Suite (212)

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the eleventh of these Sessions, Juliet talks to performance artist, poet, writer, columnist and theatre-maker Travis Alabanza. They discuss Travis’ performance piece ‘Burgerz, and its path from the Hackney Showroom to the Southbank Centre, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and beyond, and the differences in performing in such venues; their immersive installation ‘All The Ways We Could Grow’ at the Free Word Centre in London; Travis’ performance around the Tate’s Queer British Art exhibition; how to reach different audiences via the mainstream media and through creative practice; the challenges of working in predominantly white and middle-class environments; and the campaign to save the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the tenth of these Sessions, Juliet talks to writer/journalist Nathalie Olah about her book Steal As Much As You Can, published by Repeater in October 2019. They discussed how the development of neoliberalism and imposition of austerity went hand-in-hand with the destruction of cultural democracy and the upper-class takeover of British popular culture, New Labour's relationship to arts and culture, the arts policies of Corbyn's Labour and its relationship with the media, and how the left needs to think differently about the 'culture wars' conducted by the UK's Conservative politicians and media.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

Recorded as a special programme to celebrate Resonance 104.4fm's 18th birthday, Suite (212) founder and host Juliet Jacques reads two texts written in response to 20th century art. The first is a short story inspired by Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader (1942-75) entitled 'I'm too sad to tell you about I'm Too Sad to Tell You' (2008). The second is a longer text about writer/artist Claude Cahun (1894-1954) called 'Sertraline Surrealism' (2016).

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the ninth of these Sessions, Juliet talks to Abbas Zahedi – a London-based artist whose work combines social practice, performance, installation, moving image, institution-building and writing. Working with migrant and marginalised communities in the UK, he explores the concept of neo-diaspora, looking at how personal and collective histories interweave. Here, they discuss Zahedi’s solo exhibition at the South London Gallery – currently suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis – as well as his contribution to the Diaspora Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017. They also talk about art as a means of dealing with trauma and loss; art as a way of exploring cultural heritage; the role of food, drink and community spaces in Zahedi’s work; the nature of the art school; the impact of the War on Terror on his career; and how the art world may indicate what the post-crisis phase of neoliberalism looks like, as well as the implications of art moving online.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the eighth of these Sessions, Juliet talks to writer and artist Joanna Walsh, the author of seven books including the short story collections Fractals (2013), Vertigo (2015) and Worlds from the Word’s End (2017), the novel Break.up (2018) and a work of creative non-fiction, Hotel (2015). They discussed Joanna’s Zines in Dark Times project, launched in response to the Covid-19 crisis; how writers might resist the pressure to react quickly to the epidemic and instead produce more considered work, and Joanna’s new piece of writing ‘The Dispossessed’ (2020); Joanna’s career in illustration, including her cover for Juliet’s book Trans: A Memoir (2015); her digital work Seed (2017) and new illustrations for her short story Grow a Pair (2015); the @Read_Women campaign that Joanna began on Twitter in 2014; her activism on ageism in literary and artistic circles, particularly in awards; and her feelings about the London-centric literary ‘scene’, and how literature might move beyond it.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the seventh of these Sessions, Juliet talks to writer and academic Lars Iyer about his new novel, Nietzsche and the Burbs (2019), which transposes the German philosopher – or an avatar for him – to a contemporary sixth form college in the suburbs of Wokingham, where he fronts a band. They also talked about Iyer’s previous novel Wittgenstein Jr. (2014) and the neoliberal assault on the university; how philosophy and philosophers are perceived and treated in the UK; how Iyer’s Spurious trilogy grew out of his blog; how the internet and social media have reduced the distance between writers and readers; the usefulness of ‘autofiction’; and the end of the ‘end of history’.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the seventh of these Sessions, Juliet talks to writer and academic McKenzie Wark about her new book Reverse Cowgirl, published by Semiotext(e) in 2019, different approaches to trans narratives (especially memoir) and the emergence of trans subcultures; how trans authors write about sex; the queer writers that formed her perspective; the effects of pop music and social media in identity formation; her writing about the Situationists and her concept of ‘low theory’; and her feelings about the end of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign and the need for the Anglo-American left to find new directions.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the fifth of these Sessions, Juliet talks to Slovenian artist and filmmaker Jasmina Cibic (b. 1979 in Ljubljana), about her interests in architecture and soft power; her work with archives to source found dialogue for her films, often from governmental sources; her background in Slovenia, and her experience of representing the country at the Venice Biennale with her To Our Economy and Culture project in 2013; her work since then, including The Pavilion (2015) and Tear Down and Rebuild (2015); the large scale of her recent work The Gift (2019); the importance of collaboration and conversation to her work; and how the coronavirus crisis might affect the political situation in Slovenia, and its potential consequences for the art world.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the fourth of these Sessions, Juliet talks to artist and teacher Tai Shani, born in London to Israeli parents and now based in the city. They discuss the recent UCU strikes; Tai's route into art after a youth in Tel Aviv, Brussels and Goa, without formal art schooling; her installation and performance project DC: Semiralis, based on Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies (1405); her decision to share the Turner Prize in 2019 after that project was nominated; her relationship with the art world and the UK's mainstream media.

A full list of references for the programme can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.

In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and shutting down of much of the UK's cultural life, we have decided to bring you a series of interviews with contemporary artists, writers, filmmakers and other cultural figures, conducted via Skype (so apologies for the diminished audio quality), about their practices, the political issues that inspire them and the socio-economic conditions that have shaped their work.

In the third of these Sessions, Juliet talks to London-based writer Owen Hatherley, editor of Tribune magazine’s culture section, about the blogging circle in which he began writing in the mid-2000s; his experiences of writing about politics and culture in broadsheet newspapers and magazines; the appalling state of the British media and the venal, unserious nature of many of its contributors; the relationship between arts and culture writing and the British left, including the Labour Party, and how culture can continue to be politically useful to a socialist project.

A full list of references for the programme, with links, can be found via our Patreon at www.patreon.com/suite212, and are available to $3 subscribers.