Podcast appearances and mentions of william morris gallery

The William Morris Gallery celebrates the versatility and popularity of the designer’s patterns in its latest exhibition. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

he Art Newspaper's annual report on museum visitor figures is out and shows that the slow build-back after the Covid-19 closures is over, and museums are back at what we might consider their “natural level”. Host Ben Luke talks to the co-editor of our report, Lee Cheshire, about what that means, and who were last year's big winners and losers. A new exhibition at the museum in the former London home of the 19th-century designer, socialist activist and writer, William Morris, looks at his ubiquity in the 21st century. Our associate digital editor, Alexander Morrison, visits Morris Mania, as the show is called, and talks to the William Morris Gallery's director Hadrian Garrard. And this episode's Work of the Week is a painting made in the winter of 1906 to 1907 by Henri Matisse. It depicts his daughter, Marguerite, and is a highlight of a show at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, called Matisse and Marguerite: Through her Father's Eyes. Ben Luke discusses the painting and its subject with Charlotte Barat-Mabille, one of the curators of the exhibition.Morris Mania, William Morris Gallery, London, 5 April-21 SeptemberMatisse and Marguerite: Through Her Father's Eyes, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, until 24 August 2025Subscription offer: enjoy a three-month digital subscription to The Art Newspaper for just £3/$3/€3. Get unrestricted access to the website and app, including all digital monthly editions dating back to 2012. Subscribe here: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/subscriptions-3FOR3?utm_source=podcast&promocode=3FOR3 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, artist Kedisha Coakley joins EMPIRE LINES live at the Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire, connecting their work from Jamaican and Black diasporic communities across the UK, with their research into sculptor Ronald Moody, uncovering shared interests in Ancient Egypt, indigenous Caribbean cultures, and questions of restitution. Born in Brixton, and based in Sheffield, Kedisha Coakley's practice spans sculpture, glassmaking, and wallpaper printed with blocks of braided hair. Commissioned for an exhibition about Ronald Moody, one of the most significant artists working in 20th century Britain, their new installation is set between his large-scale figurative wood sculptures from the 1930s, and post-war experimentations with concrete and resin casting. From Kedisha's bronze afro-combs influenced by historic Taino cultures, we journey from objects held in the British Museum, to mahogany relief sculptures by major influences like Edna Manley. With audio transcripts, we discuss Moody's BBC radio broadcasts for Calling the West Indies produced by Una Marson, particularly ‘What is called Primitive Art?' (1949). Kedisha shares Moody's interest in primitivism, present in ancient Egyptian, Greek, Indian, and ‘oriental' Chinese cultural forms, as well as Gothic and Renaissance works from Western/Europe. We look at photographs from Kedisha's studio, exploring ‘African masks' in the work of European modernists like Man Ray and Pablo Picasso, and the often marginalised role of religion and spirituality in Black and diasporic art practices. Kedisha also details her wider practice in ‘Horticultural Appropriation', working with breadfruit, flowers, plants, and the natural environment, connecting with Moody's description of Jamaica's Blue Mountains and sea. We consider Moody's place in British art history, drawing from his contemporaries Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Jacob Epstein, and Elizabeth Frink, as well as the group known as the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM), of which Moody was a founding member.. As a self-described ‘mature student', we look at Kedisha's pursuit of independent, adult education, the role of market cultures and fashion, and the work of women taking care of history. This episode was recorded live at Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life, an exhibition at the Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire, in October 2024. The exhibition runs until 3 November 2024: hepworthwakefield.org/whats-on/kedisha-coakley-and-empire-lines-live-podcast-recording/ Hear more about Kedisha's work around ‘Horticultural Appropriation' with Ashish Ghadiali, curator of Against Apartheid (2023) at KARST in Plymouth: pod.link/1533637675/episode/146d4463adf0990219f1bf0480b816d3 For more about the Caribbean Artists Movement (CAM), listen to curator Rose Sinclair in the episode on Althea McNish's Batchelor Girl's Room (1966/2022), recreated at the William Morris Gallery in London: pod.link/1533637675/episode/953b78149a969255d6106fb60c16982b On post-war ‘British' art and sculpture, read about Egon Altdorf: Reaching for the Light at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, in gowithYamo: gowithyamo.com/blog/postwar-modernism-egon-altdorf-at-the-henry-moore-institute Hear from artist Yinka Shonibare, in the episode on Decolonised Structures (Queen Victoria (2022-2023) at the Serpentine in London: pod.link/1533637675/episode/01fffb739a1bd9f84f930ce41ee31676 On the globalisation of ‘African' masks, listen to curator Osei Bonsu on Edson Chagas' photographic series, Tipo Passe (2014-2023), in the episode about Ndidi Dike's A History of A City in a Box (2019) at Tate Modern in London: pod.link/1533637675/episode/386dbf4fcb2704a632270e0471be8410 And for more about Édouard Glissant, listen to ⁠Manthia Diawara⁠, co-curator of The Trembling Museum at the Hunterian in Glasgow, and artist ⁠Billy Gerard Frank on Palimpsest: Tales Spun From Sea And Memories (2019)⁠, part of ⁠PEACE FREQUENCIES 2023⁠: ⁠instagram.com/p/C0mAnSuodAZ⁠

16th May 2024 The Spokesmen Cycling Podcast EPISODE 353: Bike Town is 10 — Inspiring Speeches From 10 Years of Enjoy Waltham Forest Reception SPONSOR: Tern Bicycles HOST: Carlton Reid GUESTS: Cllr Grace Williams, Leader of Waltham Forest Council and Labour Councillor for William Morris; Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader of the Council; Will Norman, London's cycling and walking commissioner. Speeches recorded at the evening reception for Celebrating 10 Years of Enjoy Waltham Forest event, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 14th May 2024. LINKS: https://www.the-spokesmen.com/ https://www.ternbicycles.com https://twitter.com/CarltonReid TRANSCRIPT Carlton Reid 0:12 Welcome to Episode 353 of the spokesmen podcast. This show was engineered on Thursday 16th of May 2024. David Bernstein 0:28 The Spokesmen cycling roundtable podcast is brought to you by Tern bicycles. The good people at Tern are committed to building bikes that are useful enough to ride every day and dependable enough to carry the people you love. In other words, they make the kind of bikes that they want to ride. Tern has e-bikes for every type of rider. Whether you're commuting, taking your kids to school or even carrying another adult, visit www.ternbicycles.com. That's t e r n bicycles.com to learn more. Carlton Reid 1:03 There are now more people walking and cycling in Waltham Forest, and earlier this week I visited this now most vibrant of London boroughs to join events celebratating 10 years since the start of the Enjoy Waltham Forest programme. I'm Carlton Reid and I was in Walthamstow in 2015 a year after the first fruits of the so-called Mini Holland programme were beginning to ripen and yet where 100 or so protestors gathered to shout at the Labour councillor leading the borough's transformation. They carried a coffin — in safety, beause of no cars — along Orford Road and warned that Clyde Loakes and his fellow Labour councillors were being held responsoible for the predicted death of Walthamstow. Free access for cars, they said, was necessary for economic vitality and they didn't want what teir posters called a Berlin Wall. Orford road is now a poster child for how to effect change for the better. It's buzzing with business, with peaople ambling around and enjoying the pavement cafes. This previously traffic-clogged street is a honeypot destnation for VIPs and traffic planners from around the UK and the world, visiting to see how it is possible to make neighborhoods less car dependent and more people friendly. On today's show I've got three inspiring speeches delivered at an evening reception held in Walthamstow's William Morris Gallery on Tuesday 14th May 2024. The speeches are from Cllr Grace Williams, Leader of Waltham Forest Council , Deputy Leader Cllr Clyde Loakes and Will Norman, London's cycling and walking commissioner. On the next two episodes, I'll share audio recorded at the Landor Links event staged after the evening reception, an event for town planners and other professionals seeking guidance on best practice for cycling and walking schemes. But first, here's Grace Williams at the evening reception, Grace Williams 3:37 I think sounds in his night. It is a kind of reunion because we have the whole team. And we of course are climbing. We've got Martin, who's hiding on a balcony. We've got Lindsey, we've got untold officers who worked on this scheme and given hours of their life. And I know it's not because community groups here we've got plenty out to them. We've got families and everyone I know in this room has been putting the effort into what Min-Holland has been over the last 10 years. A massive amounts that we have all learned together actually scanning as it is required to scale which require that's political wiil. And that sense of keeping on going and doing the right thing, I think is really important. And I should really add that, on top of that because we have built relationships regionally, nationally, internationally and it's brilliant to have Will Norman here. And it's really also a testament to the work that's been done to involve other in Waltham Forest which I am sure Clyde will be talking about, I have been a councillor for ten years so Mini-Holland has been my reality as a councillor, and one of my earliest memories of being councillor was Clyde spoke to me and say, Yeah, the thing he wants you to talk about MiniHolland tonight. I remember that it was a protest outside that's become an occupational hazard now, but it was quite nerve wracking as a new councillor going in and doing first big speech on mini-Holland. I do remember saying something along the line of so cyclists and motorist should just go to the pub sit down and have a nice chat about. No, I did seize up. So now we'll be thinking about, you know, the culture wars that we had. You know, the fact that we have several elections since then, it really really is a different climate when it comes to talk to you about what actually travelling can do and what Mini-Holland means. I know that Clyde will tell you a bit more about his reflections on that journey. So I do want to thank the whole team. But before I end, I want to pay tribute fine, because we just would not all be standing here celebrating 10 years of mini Holland as if it wasn't view everyone in this room, probably you know quite a lot from you about how you stuck with the product. And when you go in decide, I know it was a very personal effect it has cost you and the impact on your on your life has basically become doing Mini-Holland, I don't know if it's somewhere. But it has the effort who said the political will stand up. And that sheer bloody mindedness. More in the sense of knowing that has to do the right thing. He didn't have to keep moving forward. Because if you're not moving forward on this agenda, you're moving backwards. And we have seen others move backwards in fence. So I really want to from bottom of my heart thank you Clyde for doing this. You've transformed all of our lives, you've made children's lives better. You've made our borough what it is today and I want to say a personal thank you to what you taught me.y I hand over to Clyde. Clyde Loakes 7:25 Today evening, what an honour it is to be in a room of champions, pioneers. congratulate yourselves, everyone. You're all amazing language people. And we wouldn't normally be in this evening. If it wasn't for all of you here this evening. You are the stars. were woken up not just in the forest, but across London over the past 10 years. So I'm so so grateful. Whether you are officers, you know, I will single out a couple of people, you know, Vala, Keith, over, we're going to need to do that presentation. Wow. Who knew where we were be 10 years on the answers coming back with a 30 odd million quid. Thank you so much. All the officers who then assembled Chris Proctor, Chris Harrison, Jon little, you know, all that cast, and then in a wonderful job. Wow. Wow. And it started off just as a highway project, a cycling project. And yet, we've looked at the difference we've made now, you public health terms, and offensive terms and congestion terms. We look at the difference we're making to the clients. You know, we knew 10 years ago, that this would be one of the fundamental projects in a local authority that was acting on the climate emergency, look at how building rain gardens and total resilience into those. All coming from this nugget of an idea the idea that we could make it is that we could actually help support people to walk and cycle more often have a tremendous achievement, and she would take it upon us. And everywhere I go and I speak about all we've done I always say, you know, it was that politicians, Chris Robbins that stood by me through some pretty challenging times. He was no keen cyclist Like he knew this was the right thing to do for the right reasons. Those officers with this technical skill who was so so bored with just painting double yellow lines that we are aligned and responding to the lowest common denominator consultation return that says, We don't want any change. You know, we unleash their talents now ideas so that we can deliver something so dramatically different things that they went to college and learn their skills that they wanted to do. We were able to do that here. The community activists just talking to Paul we're just now living that way now. Right. You know, Susan, you know, never gave up on your time. You never know Lee when he sat down assignment. Look for when you're worthy now you are shaping and influencing London and more because of what you did here and never gave up. And you've made it. Look at the behaviour change it received Jane, Emma. Look at what we're seeing, Joy Riders, Cycle sisters, breaking down boundaries. All the cargo bikes! you seen that on most schools, you know school districts, normal families going to school. That's why sharing some way because we've created the infrastructure, we created the environment and feel comfortable and safe, transport and cherish them loved ones to school and back again. By bike, by cargo bike.Thank you for that you didn't absolutely amazing. But it wasn't always easy. It was It wasn't the coffin. We mentioned Dutch ambassador on the second day. He literally chased out. We mentioned those things we come along mentioned the judicial review, Vala you remember the emails every day. We're gonna miss out on some Yeah, nailbiting stuff because he told us of why we wouldn't not be here today. What else? Hey, man. Yeah, the protests. Yeah. And, you know, some pretty hairy, you know, interviews with the police and my answers and stuff that was coming my way. But times, but I've always said I was doing the right things for the workplaces always knew, I have that physical support, either community support around the doubles. And that's what made me continue to do the things that we wanted to do. And that's why it's interesting members in many organisations that we just had, I counted six of the candidates have openly declared that they were against low traffic neighbourhoods, in their little pieces in that one photo that we will look at. Where are they now? Where are they now? They are nowhere. And you know, once I have the microphone, and you know, Will's in the room, newly appointed, fortunately, cycling commissioner, and again well done Will, you know, please take it back to to your boss, Sadiq Khan's leadership on him less, you know, what to think is some this someone's readership on those louder voices that said it was wrong, and you wouldn't lose. But actually, vast majority people don't clean vocalise their views on these things. But they like it. Or even nobody makes sense. And they know, politicians are doing these things for the voice reasons, not just for the hearing now, not just for the election, and the next ballot box opportunity, but for the future and future generations that please talk back out thanks to Steve for his leadership that he's provided us. And we will continue to stand here and will advise supporting those quick, safe transport policies that had brought us all together this evening to sell by 10 years on, we will continue to do all of that will be carrying out those kind of policies that really really do make a difference. So please put your hands together, and celebrate you're all amazing. Thank you I Carlton Reid 15:02 We will leave Clyde Loakes in Walthamstow there and head across to the States to get our ad break from David. David Bernstein 15:09 This podcast is brought to you by Tern Bicycles. Like you, the folks at Tern are always up for a good outdoor adventure by bike—whether that's fishing, camping, or taking a quick detour to hit the trails before picking up the kids from school. And if you're looking to explore new ground by taking your adventures further into the wild, they've got you covered. The brand new Orox by Tern is an all-season, all-terrain adventure cargo bike that's built around the Bosch Smart System to help you cross even the most ambitious itinerary off your bucket list. It combines the fun of off-road riding in any season with some serious cargo capacity, so you can bring everything you need—wherever you go, whenever you go. Plus, it's certified tough and tested for safety so your adventures are worry-free. With two frame sizes to choose from and a cockpit that's tested to support riders of different sizes, finding an adventure bike that fits you and your everyday needs has never been easier with the Orox. Visit www.ternbicycles.com/orox (that's O-R-O-X) to learn more. Carlton Reid 16:27 Thanks, David. And we are back in Walthamstow at the evening reception celebrating 10 years of enjoying Waltham Forest. Here's the final speech of the night from London cycling and walking Commissioner Will Norman Will Norman 16:41 Absolutely phenomenal to be here today. I cycled through the borough on the way and it is it's a groundbreaking transformation. I knew this but this morning I was sitting around the breakfast table at home and I thought normal domestic things should work well you can relate to the background this or where you go and move the ball forward. And my daughter who's 13 Who is normally monosyllabic takes no interest in my work whatsoever, eating a bowl of cereal, then looks up, Waltham Forest? Good bike lanes Under your leadership for the change that needs to happen in cities around the world, the scariest thing that happened to me in the last two weeks was around the time of the election when text messages that are coming in from around the world to you felt really busy. And they were coming in from Australia from USA from India, from somebody someone in Egypt. If he loses, then I'm gonna zero commitments, that the stuff that we're doing our cities, the tours that we had an open for the changes that we're doing fall under threat. It goes back to the point that changes have happened in this borough are being felt integrated internationally and it's been ascend the leadership that need is required to tackle the climate crisis to tackle what is tmos existential threat. So the human species, everybody has a role to play in that. And if you see the kid cycling through the filters at the moment playing football against the bridge,, they're on their way to school, that is the change that needs to happen in every city and every community in every town in every country around the world. And you guys have been the focal point of that. It's amazing. I haven't said anything it was actually my speech. Last Sunday man this thing you guys be the changes that have happened that obvious you actually listed this is I'm standing in a way when the most important things here just have a look of everything that's happened in this borough over the last 10 years game changing transformation. This resulted in more cycling it's resulted in more walking through resulted in fewer collisions saving lives, is resulting in greater footfall in the shops, were to spend in the shop greater economic regeneration, clean air, closer communities, tackling social social isolation, you name it, it is it is changing. And as I said it's synonymous for how cities are going to get up it should be and how they're changing. And I use those two there's there's a before and after photo offer great band summed up the change that basically the strategic change that's happening in London, the strategic change that's happening in Paris, it is blasting around the world as this is the change that needs to happen. We no longer need to design our cities for cars. We need to design them for people a new modes of encapsulated that you digitalize you show what's possible. And inspiration goes way beyond lessness. The impact you've had on neighbouring powers is astonishing by working with teams across borders and raising the bar. As I said, it's bringing this change lives in the country. It raised the bar has raised the bar of ambition around the country. You got Mini-Holland's written into national policy. Now we can argue where that national policy is just fine for motorists. Yeah, I'm not so sure that's going to last but it's absolutely amazing and you get We have to follow Clyde on social media to see this endless procession of dignitaries, officers, MPs and councillors who come around in his characteristic shirts with all his energy and passion showing every filter every story about the coffin and the Dutch ambassador. But it works. And every time people go away inspired, and every one of those inspiration just changing something in a city retirement city around around the world. It's not easy, it's quite said creating meaningful change. Yeah, the amount of abuse the amount of hate the amount of protests that are weird conspiracy theories. And what I experienced over the last seven years is similar to Clyde. I think there were four ingredients which drive change with any within any city. And Waltham Forest has those in spades. The first is has been mentioned is political leadership, that political leadership coming from Grace, but I'm also Clyde again, I want to play particularly for credit, give particular credit to Clyde and just be cheering and he has led the way. It has been a hard journey you you've taken the strength you have stood strong, you've showed leaders including myself around the city around the world book resilience means more than doing the right thing. It's the right thing to do and the impact that it has and how that plays into election. election victories in the most people bump this, the enthusiasm, the pride you have is absolutely infectious. And I don't think that in other changes in this bar wouldn't have happened to quite the same scale, but certainly not the way that it's spread around the world. The second ingredients, which have been what we've heard has been really good at is collecting data and telling us stories of success. Without that data, you can't push back the ages, you can't push back without it, you can't celebrate the changes that are happening. I think that's been really inspiring. The third ingredient is that technical expertise, the brilliant officers that have worked on this across the board over the years, successive generations. Again, I want to give tribute to Bala we were talking about the first time we met in the basement of the House of Commons or something seven years ago, and the changes have happened since then. But again, those opposite has happened just the impact is obviously haven't just stopped at the border to this borough. It is again flowed into cities, other boroughs, other cities and around the world. But finally, and I think living is often overlooked in terms of those magic ingredients that drive change are campaigning communities, the role of community members play, it actually broken this providing all of us who need the backbone of the local information, the reassurance, every consultation that you fill in every petition that you sign, every event you go to with a positive piece, every suggestion you make a change in an improvement in that it matters. It is such a vital ingredient. And the change is often overlooked. You need the political leadership, you need the data, you need the technical expertise and you need the strong communities. Waltham Forest has all of those and showed the world how to do it. So I think everybody should be massively grateful that everyone would welcome everyone in this room on behalf of Sadiq who I think is seeing the Pope that this I'm not saying I'm not going into what's a better event, it's a bit of a mystery. He knows what a difference you guys made. He knows how hard it's been. He's massively grateful you kind of pioneering delivering his transport strategy. Thank you. There is an awful lot more to do. So let's keep going. Carlton Reid 23:34 Thanks for listening to episode 353 of the Spokesmen podcast, brought to you in association with Tern Bicycles. Show notes and more can be found at the-spokesmen.com. The next episode — featuring speakers at Landor Links' Celebrating 10 Years of Enjoy Waltham Forest two-day conference — will be out soon with another hot on its heels but meanwhile get out there and ride ...

Neil Davey and Chris Osburn have a fortifying Scottish breakfast at Deeney's Cafe at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow. After scarfing down the cafe's famous Hamish MacBeth toastie (haggis, bacon, Cheddar, rocket, caramelised onions and mustard), they chew even … Continue reading →

Dr. Chris Spring tears up stereotypes of African textiles, through Araminta de Clermont's 2010 photograph, Thabo, Thabiso and Blackx. Three young men wait at a bus stop near Cape Town in South Africa, clad in blankets of brilliant blue and rose red. Historically, these 'African' woven textiles were originally manufactured by Europeans during the colonial period. Dutch imperial traders, who first entered the Indian Ocean trade in the mid-seventeenth century, only added to the existing vigorous trade in textiles which had been carried out by Indian, Arab, and Chinese traders for many centuries before the arrival of Europeans. From indigo resist-dyed blauwdruk, to Swahili kanga, and South African shweshwe, these ‘authentic' products are truly the hybrid product of places and peoples working across and within empires - from factories in Manchester, to migrant merchants from Kutch, and businesses within the Japanese Empire. This confident photograph speaks to how patterns and designs had always been dictated by African taste, aesthetics, and patronage, and utilised by women to communicate across gendered and religious social boundaries. Now representative of diverse African identities and indigeneity, these fabrics unsettle ideas of what an 'African' textile should look like, revealing innovation and modernity - all the way to the Marvel film, Black Panther. PRESENTER: Dr. Chris Spring, artist, writer and former curator in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas at the British Museum He was the curator of Social Fabric: African Textiles Today, at the British Museum and William Morris Gallery. ART: Thabo, Thabiso and Blackx, Araminta de Clermont (2010). IMAGE: 'Thabo, Thabiso and Blackx'. SOUNDS: Chad Crouch. PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic. Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936 Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines

Find out more about the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement in England, William Morris, from the story of a sword and helmet he had made for one of his first artistic projects. On display at the William Morris Gallery, these items reveal lots about Morris' early life, his influences and are even linked to his love story with his wife.

Natalie Rigby speaks to Hannah about curating the wonderful exhibition 'The Legend of King Arthur'. Always a popular subject for Pre-Raphaelite enthusiasts, Natalie shares how the exhibition came into being and how Cornwall is uniquely tied to both Arthurian legends and Pre-Raphaelitism.  'The Legend of King Arthur' exhibition is currently at the William Morris Gallery, moving on to Tullie House, Carlisle in February 2023 and on to Falmouth Art Gallery in Cornwall in June 2023. 

Following, Elon Musk's announcement that Twitter will permanently suspend any account on the social media platform that impersonates another, Nuala McGovern is joined by crime writer, Denise Mina who changed her twitter display name to ‘Elon Musk'. Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who's best known for running and cycling in some of world's most challenging events. For a forthcoming film - SOLO - she set herself an audacious objective: to run – solo and unsupported, across mountain ranges on six continents, starting with one of the most remote locations on earth in Kyrgystan. She joins Nuala to describe how mountains give her a sense of home and why travelling solo is a “force for joy”. We speak to Anti Trafficking Social worker Lauren Starkey and Human rights Journalist about new research that suggests Albanian women are more likely to have their asylum applications approveddue to the threat they face from trafficking. They'll be sharing the experiences of some of the women with Nuala McGovern and give us an insight into the dangers that female asylum seekers face day to day. Textile designer Althea McNish was the first Caribbean designer to achieve international recognition and is one of the UK's most influential and innovative textile designers. There's currently a major retrospective of her, Althea McNish: Colour is Mine at the Whitworth in Manchester on tour from William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow. Rose Sinclair a Lecturer in Design Education at Goldsmiths, University of London co-curated the exhibition. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Lucinda Montefiore

We're celebrating fifty episodes of EMPIRE LINES, with three specials recorded offline and in the museum space – this time in the William Morris Gallery, in London, for their latest exhibition Althea McNish: Colour is Mine. Co-curator Rose Sinclair unwrap McNish's bold textile designs, and Caribbean and British colonial connections, through her infamous Batchelor Girl's room installation Althea McNish was one of the UK's most innovative textile artists. Born in Trinidad, she moved to the UK in 1950, and became the first designer of Caribbean descent to achieve international recognition. Her bestselling wallpapers, interior designs, furnishing and fashion fabrics were commissioned by the likes of Liberty, Dior, and Hull Traders. Co-curator Rose Sinclair talks about meeting the artist, who was both a 'Citizen of the World' and part of the Caribbean Artists Movement, and McNish's transformative impact as a Black woman defining British design. Part of EMPIRE LINES at 50, featuring three exhibitions ahead of their final weekend. See the episode notes for links to the last tickets, and the other episodes on Malangatana Ngwenya and Ingrid Pollard. PRESENTER: Rose Sinclair, co-curator of Colour is Mine, and Lecturer in Design Education at Goldsmiths University. ART: Batchelor Girl's Room, Althea McNish/Studio Nyali (1966/2022). IMAGE: 'Althea McNish: Colour is Mine'. SOUNDS: The Up Beat. PRODUCER: Jelena Sofronijevic. Follow EMPIRE LINES at: twitter.com/jelsofron/status/1306563558063271936 Support EMPIRE LINES on Patreon: patreon.com/empirelines

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1715 Birth of Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, Duchess of Portland, British aristocrat, naturalist, plant lover, and botanist. Her family and friends called her Maria. She and William Bentinck had five children; one of their sons became prime minister twice. When William died after their 27th anniversary, Maria threw herself into her passion: collecting. As the wealthiest woman in England, she cultivated an enormous natural history collection. She hired two experts to personally attend each item: the naturalist Reverend John Lightfoot and the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander. There was so much activity at Maria's Buckinghamshire home; it was called the hive. Maria shared her collections in her Portland Museum. In 1800, Maria received a beautiful red rose dubbed The Portland Rose from Italy. Today, all Portland Roses are descended from the original rose gift.   1893 On this day, the territory of Oklahoma officially recognized Mistletoe as the State Flower. The decision was made fourteen years before Oklahoma officially became a state. A symbol of Christmas, Mistletoe grows throughout southern Oklahoma and can be found growing in the tops of hardwood trees. Since it can be challenging to reach, Mistletoe is often shot out of trees with a shotgun. Oklahoma was the first state in the country to adopt a State Flower. But over the years, Mistletoe became an increasingly controversial choice. The tiny flowers are almost invisible to the naked eye, and Mistletoe is actually a semi-parasitic subshrub. And so, after 111 years, Oklahoma selected the red Oklahoma rose, Rosa odorata, as its new State Flower in 2004.   1896 On this day, the Burlington Free Press in Vermont published an account of the winter meeting of the state botanical club. During the Meeting, the Reverend JA Bates gave a presentation. He began his speech by telling of a boy who wrote a paper titled The Snakes of Ireland. The piece began, There are no snakes in Ireland. As the Reverend began to speak, he bluntly pointed out the obvious: botany is not taught in schools. In 1896, Reverend Bates said that "only one in forty students have studied botany." Then he attempted to explain why botany was not taught: First, most of the teachers are poorly prepared for teaching botany. And second, botanists are conservative and conceal the charms of their study behind the long Latin names.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation William Morris's Flowers by Rowan Bain This book came out in 2019, and the author Rowan Bain is the senior curator at the William Morris Gallery. Born in 1834 to a wealthy family, William was the leading figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement. As a designer, William Morris remains popular, and his designs have a timeless quality in terms of their appeal. William grew up on the edge of Epping forest. He played and sketched in the family garden. At college, he became inspired by John Ruskin and the art and architecture of northern Europe, William ditched a plan to pursue life as a clergyman, and he started to pursue art. As industrialization was taking hold, Morris sought to counter the smoke and grime advancement with design and art that celebrated the beauty of medieval times. A singular talent, Morris collaborated with artisans, craftsmen, and people from many different trades. Today his carpet, fabric, and wallpaper patterns remain aesthetically captivating. The majority of Morris's work is based on nature and gardens. Trees, plants, and flowers figure prominently in his designs and patterns. In this book, Rowan guides us through Morris's floral designs and his inspiration, which includes his own gardens at the Red House in Kent; sixteenth- and seventeenth-century herbals; illuminated medieval manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance tapestries; and a range of decorated objects - including artifacts from the Islamic world. This book is gorgeously illustrated with over one hundred color illustrations of Morris's centuries-old work and is sure to delight and inspire gardens still today. You can get a copy of William Morris's Flowers by Rowan Bain and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for $15.   Botanic Spark 1856 Birth of Eliza Calvert Hall (books about this person), American author, women's rights advocate, and suffragist from Bowling Green, Kentucky. In Aunt Jane of Kentucky, she wrote: Each of us has his own way of classifying humanity. To me, as a child, men and women fell naturally into two great divisions: those who had gardens and those who had only houses. ...The people who had gardens were happy Adams and Eves walking in a golden mist of sunshine and showers, with green leaves and blue sky overhead, and blossoms springing at their feet; while those others, dispossessed of life's springs, summers, and autumns, appeared darkly entombed in shops and parlors where the year might as well have been a perpetual winter.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

After last week's debacle we really needed a nice clean, fun day out somewhere that wasn't awful and Mark Watson PROVIDED! We popped along to Walthamstow to visit the William Morris Gallery and learned about his life and work. Mark Watson is a brilliant writer, comedian and podcaster and we're so grateful for him for coming on our little show. If you aren't already a huge fan - do start watching No More Jockeys. Thanks also to The William Morris Gallery for giving us their permission to visit - we had a brilliant time and thoroughly recommend it to other wallpaper lovers looking for an afternoon of gentle fun. Thanks for listening - enjoy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just before the end of the year I travelled to William Morris Gallery, located in north-east London to see Young Poland: An Arts and Crafts Movement (1890–1918) exhibition and speak to one of the shows curators, Julia Griffin.  From the end of the 18th-century Poland underwent successive partitions, resulting in the country disappearing from the map of Europe for 123 years. After a couple of failed military uprisings, Polish people understood that making art was the only remaining way to preserve their endangered national identity.  During our Kitchen Conversations, Julia Griffin shared her ongoing research on the Young Poland movement - its characteristics, socio-political motivations and heroes, among others Stanisław Wyspiański, Stanisław Witkiewicz, Karol Kłosowski and Maria Pawlikowska-Jasnorzewska. This project was supported by Polish Cultural Institute, London (PCI) and co-financed by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Favourite Christmas food: Russian pierogi, pierogi with sauerkraut, cumin & mushrooms, Borsch (beetroot soup)  References: William Moris Gallery // Young Poland project website // Portrait of Doom // Reportage about Portrait of Doom // Stanisław Wyspiański - exhibition // Polish design - exhibition Become my Patron: https://www.patreon.com/kitchenconversations  Help me grow my podcast with a single donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=53QSW2BLPWD4U Follow me on Instagram: @patrycja.rozwora        

La 1121-a E_elsendo el la 26.11.2021 ĉe www.pola-retradio.org Komence ni proponas ampleksan kulturteman kronikon. Ni informas pri ekspozicio Juna Pollando en William Morris Gallery, Londono, pri la novembra Chopin-konkurso por junuloj en Egiptio kaj pri la ekspozicio en la krakova Cervantes-Instituto „La hispana arto el la 21-a jarcento el Bassat-kolekto”. La informoj de la E-komunuma […]

Sean Rodrigo is a Walthamstow-based, Artist/Technologist working with creative technology, such as virtual reality and 3D printing, to achieve engaging, insightful and meaningful projects. Sean's fascination with all things creative technology has lead him to work actively in maker labs across London. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, Sean's Lottery funded ‘Mini Morris Project' donated more than 550 paintable plaster bust sculptures of William Morris to children of Waltham Forest. In September 2020, Sean ran a two week art exhibition at the William Morris Gallery and now sells the plaster busts in the William Morris Gallery shop. In Lockdown three, Sean's custom-designed and 3D printed ‘Mini Food Bank' project has collected over 3000 community donations of non-perishable food for local food charity PL84U Al-Suffa in Wood Street. @minifoodbankse17 www.pl84ualsuffa.co.uk

In the first episode of our new monthly audio essay Genuine Inquiry, Sophie Hope examines the relationship between money, culture and democracy. She does this in the context of developments in arts management and policy, and she does this with reference to the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, north east London. Sophie draws from two key texts: The End of Cultural Policy?, published in 2018, and Cultural Policies in the Age of Platforms, published in 2017.

Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. Your host is  Kelly Molson, MD of Rubber Cheese.Download our free ebook The Ultimate Guide to Doubling Your Visitor NumbersIf you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue or visit our website rubbercheese.com/podcastIf you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five star review, it really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned in this episode.Competition ends March 31st 2021. The winner will be contacted via Twitter. Show references:www.linkedin.com/in/williamkallawaywww.kallaway.comwww.kallaway.com/blogwww.kallaway.com/blog/post/id/113 Transcription:Kelly Molson:Welcome to Skip the Queue, a podcast for people working in or working with visitor attractions. I'm your host, Kelly Molson. Each episode, I speak with industry experts from the attractions world. These chats are fun, informative, and hopefully always interesting.In today's episode, I speak with Will Kallaway, MD of PR and Sponsorship Consultancy Kallaway. Will leads a team of experts, creating smart, imaginative campaigns for clients across the culture, travel, property and retail sectors. We discuss why PR and communication is so important to attractions right now, and what they should be focusing on. If you like what you hear, you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and all the usual channels by searching Skip the Queue. Kelly Molson:Will. William Kallaway:Kelly.Kelly Molson:Welcome to the Skip the Queue podcast, it's really good to have you on today. William Kallaway:I can't tell you how excited I am. Kelly Molson:That sounded quite genuine. William Kallaway:I'm also slightly nervous about the questions you're going to ask me. These questions, you wouldn't tell me what you were going to ask me. Kelly Molson:Don't be nervous. Everyone says this. They're nervous about the ice breaker questions. Come on. William Kallaway:Yeah. Kelly Molson:Right, first one. What are you not very good at? William Kallaway:Oh, how long have you got? I mean, I thought this podcast was about 50 minutes. What am I not very good at? I'm terrible at lists, absolutely terrible at lists. Kelly Molson:Oh, okay. William Kallaway:Writing lists, and I'm not very good at seeing them through. I'm lucky I'm surrounded by brilliant people who hold my feet to the fire. Kelly Molson:I like that. It's all about delegation. William Kallaway:All these things get delegated back to me, but at least I have someone else telling me that I'm delayed, and I'm behind. So yeah, I'm good at ideas and big picture and strategy and things like that. But my new shortlist always escapes me. Kelly Molson:Right. Noted. Okay, if you were a wrestler, so imagine WWF wrestling, what would be your entrance theme song? William Kallaway:I think, probably, I will survive. Kelly Molson:That would be the weirdest wrestler walk-on I've ever seen in my life. But an honest answer. Okay, brilliant. Kelly Molson:All right, a third one. If you had to delete all but two apps from your smartphone, what two would you keep? Oh, this is really tough.William Kallaway:Two apps. I would keep Podcast because I just listen to podcasts all the time. And I love that.Kelly Molson:Good answer. William Kallaway:Particularly ones on attractions. Cool, Skip the Queue. I'm just looking now to see actually which ones I would actually keep. My photos, there you go. I'll keep those because lots of memories in there. Kelly Molson:Yeah, that's good. That's the biggest thing about losing your phone, isn't it? The idea that you might lose all your photos from it.William Kallaway:Yeah, I always keep losing my phone. It sometimes crops up, sometimes I have to get another one. That and my [inaudible 00:03:02], which I've lost for a week and I don't know where they are. Kelly Molson:Oh, God. Okay, so something else Will's not very good at, keeping things, not losing stuff. William Kallaway:You got quite enough about what Will's not very good at. I'm sure of that as we go through.Kelly Molson:Okay, all right. Last one, and then we'll move on to the good stuff. Okay. So everyone gets asked this question. So I think that you've probably prepared this one. But I want to know what your unpopular opinion is. William Kallaway:Daniel Craig is not a very good James Bond. Kelly Molson:In what way? And who would be? Who is your favorite Bond?William Kallaway:Well, it has to be Sean Connery, obviously, because to suggest otherwise is just simply wrong. I just think it's overblown now and overinflated. And actually, I think the way it was approached in the early years, it was a far stronger product, there you go.Kelly Molson:Okay. I'm with you on Sean Connery. I definitely feel like he's the best Bond, but Daniel Craig would be my number two. Because handsome.William Kallaway:Ah, there we go.Kelly Molson:Let's move on. Thank you for answering those questions, Will. So I want to know about your background today. And we're going to talk a lot about what you do as MD of Kallaway, but how did you... What's your background? How did you become the MD of Kallaway? William Kallaway:Well, so it's a family business, was founded by my father in 1972. So we've been going for just over 40 years, and gosh, getting up to about 50 now, and I never intended to do this. I always intended to be a farmer. So I have a degree in agriculture. It was either that or the army. So I had an army scholarship when I was about 16 and then decided that tractors were far more appealing than tanks, which is something I've never really sort of squared the circle, I ended up joining the reserve forces until later in life.William Kallaway:But so yeah, I was a farm manager for a little while, I used to write for Farmer's Weekly and Country Living and all those sorts of other titles. And actually, I sort of moved away from that, because I just found it quite lonely as in, you would be on the back of a tractor for hours and hours sometimes, or you'll be off with the animals and I love working with livestock, absolutely, cows and sheep are my favorite things. But after a while, you just kind of feel, "Actually, I really need a human contact." And I really enjoyed being around people, sharing ideas, and coming up with innovative solutions for problems, with brown problems.William Kallaway:So anyway, that was a long time ago. And from there, I actually ended up working for an agribusiness, PR company, dealing with all sorts of interesting issues, everything from GM modified crops, through to fertilizer rates on farmland and sort of illness in cattle, all this sort of good stuff, which was great. Then I went into corporate public relations, and I did some really interesting work there. I mean, I think the thing I was most proud of was lobbying for the release of Briton on death row in Florida, which was a really interesting project. I mean, it's still ongoing, actually, the wheels of the legal system turn slowly, but that just was really a powerful thing to be involved with. William Kallaway:And from there, I ended up then joining the family firm. And I was interested in the work that we were doing at the time, around purpose, and linking brand activity through to really helping people through sponsorship, but also citizenship, and also placemaking, as well. So when Kallaway started out in 1970, we were the first organization in the UK to really apply the commercial aspects of sponsorship to the arts. So we created some of the biggest sorts of cultural prizes at the time. So the Costa prize was originally the Whitbread Book of the Year, which we created way back when. Choir of the year, which some of your listeners may know it was created by us. And it's still running 20 years later on BBC Four now, the sort of big amateur singing competition. Those sorts of initiatives.William Kallaway:But we also work with Barclays to introduce citizenship into the classroom, developing those sorts of initiatives really interesting. And then from there, we moved into placemaking, and destinations, and then our work with museums in particular, and cultural attractions was growing. And that's sort of where we've been focused. But we do more and more work now around F&B and general tourism as well. So the company's been on that sort of journey. And I have too, I suppose.Kelly Molson:A couple of questions on that. One, which is slightly off-topic, but did you work alongside your father? And how was that joining the business with him as your boss, I'm assuming? William Kallaway:Yeah, that's a really interesting question. I think it's really hard. And I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for people who don't want to blur the lines between being an employee and being a son if you see what I mean.Kelly Molson:I can imagine it was really, really difficult. William Kallaway:Yeah, it is difficult. But you sort of learn fairly early the boundaries and how you're going to cope with it, and then you take it from there, really.Kelly Molson:And what about the specialist? So as an organization specialize in destinations, arts, culture, travel. Where did that originate from? Was it something that was always there? Or you won a client in that sector, loved it, decided to focus on it? How did that come about? William Kallaway:It's always been there. So really, why we existed as an organization was to help brands harness the transformative power of culture. So that could be a large insurance firm that wants to a sponsor theater, to help it reach new people, or to genuinely do some philanthropic good by creating an entirely new program. So culture is such an interesting word because essentially, it's the culture of an organization. So for a theme park or for a destination, it's not only the experience you get but the engagement you get with being in the place with the people and the culture of the place. William Kallaway:So harnessing the power of culture, helping brands tap into contemporary culture, or amplify their own culture. We've recently been working with Hard Rock Cafe and now that organization has a really interesting brand culture and a really powerful and effective way of marketing itself because of that, and it retains its staff far more than the industry average. And it's something that can be a really powerful force for effective marketing. But essentially, really, if you strip that away, we help ambitious brands grow. And that's either brand who tend to be in the cultural space just simply because of our heritage.William Kallaway:But more through now into destinations and places. I mean, at the moment, we're working with Imperial College, and Glen and Charl Caps, which is the UK's largest adventure builder. On a new space they've created on White City, which is called Scale-Space, it's going to become a physical home and an online home for ambitious scaling companies. And we're helping them communicate that and unpack it to engage as many audiences as possible of tech organizations that want to locate there. William Kallaway:So our work is very varied, from F&B brands, culture brands, tech brands. And actually, what's interesting about this is it gives a diversity of thinking to brand problems, or brand challenges. It helps give a richness, I hope, to our clients in the way that we're able to respond to particular... I will help them overcome particular challenges that they might be facing. Kelly Molson:Yeah, absolutely. Can we talk a little bit about the last six months? Because I think it would be wrong not to mention the fact that we've been in a global pandemic, it would be wrong not to mention the fact that both your organization and, we've spoken about this offline, our own organization works very closely with the attraction sector and tourism. How has it been for you as an organization? And how has it been for yourself and for your team through this? Because I'm guessing it's been quite challenging as it has been for us.William Kallaway:Yes, it has been challenging. I would just like to say a big thank you to my team, they've been absolutely fantastic. Each and every one of them, they've all played a part. And I'm grateful and lucky to have them. So thank you guys, if you happen to be listening to this. Kelly Molson:I hope you are, that's lovely. William Kallaway:It has been challenging. Our guiding ethos as a business is to solve for the client, to help our client succeed. So we always need to have the right number of people in the organization to deliver whatever the client may want at one time. So we're not an option where, as an organization, you can simply pull down the shutters, you could do I guess, but that wouldn't really solve for our clients. So we helped our clients by working alongside them to find solutions to help them stay present and contribute to their audiences in new ways. William Kallaway:Just two examples of that, so when lockdown first happened, one of our classes are Royal Academy of Dance. And we created a program that helped them engage people online for the first time called RAD@Home. And we segmented the message to different audiences. So what one of the bigger concerns was actually helping old members of society stay connected, and stay really sort of moving, keep moving. And because they were the people most risk being isolated and also sedentary. And so we took one of the RAD's programs for older people called Silver Swans, took it online, but one of the messages for family audiences was "Get granny grooving."Kelly Molson:Great message.William Kallaway:Yeah, it was phenomenally successful. We had media coverage all over the place, the RAD's website traffic zoomed up, it got mentioned, completely unprompted, on Today program, Radio 4, as sort of a leading example of how brands are engaging. Things like that we've done, through to working just most recently with Japan House London, helping them open a new exhibition. So our work has varied during this time. But how's it been? I think it's difficult and for everybody, I think, as you've identified, people have their own personal challenges as well. People working remotely, some people love it, some people hate it. Some people have very different working environments than you or me. And so one has to be mindful about the fact that they might actually want to escape the home but go somewhere else. So yeah, it has been difficult. But we're sort of moving forward, as it were.Kelly Molson:Yeah, aren't we all? What lovely positive stories from the campaigns that you've had going on throughout the lockdown. No, that's really lovely. I'm not going to forget that, get granny grooving, that's brilliant. William Kallaway:We've also tried to contribute to the wider sector by running regular webinars. We've been doing quite a bit with the UK, bound on that, and others. And bringing sort of experts who we work with as well in a bit from placemaking experts through to experts in communicating with the Chinese consumer, through to help not only for clients but everybody in the industry, learn a little bit more and hopefully come out the other end of this a little bit stronger. So, and all that information is on our website, including actually, I'm just looking at the website now, we ran a webinar with Chris Earlie, the head of Tower Bridge, which is another one of our [inaudible 00:15:36] and one of our clients. And he's in the webinar there, he shared some really great insights about what they're doing as a brand to segment the audience in thinking about how they're essentially getting back to work. So there's some good stuff in there as well, if you want.Kelly Molson:Oh brilliant. Well, all of these things we'll link to in the show notes. So you'll be able to log onto the website and find links to all of the things that we'll mention today. But actually, it's some of those things that I want to talk about in a little bit more detail. So like you say, you have been running webinars throughout, and they've been incredibly valuable. I want to ask a few questions about them, if that's okay, because I think that some of the information that's in them would be really, really valuable to our listeners right now. So I guess my first question is, why is PR and communications so important to attractions right now and the tourism sector? And what should they be focusing on?William Kallaway:Right. Well, I think the first thing is, it all depends on where you want to be in the future, and then working back from there. So if you want to be front-of-mind when your audiences can start to travel again, when your consumers can start to travel again, if you want to have secured a certain level of footfall, or you want to have secured a certain level of brand value in how people think about you, you need to communicate, ultimately. You have to communicate. Going dark is not necessarily the best option, there may be an option for some organizations who simply just can't do it.William Kallaway:But for those that can, they should continue to communicate and add value in a way that helps set their brand apart. Because public relations, ultimately, it's the professional maintenance of a favorable public image, to give it its proper term. But actually, it's so much more nuanced now. I mean, I think sometimes the industry and other industries tend to think about PR as a sort of promotional stuff. But actually, it's far more nuanced than that. And where we come from particularly, is from a very strategic communications perspective, and thinking about all aspects of what the brand's doing, how it's behaving, how it's training its people, how to invest in the local community. Even from what sort of sponsorships has it got in train at the moment? What are its key messages? And put all that together into a coherent plan that enables the brand to reassure its customers, engage new customers, and reignite interest and engagement about what it is doing now, in a manner that hopefully builds footfall into the future. William Kallaway:So it's also about reacting, I think, to how customers are perceiving brands at the moment and where they're getting information from. So I think there's an opportunity to reassess your target customer at the moment. And by that, I mean it's not only just looking at the demographics, but I was very interested in one of your earlier podcasts, I think it was the marketing lead from Continuum talking about actually, doesn't really look about demographics at the moment, it's all about almost tribes, people being different ages, being interested in different things and similar connections. William Kallaway:So I think reevaluating your audiences about what their interests are, and then how you can engage and connect to those audiences in new and meaningful ways. So there's been an acceleration in how consumers are using social media and how they're using digital equipment. Lots of older people are getting online for the first time, there's been a massive growth in the older population getting on Facebook, there's been a boom in people using Zoom who are older. So how can you, as a brand, actually harness some of that technical innovation by the consumer so you are being present in a new and interesting way, either in their social media feeds, online, or even in the home.William Kallaway:I was looking online recently, there was a brand, a spa brand that was enabling you to sort of relax and take a virtual spa at home. These sorts of things. And Amazon has launched the opportunity to do a guided tour of a city, you pay for that and the guide takes you around the city and takes you into shops. So how can a brand react to that? But more importantly, I think, particularly for many brands that are located in different parts of the UK, how can they be seen to be contributing positively to the local community and giving back? Because purpose is going to be one of the biggest things that comes out of this pandemic. It's not necessarily... Sorry, localism, I think. And when I say local, I mean regionalism, really.William Kallaway:But YouGov's got some really interesting tracking on this around how people think about multinational brands now, and actually, they are steering towards the local side of things, when people start to travel again, they're more likely to go locally rather than internationally. So either staycation, been a huge increase in that, but actually traveling locally rather than going nationally, so there's an opportunity to not only demonstrate your value for money but to use a bit of a cliche phrase, your values for money. And I think that's something that should be really powerful into the future. So demonstrating what a brand is doing, to train its people, to give back to the local community, to support local schools, so on and so forth. William Kallaway:And I think that that will need to be done in a distinct way that's relevant for that particular brand, rather than just doing what everyone else is doing. And I think also then goes back into a, "Why are we here as an organization, what is our promise to our customers?" A promise needs to be deeper than we're just going to give them time, it needs to be multi-layered. And then this goes... once brands think about that, and understand that to a great deal of detail, it will help them communicate effectively, both through their actions and what they say, which then folds back into professional maintenance of a favorable public image. Because it's not something that is necessarily forced, it's something that just comes from within the organization itself. Kelly Molson:Some incredibly powerful advice there, Will. Thank you for sharing that. Just want to touch back on, because my second question relates a little bit to what you're talking about, about consumer behaviors, and how there is now that focus on localism. And we've had our own conversations with attractions where we're seeing new visitors come to new attractions that didn't even know that they were on their doorstep, but they've lived 10 or 15 minutes away from this certain place for years, but just never engaged with it before. Kelly Molson:So I kind of want to ask you, and this is one of the webinars that you had out during lockdown. So I want to ask you about the new emerging consumer behavioral needs, what is it that attractions need to know about? And how do they kind of tap into that now?William Kallaway:Well, I think they need to tap into it in a way which is relevant for them and authentic to them as a brand. Authenticity is, I think, going to be so much more powerful now. Because authenticity and the quality of what you do, rather than just the price, the quality of what you do, the quality, the richness of experience, is going to be so much more powerful and relevant now, when people's disposable income is going to be squeezed as well. That said, there are some clear consumer themes. First up is super connectivity, which I mentioned earlier, which is people want to have an engagement online first before they choose to buy in physical form. That's not to say they're more likely to book you months out, because actually, people don't know what's going to happen in a couple of months. But they do want to be able to experience it, so think about how you're projecting yourself online, super connectivity. William Kallaway:Then also think about how you're tapping into... Some themes have come through from this around wellness, self-development, mental fitness, physical fitness, and also quality of life. You've seen people actually thinking during lockdown, "You know what, I do want to spend more time with my friends and my family. I want to spend more time investing in myself. I want to spend more time reading or doing the things that I like." So for an attraction, it's about thinking about how it can reflect some of those themes in some of its messaging. William Kallaway:So I was interested with the podcast you had on with the Chap from the National Parks. The National Parks naturally lends itself to be able to communicate issues around wellness, physical, mental well-being, spending quality time with families. There might be a slightly more challenging task there for roller coaster-based rides, attractions, but one can think about that in a different way to build those connections in the right sort of way.William Kallaway:So yeah, wellness and self-development are sort of one in the same, really, but those are the top three. And then underneath that you've mentioned, is virtual engagement. So super connectivity might be one thing but virtual engagement is going to be something else. And you've already seen brands already doing things like this. So you can engage on a brand on anything from Minecraft to Animal Crossing, lots of attractions moving into that space. And it's been right for some, it's not right for everybody. William Kallaway:And then doing the right thing is the CSR aspects of it. But doing the right thing is now going to be absolutely what customers expect. There was some polling that was on YouGov before I came on this call today. And it was saying that about 85% upwards of individuals, this is across all Generation X, Y, Zed, Boomers, etc., would move away from brands that they felt didn't hold the same worldview as them, and were seen to be polluting or seen to be not treating their staff correctly, or seems to be underpaying their staff, they actively avoid that. And really, there's an opportunity here to demonstrate leadership because, again, some polling from YouGov shows that customers really want to live a more sustainable life. 92% of people say that, but only 16% of people follow it through. William Kallaway:So actually, brands have got a really interesting leadership role to play here. They've got an opportunity to talk about how they are embedded in the local community, the local economy, importantly, and sustainability is not just environmentalism, it's about the local networks that support us all. And this element of localism, this element of, "Actually, I might commute 100 miles to go to work every day. But actually, this is my neighborhood here." And I think that these changes are going to stay very much great ingrained, become ingrained because we're likely to be in the state for the next six months. We've almost been a year in this situation by the time we come out the other end. And I think that will just naturally force people to make new habits, to see the world differently. William Kallaway:So it's all about the stories that we can tell, it's all about the stories and it comes back to that promise. What promise do you making your customers? And as a marketeer, what change do you want to make in the world? And what change do you want to bring to those customers? And that goes beyond just having a good time whizzing around in a rollercoaster or seeing some artifacts. It needs to be a far richer and multi-layered promise and change you're trying to make. Which is one of the reasons why I love working with attractions, museums, because they genuinely impact all ages, every member of the family. And they just have some astonishing stories there. And I love that. I love that. But I love talking about it, writing about it and taking people on the journey. Can I just tell you a story?Kelly Molson:Yeah, please do.William Kallaway:So almost 13 years ago, I introduced a woman to her own heart. The only reason I remembered this is because the lady concerned dropped me an email just to say it was 13 years ago when this happened. And there was a picture of her holding her heart, surrounded by the world's media. And she held it there.Kelly Molson:What? William Kallaway:And it's just-Kelly Molson:Hang on. This needs more explanation, you introduced her to her own heart. William Kallaway:So I launched the Wellcome Collection for the Wellcome Trust. And it is an amazing building that brings together arts and science and culture to help us understand what it is to be human. As it says, "A place for the incurably curious." But one of the first exhibitions was the heart exhibition, and there on the wall was going to be a space for human hearts that had to have to be removed from a sick individual. And I just happened to be looking at the space in the pre-briefing and I said, "Is the lady still alive?" And there were some people who weren't entirely sure, and we had to go through some networks and stuff to find out. But yes, she was. And so we got in touch with her and said, "Would you like to come and see this and talk about it?" Talk about what it is, talk about meeting the heart, talk about it as from a sort of personal and emotional thing. But also talk about it and give the opportunity to talk about the importance of organ donation." And it was just incredibly powerful because there she was, she was connected with her own heart, the World's press went absolutely mad for the story, as you can probably imagine. It provided us with an opportunity to communicate the power of medicine, life and art, that's what the catch was.William Kallaway:Then, through the World's Media, through the Red Top Media reaching an entirely different section of society with these sorts of stories. And yeah, it literally went global and that was just such a really visceral reminder about how powerful stories can be within museums and within that sort of setting. And that's also one of the things that I like to bring to these organizations. Because you can ask, as someone coming in, from the outside, you can ask sort of questions which haven't necessarily been asked before, like, "Is that person still alive? Can we get her to meet her heart?"Kelly Molson:Gosh, that is incredible. What a story. I'm so glad that you shared that. It's phenomenal, isn't it? What an incredible, powerful story. But what an incredible way to sum up what that organization is all about.William Kallaway:Yeah, if you haven't been to Wellcome Collection, do go. And I think also, look at that organization as a really interesting attraction based brand that just has astonishingly rich outreach and engagement. As a Radio 4 series at the moment running about Touch, which is sponsored by them, or isn't sponsored by them, is run in partnership with them. But I've been very fortunate to launch all sorts of different museums with William Morris Gallery, Mary Rose Museum, National Museum for the Royal Navy, The View from The Shard, there are loads of things and each and every one of them is fantastically interesting.Kelly Molson:It's really lovely watching your face there while you were talking about it, so completely lit up.William Kallaway:Well, there's something completely different when we launched The View from The Shard, we'd been contacted by someone who wanted to be the first person to propose up there. So it was all fine and we'd got this person upstairs and we had the then London Mayor, Boris, etc. And the World's Media were all there ready to... The ribbon was being cut for the grand opening of the top of the Shard, and there was this very nervous-looking man in the corner, get out of one knee, and we had some flowers off stage as it were to do the right thing, assuming his partner's going to say yes. And anywhere else, somebody else jumped in and did it first.Kelly Molson:No. Oh, that's awful.William Kallaway:Just another member of the public just went off and did it and that was...Kelly Molson:Oh, no. All that build-up.William Kallaway:[inaudible 00:32:16] was crushed, he became the second person. Kelly Molson:I hope his partner said yes. William Kallaway:Yeah, he did.Kelly Molson:Oh, God. Thank God for that. Because it could've been worse, couldn't it?William Kallaway:Yeah, [inaudible 00:32:26], they're always good things to find.Kelly Molson:Brilliant stories. Right. Thank you. I have got one more question for you. We talked a lot earlier about your own team. And people working from home and it being dispersed. And it's just everything has been really, really different for people. And I guess what I wanted to ask you was around PR planning tools. So I think one of the questions is what are the best PR planning tools to help remote teams gather the information and then run communications with clarity and real, measurable impact? How do people do that when they're so dispersed at the moment? William Kallaway:Okay, so that's an interesting question, in terms of remote tools to bring teams together to help them plan on things. So we use one, which is called Monday, we also have our own database system called Daylight, which that's all really techie boring stuff, frankly. But it is essentially glorified to-do list. Kelly Molson:I'm just thinking, someone needs to help you with those to-do lists, Will. William Kallaway:It always comes back down to what am I trying to achieve? And how can I measure success? So one of the things that we always set for our clients, and the reason why we won so many awards, is because we work to very clear and measurable goals. And what I mean by that is, if you're going to value something, you need to measure it. And one of the things I think, particularly, with PR, sort of straightforward PR, it gets very much shoved into the promotions bracket, "Get the press release out." Actually, let's take a step back and put a far more nuanced and effective communications campaign that links tightly into marketing and advertising and helps raise a brand profile.William Kallaway:So if we're going to do that, "Okay, how are we going to measure it?" Footfall. What are smart goals, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely, sorry, relevant, and timely? Those, just being really crystal clear about what we're trying to do, actually unifies minds towards that central purpose, and then everything else should follow. So I don't think it's necessarily about what sort of tools you have. But it's about how you are working towards that common name. William Kallaway:And we do have some grids that we use. In fact, I shared it on one of the webinars where we talked about you want to look at your different audiences, so you map out your audience. You say, "Okay, this is the audience I'm looking to communicate to, how do I want my audiences to think and act now about me as a brand? And how do I want them to think and act about my brand in the future?" Once you understand that, you should have two less, and it's got a gap in the middle. So essentially, if you have your audience and the way they think about you now, and the way you want them to think about you in the future, what do you need to do? And what do you need to say, to take people on that journey? William Kallaway:And then you need to think about what are the best channels for me to show that I'm walking the talk? There'll be some channels that are more relevant to others for different elements of your audience. The older audiences or the parenting audiences might have very different channels to the Millennials, the Generation Zeds. But ultimately, what buying that, what should all band together is some clear, consistent messaging, that comes back to that central promise about why you exist as an organization. And that promise that you're looking to communicate. William Kallaway:And then you need to measure. And this isn't just about clicks on websites, it's not just about footfall. Of course, all of those are absolutely relevant, and absolutely what we should do. And if you look on our website, on case studies, everything we do is set out like that. But actually, it goes deeper than that, which is, "How am I going to measure meaning and difference?" So meaningful is, "Can I look at the type of coverage that I'm securing or the way people are talking about my brand that talks about, 'This is making me happy.' Or, 'I see the quality of what you're doing.'" Words that reflect that qualitative status that you're looking to achieve if you're wanting people to pay to come walk through the door.William Kallaway:And then the other element to look at is your difference. Are they excited about visiting X or Y attraction? How are they describing it? So essentially, there are two ways to look at these things, qualitatively or quantitatively. And I think lots of people tend to focus, because it's easier, on the numbers, "We secured X number of website traffic." Which is all great, but that's a short-term thing. And actually, the longer-term build of consistent growth over time, is based on something that's far more powerful, and t's that thing that people want to sign up to about a brand, the guiding star that is going to orientate all your communication, and that will compel people to sign up, because they're really interested to learn more. Or they're going to not just be a visitor who's going to visit once, they're going to keep coming back, or they're going to turn into an active ambassador about your brand, and get others to come.William Kallaway:And that sort of response is multifaceted. It goes down to, particularly in this time of COVID, "How are you going to handle ticket refunds? How are you going to be easy to deal with if people can't come? What's your customer service, like?" All of that feeds into the overall brand perception, right way through to what you're talking about doing locally, how you're investing in people, if you're going to get announcing, exciting new sponsorship with a confectionery brand to sponsor your roller coaster or something. All of that, every element along there really, really matters. But if you've got a strong core, based around a clear set of values, then it will help you communicate far more strongly.Kelly Molson:Absolutely. William Kallaway:Far more strongly? Is that right?Kelly Molson:Yeah, that's right. Brilliant advice, Will, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing. Kelly Molson:I think that our listeners will get a lot from that. I'm taking a lot from it myself, I'm thinking about our core mission and how that comes across in our communications. William Kallaway:Well, I think you do that really well.Kelly Molson:Oh, well thanks.William Kallaway:I looked about that, there it is, it's just simply put. Mission, purpose... I think people kind of... yeah, there it is. Kelly Molson:Very kind. William Kallaway:It is interesting. It's one of the things I really enjoy about this work, is helping brands find that way forward and then doing really interesting things with it.Kelly Molson:It's really interesting because I think that listening to you... And we have spoken before, at length about storytelling really, essentially. And I think people do pigeonhole PR and comms agencies into a press release, just pushing stuff out and not really thinking about it in a holistic way. And I love how you've talked about it today from it has to start from that core message, that core kind of story and vision for your organization. William Kallaway:Absolutely. I think if you draw three rings on the traditional Venn diagram, it's like, "What is your purpose? What am I doing to establish my reputation and build trust?" Those three sort of rings, and in the middle is then what you're going to do. So reputation might be based on the excitement of what you're doing, underpinned by first-class, customer service. And then the customer trust would be built out of the way that experiences the brand, but the purpose then comes through about what you're doing with the company profits, how those are being shared, whether or not you're investing back into local people, all that. So yeah, that's really interesting to look at that. William Kallaway:Then the tactical stuff, about, "Should I be engaged with influencers? Should I be on this channel? TikTok? Should I be on regional media?" All of that sort of follows naturally after. I think there's a temptation to get straight into the tactical weeds, rather than actually take a step back and say, "What are we trying to do? And how do we get there?" And that's one of the reasons why we always create a named-and-framed campaign for our clients. So our brand essentially is Smart Imagination. So that's creativity focused towards solving business problems. And we will always create a named solution for a client. So for Japan House London, the campaign to launch that, this new cultural presence for Japan in the UK to stimulate understanding and trade with Japan, ultimately, the campaign name was Your Gateway to Contemporary Japan. So it was your gateway, so it was a personalized campaign that was specifically focused at one type of person, who that attraction's very keen to get in.William Kallaway:And it's that approach that actually... So rather than just doing stuff, leave all that over there, it's actually being really clear about what the campaign is going to be called, and how it's going to be moved forward and then how it's going to be measured. That's cool. Okay, so here's a good example, right? So when we launched the Mary Rose Museum, this is several years ago now, we created a campaign that was called The Journey of The Ship's Bell. And to do that, we worked with the museum, and we took the bell of the Mary Rose from the museum out into the Solent. And it was rung to mark the ship and those that had perished with her.William Kallaway:But then we dressed it up, and we took it in... we partnered with the Royal Navy, and we worked with HMS Duncan, which is the sister ship of the Mary Rose, and we found the youngest sailor on board, who was then going to ring the bell, we invited a flotilla of ships and boats from across the local ports to come and join this. So we were creating this story about linking this wooden structure that many people, young people were slightly alien to. I mean, I'm old enough to remember when Blue Peter, when the Mary Rose was coming up, and it-Kelly Molson:Yep, same.William Kallaway:... just [inaudible 00:42:43]. But to many younger people, there wasn't that connection. And what is this thing? So actually, The Journey of The Ship's Bell enabled the brand to tell the story visually, and we timed everything to happen on various parts of the news bulletin through the day. So we started in breakfast television, lunch-time television, and there was a big ceremony in the evening, all of which was broadcast nationally. But it was that story that actually turned the museum opening into something that was far more rich, and engaging for the World's Media. And we did other stuff, like we got interesting talks about wrestlers. We got people who might be linked, or could say things about the Mary Rose involved. So we got a bridge wrestler called William Regal, I think his name was. He was sharing stuff out of LinkedIn... Sorry, not on LinkedIn, on Twitter. It was actually, this was many years ago now, but it trended in numbers, trended number two in the UK, I think.Kelly Molson:Oh, lovely. I see, I knew that my stupid icebreaker questions would somehow be related at some point in a podcast interview. William Kallaway:But I think it's about telling that story. So always naming-and-framing your campaigns in a really effective way. So it's tempting to say, "We're going to run a Christmas campaign." Well, let's talk. Well, let's do something more exciting with that. If we can excite ourselves about what Christmas might be on the attraction, then we'll be better able to excite our customers rather than just being a Christmas campaign.Kelly Molson:Love it. Perfect. It's a perfect way to bring us towards the end of the podcast interview. I've got one last question for you, which we ask all of our guests, and it's a book that you recommend that's helped shape your career in some way, or just a book that you really love that you would recommend to our listeners? William Kallaway:That's a really good question. So I have several books that I try and read. I sound pretty terrible at this, as in, I lug them round in my bag. They're just in there and they get more and more buggered. But there are a couple of books that I think people who are interested in communication should read. And the first one is called Influence by Robert Cialdini, and he's the sort of guy... He's a behavioral psychologist and he wrote this almost defining book on influence, really. It's really, really interesting. And there's another book, which I would also recommend is written by James Carville, who was one of the Clinton's campaign experts really. And the name of the book is called Buck Up, Suck Up... and Come Back When You Foul Up, I think. And I've often returned to that book because it's just got some brilliant truths in there about the learn from the war room of political campaigning. It's really effective. So definitely recommend that book.William Kallaway:For relaxation stuff, I love the work by Neil Gaiman. I just love that, I love reading those books. And I also think it's important to sort of challenge yourself philosophically as well. So for a couple of years, I've been reading books on stoicism, which I think is a really interesting philosophy. Particularly, there's one book called The Daily Stoic, which is by a guy called Ryan Holiday, which provides meditations from Marcus Aurelius, another where you can dip into on a daily basis. He's also got one at the moment called Ego Is the Enemy, and also Obstacle Is the Way, which I think is a really, really interesting, stoic way of looking at the world, which is, if there is an obstacle in the way, it becomes the way. You just have to deal with that and how you react to it actually defines who you are, and how you're going to move forward, generally.William Kallaway:I'm not really doing this justice. I've not read the book, but I listen to a lot of his podcasts, but I definitely recommend you that. And I also try and reread The Screwtape Letters, because they really deal with some really interesting issues around to do with self, soul, temptation, staying on the straight and narrow. Because I go to church, I'm Christian, I'm trying to live my life with Christian values, and the dichotomy between stoicism and what's in The Screwtape Letters is really interesting. So those four books are sort of ones that I would always recommend. And they're all challenging for different reasons.Kelly Molson:Great book choices. Another thing that Will is maybe not good at is following instruction, because that's four books and not one book.William Kallaway:Oh, sorry. Kelly Molson:But that's fine. So everyone that comes on, blows my marketing budget out of the window. However-William Kallaway:If you have to give one book, a one readership book... Sorry, a book to professional basis, I think Buck Up and Suck Up is just such a great book, because it's just boom, boom, boom, boom. And it's all about how these guys helped win the White House-Kelly Molson:All right, well, that's the one then. That's the one. William Kallaway:And I found that really [inaudible 00:47:45]... Yeah, that one. There's also one I'm reading at the moment called How to Argue with a Cat, which is brilliant. And it's all about how to persuade and how to use... Which is just really interesting when you're thinking about how you use that to communicate as a brand, brand and all that sort of stuff.Kelly Molson:That sounds like a great book. All right, but now that's five books. So if you don't stop-William Kallaway:[crosstalk 00:48:07].Kelly Molson:... recommending books, you'll be arguing with a podcast host soon. Anyway, as ever, if you'd like to win a copy of this book, and I think... What's the one we're going to go with? The Buck Up...William Kallaway:Buck Up and Suck Up, is a good one. How to Argue with a Cat is great. Influence one...Kelly Molson:Oh, gosh.William Kallaway:We'll come to pick one-Kelly Molson:We'll pick one at random. Okay, so if you want to win one of Will's books, if you head over to our Twitter account, which is skip_the_queue, and you retweet this episode's announcement with a comment, "I want Will's book," then you'll be in with a chance of winning it. And we'll pick what book it is at random. Will, thank you so much for coming on today. It has been an absolute pleasure. And thank you for sharing so much insight with us. It's really, really appreciated. William Kallaway:My absolute pleasure. And if anyone wants to find out any more, then it's all on our website as well. We put quite a lot of information about what we're doing for clients and the type of things, the way we're working to deliver those sorts of results. So people can apply that in their own brand situation as well. And if anyone wants to a hand with anything, then I'm always free to have a conversation, always happy to help and to have a chat and help people find a way through things. So just give me a call.Kelly Molson:That is really kind offer, Will. And we will put all of Will's contact details in the show notes. So if you want to take him up on that offer, then go for it. I'd highly recommend a chat with Will, he's fab. Thank you, and we'll speak to you soon. William Kallaway:Thank you. Kelly Molson:Thanks for listening to Skip the Queue. If you've enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a five-star review. It really helps others find us. And remember to follow us on Twitter for your chance to win the books that have been mentioned. Skip the Queue is brought to you by Rubber Cheese, a digital agency that builds remarkable systems and websites for attractions that helps them increase their visitor numbers. You can find show notes and transcriptions from this episode and more over on our website, rubbercheese.com/podcast. 

Emma Talbot is an artist based in London and is winner of the 8th Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Through drawing, painted silk hangings, 3 dimensional forms, installation, sound and - most recently - animation, Emma has developed a distinct visual world. . . Her work explores personal subjectivity, which is then cast into the wider context of prevalent contemporary concerns - such as our relationships with nature, our intimate engagement with technology, the way we communicate and power structures. Emma’s work has a hand-drawn, direct quality - using combinations of figurative imagery, painted text and flowing pattern to articulate non linear narratives. . . Recent exhibitions include GEM Kunstmuseum, The Hague, A 2019 ArtNight Commission at William Morris Gallery, London, Tate St Ives, Turner Contemporary and Arcadia Missa New York . . Emma has forthcoming solo exhibitions at Eastside Projects Birmingham, Dundee Contemporary Arts and Kunsthalle Giessen, Germany, The Whitechapel Gallery and Collezione Maramotti. . . You can get in touch with us with opinions and suggestions at: Email - tothestudio@gmail.com Instagram - instagram.com/tothestudio Facebook - facebook.com/tothestudiopodcast . . This podcast features an edited version of the song "RSPN" by Blank & Kytt, available under a Creative Commons Attribution license. http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Blank__Kytt/Heavy_Crazy_Serious/Blank__Kytt_-_Heavy_Crazy_Serious_-_08_RSPN

威廉·莫里斯 William Morris 是英国维多利亚时期的一位博学多才子，他是艺术家、手工业者，创业家，诗人、作家，环境保护主义者，社会主义运动领袖，他的开创的 arts & crafts movement，工美运动致力于缔造一个以艺术创造为中心的未来社会，是19世纪英国最有远见和影响深远的文化运动。嘉宾：北京激发研究所的宋轶，和《被误解的包豪斯》的作者张云亭。请听众留意会在未来几天发布的「文化土豆 130: 威廉·莫里斯与工美运动 · 下」节目中提到的作品信息非虚构William Morris - A Life for Our Time, Fiona MacCarthyhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/William-Morris-Life-Our-Time/dp/0571255590/美术馆William Morris Gallery, Walthamstowhttps://www.wmgallery.org.uk古建Red House, Londonhttps://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house艺术史威尼斯的石头，约翰·罗斯金https://book.douban.com/subject/24754436/小说乌有乡消息，威廉·莫里斯https://book.douban.com/subject/1545860/纪录片John Ruskin & William Morris, Peter Fullerhttps://youtu.be/_5IWBdSGECU演讲How I Became a Socialist, William Morrishttps://www.marxists.org/archive/morris/works/1894/hibs/hibs.htm主页Morris & Cohttps://www.facebook.com/WilliamMorrisandCo/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're heading to Walthamstow to fangirl over the William Morris Gallery and our historical heroine is intrepid war reporter Martha Gellhorn. Further information about the William Morris Gallery can be found here: www.wmgallery.org.uk Sara has previously written about Martha Gellhorn for The Heroine Collective, here's her article: www.theheroinecollective.com/martha-gellhorn Never Marry A Mitford is edited by Louisa Shanks.

This month Pearl Wise, Katie Haylor and Jonny Virgo are joined in the studio by Sam Berkson aka Angry Sam a poet, writer, educator and the man behind the slam poetry event Hammer and Tongue, artist Rosalind Fowler tells us about her current installation at the Barbican and her residency at the William Morris Gallery, we find out about the CityLife prize for fiction and explore whether ‘marriage today is an unnecessary life sentence’ recorded live at the Bookclub’s Popaganda event.

In GBA 228 we get even better acquainted with Mathy. She talks about her book Quit or Embrace Your Job Crisis, being a Third Culture Kid, navigating change, race, grief, stereotypes, depression, faith and creativity. We met up at the William Morris Gallery​ a few months back to ago. A lot has changed for both of us since she we had our last conversation way back in GBA 50. This is the first GBA conversation that I had with Mathy: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-50-mathy Mathy plugs: Quit or Embrace Your Job Crisis: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quit-Embrace-your-job-crisis/dp/1508592136/ Good Morning Mathy: https://www.youtube.com/user/whathejobisthis I plug: Spark London: Muticultural Minds: https://www.facebook.com/events/1735829253307581/ Stand Up Tragedy Presents: https://www.facebook.com/events/461679520679231/ We mention: Spark London: http://sparklondon.com/ The Parachute Opened: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-extra-the-parachute-opened Janelle Monáe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janelle_Monáe Tightrope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc What the Job is This? http://whathejobisthis.com/ Personal Page: https://www.facebook.com/MathyLisikaM/ William Morris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris William Morris Gallery: http://www.wmgallery.org.uk/ Third Culture Kid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_culture_kid Amy Clare Tasker: https://soundcloud.com/gettingbetteracquainted/gba-192-amy-clare-tasker Change Curve: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_96.htm Help more people get better acquainted. If you like what you hear why not write an iTunes review? Follow @GBApodcast on Twitter. Like Getting Better Acquainted on facebook. Tell your friends. Spread the word!

With John Wilson, We pay tribute to the American writer Gore Vidal who died yesterday, following a seven decade career as novelist - he wrote the best selling Myra Breckenridge, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and political activist. Often associated with high profile feuds, notably with Norman Mailer and John Updike, he also had close associations with J. F. Kennedy's family and Hollywood stars Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Literary critics Harold Bloom and Christopher Bigsby reflect on the career of Gore Vidal and we here part of an interview he gave to Front Row in 2008. Two Chinese films are released this week - Zhang Yimou's war epic The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale and Ann Hui's moving art-house movie A Simple Life with Chinese super star Andy Lau. Front Row asked cultural commentator David Tse Ka-Shing to take a look at two very different sides to Chinese film. John visits the newly renovated William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, North London - the place of Morris' birth in 1834. The eighteenth century merchant house illuminates all aspects of Morris' work from the design of fabrics, wallpaper and stained glass windows to his social campaigning - against the industrialisation of the Victorian era, and for the preservation of buildings, Epping Forest and the principle of quality in everybody's life. To mark the Olympics, the BBC - in partnership with The Scottish Poetry Library - has selected and recorded a poem representing every country taking part. Each is read by a native of that country who lives here in Britain. Every night during the Olympics, Front Row features one of the poems.Tonight, the British poem - Jim Broadbent celebrates our first gold medals. Producer Claire Bartleet.