Artists' Tales

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In this episode, we meet James Stedman, a storyteller, poet, and theatre‑maker whose work blends queer identity, folklore, and heartfelt social commentary. Based in Leith, James creates imaginative, emotionally rich performance that weaves together fairy-tale logic, personal memory, and contemporary politics.

We explore his multidisciplinary practice across storytelling, spoken word, playwriting, and devised theatre, and how themes of class, mental health, and queerness shape his artistic voice. James shares insights into his creative process, his love of mythic storytelling, and the ways he refracts lived experience through poetry and folklore.

The conversation dives into Joyfully Grimm, his acclaimed one‑person show reimagining queer adolescence during the era of Section 28. Praised for its emotional clarity and political resonance, the piece combines traditional tales with original poetry to illuminate the complexities of growing up queer.

Episode recorded on 5 February 2026. 

Website: www.jamesstedmanplays.com

Instagram: @jamesstedmanplays

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we meet eco‑artivist, rubbish artist, and waste mosaicist Francesca Busca. Known for transforming discarded materials into what she calls “trashure”, Francesca has built a practice that merges art, activism, and environmental urgency. Since 2017, she has created mosaics entirely from waste, using textile scraps, unrecyclable aluminium, scrap paper, and even marine debris recovered through Project One Wave.

A former City of London solicitor, Francesca left the legal world in 2015 to pursue art full‑time. She later graduated with distinction from the London School of Mosaic, where she also lectured between 2021 and 2022. 

Francesca’s eco‑artivism extends far beyond her studio. She lives a low‑impact lifestyle rooted in veganism, renewable energy, second‑hand clothing, plastic avoidance, local food sourcing, water conservation, and even four years of flight‑free living.

Episode recorded on 13 January 2026. 

Website: www.francescabusca.art

Instagram: @francesca_busca

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we hear from textile artist Russell Barratt, a self‑taught maker celebrated for his bold, joyful quilted artworks crafted entirely from second hand fabrics and repurposed clothing. Rooted in memory, domestic life, and a lifelong DIY ethos, Russell’s practice embraces recycling not just as a material choice but as a creative philosophy.

Russell shares how his background in fashion, costume, and garment conceptual design shaped his approach to colour, texture, and composition. Born in Edinburgh and now based in London, Russell reflects on his influences such as 1980s aesthetics, club culture, knotting, and recycling informed his evolving style. We explore his signature “high‑volume joy,” the emotional resonance of cloth, and the tension between maximalism and empty space that defines his work.

Episode recorded on 19 January 2026. 

Website: russellbarratt.com
Instagram: @russelljamesbarratt

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we hear from an award‑winning saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Hannah Horton, a rising force in contemporary UK jazz. An official Selmer artist, Hannah is celebrated for her bold, melodic soundscapes that blend jazz, folk, and funk with striking emotional clarity.

Described as a “melodic maverick” with a distinctive tone and boundary‑pushing style, Hannah shares the evolution of her voice. 

Episode recorded on 16 February 2026. 

Website: hannahhorton.com
Instagram: @hannahhortonsax

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we meet Jo Stapleton, an alternative‑process film and darkroom photographer known for her richly experimental approach to analogue image‑making. Jo’s practice spans lith printing, photograms, chemigrams, and cyanotypes, creating constructed photographic realities shaped by models, found objects, collage, and hands‑on darkroom manipulation.

Her work explores themes of memory, biology, the body, common ground, and nature reclaiming space, most notably through her acclaimed series Foreign Bodies and Rewilding. Jo shares how Foreign Bodies grew from darkroom experimentation using domestic glass and histology transparencies, and how Rewilding merges photograms of weeds with film images of classical sculpture to question value systems and the politics of “high art.”

Episode recorded on 1 March 2026. 

Website: https://jostapleton-beatniksoupphotography.com/about 
Instagram: @beatniksoupphotography

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we meet portrait photographer Casey Orr, whose acclaimed work explores identity, community, fashion, and youth culture across the UK. Best known for Saturday Town, her award‑winning, decade‑long project, Casey has photographed hundreds of young people in pop‑up portrait studios on high streets, capturing how style becomes a language of self‑expression.

Through her collaborative approach, Casey uses portraiture to examine “identity of self, of community and tribe”, revealing how fashion reflects shifting social values and cultural change. Saturday Town charts a vibrant visual history of youth identity from 2013 to today, celebrating creativity, resilience, and the evolving aesthetics of young people across towns and cities.

Episode recorded on 4 February 2026. 

Website: www.caseyorr.com
Instagram: @caseyorrphoto

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we hear from Twinkle Troughton, whose paintings unravel the myths woven into the English landscape. Troughton explores how ideas of “Englishness” are constructed through idyllic scenery, stately gardens, and inherited cultural memory.

Her work digs beneath the surface of the so‑called “green and pleasant land,” revealing the colonial histories, class structures, and global plant migrations that shaped it. 

Twinkle also shares insights into her political and historical influences, from modern British history to intergenerational habits, and the role of satire and fable in her visual language. We dive into her 2026 Standpoint residency, where she traced the layered history of Hoxton Square’s trees, reconnecting with a place from her twenties.

Episode was recorded on 11 February 2026. 

Website: www.twinkletroughton.co.uk
Instagram: @twinkletroughton

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we hear from Glasgow‑based artist Tinsel Edwards, whose bold, autobiographical practice spans painting, printmaking, assemblage, installation and public art interventions. Born in the Midlands and trained at Goldsmiths, Tinsel has built a distinctive visual language that blends emotional honesty, humour and political critique.

We explore the themes that define her work, from motherhood and domesticity to feminism, economic pressure and the ongoing housing crisis. Tinsel’s tactile approach, using found objects, reclaimed materials and sculptural elements, creates layered narratives that reflect the complexity of contemporary life. Throughout, she champions women’s stories and challenges the erasure of women in art history.

Episode recorded on the 27 January 2026.

Website: tinseledwards.com
Instagram: @tinseledwards

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we meet Sabes Sugunasabesan, a photographer and mixed media artist whose work explores identity, memory, diaspora, and the emotional legacy of the Sri Lankan civil war.

Based in England and shaped by his migration from Sri Lanka over forty years ago, Sabes creates photographic and mixed‑media projects that weave personal history with wider socio‑political narratives. His practice centres on themes of belonging, trauma, land, and the emotional geographies carried across borders.

As a member of London Independent Photography and a former community development professional, Sabes brings a socially conscious, deeply human perspective to his art. This conversation delves into diasporic identity, collective memory, and the role of photography in holding space for stories that endure beyond violence and migration.

Episode recorded on 3 February, 2026. 

Instagram: @sabessuguna

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast

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In this episode, we meet with Luke and Ellie from the award‑winning Bridge House Theatre, one of South East London’s most exciting Off‑West‑End venues. Based above the historic Bridge House pub, the theatre has become a vibrant creative hub known for intimate productions, bold programming, and a strong commitment to emerging and under-represented voices.

Luke and Ellie share the story behind the theatre’s evolution, its community‑driven ethos, and how the pub‑theatre setting shapes its warm, collaborative atmosphere. They discuss their passion for championing new writing, supporting local talent, and creating a space where artists can take risks and audiences can experience storytelling up close.

We explore the theatre’s artistic vision, its role in the South London arts scene, and the importance of nurturing inclusive, accessible spaces for creativity. 
Episode recorded on the 23 February 2026. 

Website: thebridgehousetheatre.co.uk
Instagram: @pengetheatre
X: @PengeTheatre

Podcast details:
Podcast email: [email protected]
Website: www.artiststales.net
Instagram: @artists_tales_podcast
Threads: @artists_tales_podcast