In which the role suffering plays in creating art is explored and the idea of the tortured artist is contrasted with that of the artist as alchemist. The idea of art as alchemy, as a way of transmuting the ‘base materials’ of sadness, loss, depression and darkness into something golden, is shown to be a more optimistic and inspiring model of creativity, and one that gives us a way of understanding why art is so important to us.

Music by Sharron Kraus, with Neal Heppleston, Guy Whittaker, Nick Jonah Davis, Oliver Parfitt, Jenny Bliss and Harriet Earis

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