Start the Week

Creating art; reflecting life


Listen Later

New York, 1984: the iconic artist Andy Warhol meets the rising star Jean-Michel Basquiat. Their relationship as they work together on a landmark exhibition is at the heart of the world premiere of Anthony McCarten’s new drama, The Collaboration, at the Young Vic theatre. The director Kwame Kwei-Armah tells Kirsty Wark how the drama pulls apart the creative, racial and sexual tensions between the two, and explores artistic reputations and rivalries.

The artist Louise Bourgeois was already in her 70s in the 1980s and slowly getting the attention she deserved. An exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London focuses on the decades that followed as she had a late burst of creativity using fabric and textiles. The curator of Woven Child Ralph Rugoff explains how the artist began to incorporate clothes from all stages of her life into her art, mining themes of personal trauma, memory, identity and reparation.

The Somali-British poet Warsan Shire has been hailed as the voice of a generation, who has collaborated with the superstar Beyoncé. Her debut collection, Bless The Daughter: Raised By A Voice In Her Head is full of sounds and smells, exploring the lives of refugees and the relationship between mothers and daughters. While she is celebrated as an exciting poet of our time, Shire says she looks to Somalia’s literary heritage for inspiration.

Producer: Katy Hickman

Photo credit: Jeremy Pope and Paul Bettany in 'Collaboration' (c) Marc Brenner. Concept and design by Émilie Chen.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Start the WeekBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

152 ratings


More shows like Start the Week

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,409 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

373 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,839 Listeners

The Penguin Podcast by Penguin Books UK

The Penguin Podcast

146 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

126 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,686 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

297 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

307 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

507 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,827 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,072 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

891 Listeners

Books and Authors by BBC Radio 4

Books and Authors

366 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,930 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,065 Listeners

In Our Time: History by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: History

1,893 Listeners

In Our Time: Culture by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time: Culture

595 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

245 Listeners

Moral Maze by BBC Radio 4

Moral Maze

61 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

237 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

76 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

740 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

2,969 Listeners

Limelight by BBC Radio 4

Limelight

254 Listeners