S1:E3 Making the case for artistic risk-taking – Victoria Broackes in conversation with Adrian Ellis

05/27/21 • 51 min

1 Listener

Summary:
In this episode, our host Adrian Ellis speaks with Victoria Broackes, the current Director of the London Design Biennale. Drawing on her curatorial experiences, they speak candidly about the challenges facing cultural programming, particularly in relation to the opportunities presented by digital technology, and the untapped possibilities of experiential exhibition-making.

Thereafter, Adrian is joined by fellow host Criena Gehrke to discuss key takeaways. They reflect upon the tensions facing artistic risk-taking as well as the need for cultural programming to tell meaningful and resonant stories.
DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

References:

Further Reading:

“Taking Risk in Times of Adversity”

Bio:
Victoria Broackes is a curator and exhibition maker, currently Director of the London Design Biennale. Prior to joining the Biennale in 2019, Victoria was Senior Curator for the V&A Department of Theatre & Performance. From 2009 to 2018 she was Head of the London Design Festival at the V&A. In 2016 she was the V&A curator for the British entry for the inaugural London Design Biennale, Forecast by Barber & Osgerby. Victoria has curated multiple successful exhibitions at the V&A, of which many are popular music displays. This includes Pink Floyd, Their Mortal Remains (2017), You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels, 1966-70 (2016) and David Bowie (2013), Kylie: The Exhibition (2007), The Story of the Supremes (2008) and The House of Annie Lennox (2011). David Bowie Is (2013), is the fastest-selling exhibition in the V&A museum’s history. She co-presented the film David Bowie is Happening Now and featured in the documentary about You Say You Want a Revolution? which was presented at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California.

References:

Further Reading:

“Taking Risk in Times of Adversity”

Previous Episode

S1:E2 What makes a great city? – Ben Rogers in conversation with Criena Gehrke

Summary:
In this episode, our host Criena Gehrke speaks with urbanist Ben Rogers about the differing factors influencing urban planning and policy today. In particular, they discuss how the pandemic and current political climate have affected cities, and highlighted the importance of long-term urban strategy as well the need to reclaim and democratise public spaces.

Thereafter, Criena is joined by fellow host Stephanie Furtunato to discuss key takeaways. They reflect upon how this is an opportune moment to reimagine the possibilities for cities to become more community-centric.

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

External references mentioned in this episode:

Bio:

Ben Rogers is an urbanist, researcher, writer and speaker, with a particular interest in urban life, citizenship, public service reform and the built environment.

He founded the Centre for London in 2011 and was an Associate Director of Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) for five years and subsequently led strategy teams at Haringey Council, the Department for Local Government and Communities and the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, where he wrote the government’s strategy on ‘Quality of Place’.

He is currently Professor of Practice at University of London and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he will lead a new strand of research on European Cities, building on his interests in civic engagement, public space and urban democracy.

Next Episode

S1:E4 Towards transformational cultural leadership – Diane Ragsdale in Conversation with Stephanie Fortunato

Summary:

In this episode, our host Stephanie Fortunato speaks with Diane Ragsdale, Director and Co-Lead Faculty of the Cultural Leadership Program at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, about the need for transformational cultural leadership to ensure the resilience and relevance of the arts and cultural sectors, especially in navigating the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thereafter, Stephanie is joined by fellow host Adrian Ellis to discuss key takeaways. They reflect on how the Covid-19 pandemic could be a window of opportunity for new forms of cultural leadership to emerge, which will encourage artistic experimentation and maximize the potential of the arts as a force for social change.

DOWNLOAD TRANSCRIPT

References:

Further Reading:

On Aesthetics, Ethics, Economics, and Consequential Decisions of Cultural Leaders in the Long Now

Bio:

A professional writer, speaker, facilitator, researcher, lecturer, and advisor on a range of arts and culture topics since 2010, Diane Ragsdale currently serves as Director of the Cultural Leadership Program at Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity. Diane is also adjunct faculty at Yale University, where she teaches a workshop on Aesthetic Values in a Changed Cultural Context for its Theater Management MFA and a doctoral candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam (in the Netherlands), where she lectured 2011-2015 in the cultural economics and sociology of the arts programs. Over the past 15 years, Diane has given nearly 80 keynote addresses, lectures, or presentations at universities, arts conferences, and symposia around the world. She has served on the editorial board of Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts since 2011; has served on various committees for the online platform and journal HowlRound, including its present advisory board; and is a board member for Anne Bogart’s SITI Company and Marty Pottenger’s Art At Work.