it eventually ended prematurely.I am very honoured Joe has trusted me with sharing, what is really only a tiny part of, his story; which I hope helps provide a deeper context to an artist I knew would be one of the greats the first time I met him.

As today is Christmas day it did not seem right to put out a full interview, but last year I made a little video work called "Harry's Christmas Message" and thought I might as well make it into a tradition.

I don’t really remember when I first met Josie; but I do remember getting to know her whilst I was on my degree at Leeds Met. As far as I could tell she was the only properly practicing artist who had come out of that course and stayed in the city, and as you will hear repeatedly, her f**k you attitude was nothing short of an inspiration. I had been running a little gallery out of my locker in the art building corridor and remember requesting to show a work I believe she exhibited in New Contemporaries – a work that was her official Leeds Met graduation photograph in which she is joyfully holding her diploma with heavily bandaged hands. To this day I still think it is one of the best art school artworks ever made.As you might have already guessed, I’m a massive fan of her work; though in recent years she has gone a bit quieter. I really wanted to catch up with her and see how she feels about things now she has taken a step back from the commercial gallery circuit - and as always, it was a total pleasure.

In 2016 I was super fortunate to be selected as one of eleven artists for the newly established Liverpool Biennial Associate Artists Award. Funded by Arts Council England, the award was designed to provide travel bursaries for artists based in the North of England to help develop their careers both nationally and internationally. Out of all us recipients, however, Stephen has certainly been the one to make the most out of it, with an almost constant stream of residencies around the world. Not bad given he has only been making art for the last few years.Getting to know Stephen and considering him a friend has been one of the real unexpected highlights of being a part of this associate artists thing, and was very interested to learn more about his life before he turned to art and his experiences since. As an artist I am very envious of the energy and freedom with which he makes work, but did not necessarily expect where that attitude and approach comes from, and why this lead him to make such life-changing decisions.If you would like to view some of the works talked about, such as ‘Dropping a stone into a bucket’ please visit https://www.stephen-sheehan.com.

Since seeing a really quite powerful performance by Jade last year, and learning that she lives in the not too far away seaside town of Scarborough, I had been meaning to meet and get to know her properly. It wasn’t until now, however, that I had the honour of speaking with her, and was finally able to ask her about that work, her life in Scarborough, and learn much much more in the process. I was particularly taken with her sensibilities concerning care, both in terms of self-care (or lack thereof) and the responsibilities of our public institutions, and where these larger structural problems are already leading us. As an artist and academic, her sense of responsibility, relentlessness, and connection to her hometown, much like her work, left a lasting impression on me, and I’m sure will on you too.Jade Montserrat is holding an open conversation about her recent project ‘Rainbow Tribe: Affectionate Movement’ in Leeds this Tuesday evening (5th December) at Live Art Bistro as part of Steakhouse Live’s Artist Residency Programme.For reference, the full text that Jade reads from is ‘The New Conservatism: Complicity and the UK Art World’s Performance of Progression’ by Morgan Quaintance.

I have had the great fortune of being both taught by Jenny and of teaching with her. Though she probably wouldn’t think of herself as one, she is truly one of the great educators. More so than any other tutor I’ve come across, she has such a genuine interest in, and an ability to question her students both artistically and personally, that alone seems to make the work feel significant. Conversely, however, she is maybe not asked enough about herself or her work, which definitely is not given the significance it deserves; and being such a great educator can often overshadow the artist they foremost truly are. In the process of exhibiting her work at blip blip blip, I really felt it was time I learn more about the life of someone who has been so hugely significant in mine.PLAN by Jenny West and Ian Jackson is open until the 1st December at blip blip blip, Leeds.