The Artful Exchange

Dear friends, supporters, listeners, and fellow travellers,

I want to take a moment to say thank you, truly, deeply to every one of you who has followed, supported, listened to, shared, or believed in The Artful Exchange.

It feels almost incredible to write this.

People have told me I must be crazy for starting this podcast. And maybe I was. I started it entirely in my free time, voluntarily, with no funding, no backing and during one of the hardest periods of my life.

At that time, I had lost almost all confidence in myself and in my own achievements. One failure after another had worn me down. I shut down. I lost my voice. I felt struck down and, for a while, almost hated, without ever fully understanding why. There was no single clear reason. Just the heavy, brutal feeling of being unwanted, misunderstood, and exposed.

The last few years have brought enormous change emotionally, financially, and professionally. My work direction shifted. My sense of self shifted. And in the middle of all of that, this podcast quietly became both my escape and my exposure therapy.

It helped me start believing in myself again.
It helped me slowly give my voice a voice if that makes sense.

Through The Artful Exchange, I got to do what I love most: meet people, listen deeply, and learn from their journeys from their failures as much as their achievements. From their different ways of approaching life, hope, dreams, and career choices.

I am endlessly inspired by people who do not give up. And I truly believe that is exactly what this podcast has done for me over the past two years: it gave me hope. It gave me my voice back. And it gave me the quiet confidence to step forward again and to finally stop giving a fuck about what others think.

To every single one of my guests: thank you.
Your generosity, honesty, time, and conversations have helped me more than you could ever imagine. You didn’t just share your stories you helped rebuild mine.

I am carrying all of your voices with me into 2026. And we’ll see how many more wish to join along the way. If not, then I am already profoundly grateful for these two extraordinary years and for the privilege of having walked part of the road with you.

I wish you all a blessed, gentle, and magical start to 2026.

There is an Italian saying that has stayed with me since I was a young girl. I have actually written down this saying on every piece of assignment I handed in to my teachers and proffessors over the years.

“It is better to live one day as a lion than one hundred years as a sheep.”
— Benito Mussolini

In Italian, it reads:
“Meglio vivere un giorno da leone che cent’anni da pecora.”

For me, this has never been about power or domination, but about courage. About choosing to live truthfully, even briefly, rather than safely and silently for a lifetime.

Please don’t give up on yourselves.
Keep going.
We are all good.

So much of life comes down to timing, to owning your voice, and to stopping the habit of apologising for being who you are.

So let’s stop doing that.

Welcome 2026 with courage, curiosity, and heart.

With gratitude and love,
The Poetic Designer
The Artful Exchange

In this episode I am speaking with Czech poet and multilingual Marcela Kvello. We talk about writing between languages, carrying one's homeland in words, and what happens to identity when life unfolds far from where it began.

Belonging, displacement, and the quiet strength of creating a creative life.

This episode is for anyone who has felt from somewhere and elsewhere at the same time. How adapting to a new langauge and a new culture becomes your new identity .

Tune in with us today!

@marcelakvello both on instagram and facebook

 What if art wasn’t just something you looked at but something you traveled through? What if a painting could take you on a journey just as vividly as a plane ticket?” Welcome to The Artful Exchange, the podcast where we explore the power of art to connect, inspire, and tell stories across cultures.

Today, we’re taking a journey, quite literally through the world of art. My guest is Alisa, the founder of The Art Trotter, a platform dedicated to making art education accessible, engaging, and enriching for everyone.

Instagram: @the_art_trotter

Website: Learn about art online | The Art Trotter

Thank you to Next Flow Studio for help with filming and editing this episode.

Winther & Healey: A Sounded Poem.

In this special short episode, I share an original poem, brought to life in collaboration with composer and musician Geoff Healey. A mix of voice and melody, words and atmosphere. This piece is an intimate encounter between poetry and sound, where each note holds space for silence, and each line finds its rhythm.

A quiet moment. A breath between worlds.

Music: Geoff Healey

Words and reading: Tania Winther

Episode II/Season II

*This beautiful intro song is a song by Geoff, also including his talented daughter Emily. The song is called 'Wrong' and is so touching. Might we just be seeing a new daughter/father duo in the near future. Here's for hoping!

ENJOY!

I’m thrilled to welcome an old mate of mine; Geoff Healey,

An Australian singer-songwriter and piano entertainer whose career has taken him across 14 countries over the past three decades. With seven albums to his name, including his latest release, Mixed Bag, Geoff's music blends storytelling, emotion, and a touch of humor. Beyond his work as a musician, Geoff is also the creative force behind The WonderLand, a comedy podcast where he shares his witty and insightful take on life. His unique voice, both musically and in conversation, has resonated with audiences worldwide. Join me as I take part into his artistic journey, the stories behind his songs, and the creative process that fuels both his music and his podcast. And not least, his latest project in Tasmania.

www.geoffhealey.com

Facebook: @healeymusic

Instagram: @geoffpianoman

Podcast: The Wonderland

In our first episode for 2025 and second season of The Artful Exchange, I am talking with Katarzyna Maria Wieczorek, also known as Kamawi. She is a Polish-Norwegian composer and sound designer based in Trondheim, Norway. With a strong background in musicology and music technologym from NTNU, Kamawi has established herself as an innovative voice in contemporary music.

Kamawi made her debut with the piece Solidarity; at Rockheim in 2020, and since then, she has been involved in numerous interdisciplinary projects that blend music, visual art, and dance. Known for her experimental approach to composition, she often explores alternative methods of connecting data with music, experimenting with timbre and scales, and using field recordings alongside programming.

One of her standout projects is Brainfeels; a collective initiative that visualizes different mental states, allowing listeners to experience a deep emotional connection. Kamawi's work often balances between technology and traditional folk music, creating immersive soundscapes where improvisation with synths, vocals, and acoustic instruments play a key role.

Katarzyna Maria Wieczorek

KAMAWI

Composer and Sound Designer

http://kamawi.no

[email protected]

@kamawi_

Thank you to Next Flow Studio for help with editing this episode.

In this episode, I’m excited to welcome Deborah Alma, a remarkable poet, editor, and educator based in the UK. Deborah has devoted her life to sharing the transformative power of poetry with diverse communities. Her work spans dementia care, hospice support, schools, and vulnerable women’s groups, alongside her roles as a lecturer at Worcester and Keele universities.In 2012, Deborah launched the groundbreaking Emergency Poet project, prescribing poetry as a form of healing from a vintage ambulance, a truly creative and moving initiative. She took this vision even further in 2019 by co-founding the world’s first walk-in Poetry Pharmacy in Shropshire with her partner, poet James Sheard. This unique space combines literature with mental health support, creating a safe haven where words become a remedy for the soul. With the recent opening of a second location in London, Deborah continues to make poetry an interactive and accessible experience for all.Her debut poetry collection, Dirty Laundry, captivated me, and she has since published several other works that bridge art and healing in extraordinary ways. Join me as I explore Deborah’s inspiring journey and her mission to make poetry a force for connection, comfort, and change.

The Poetry Pharmacy

@poetry_pharmacy_

@Deb Alma (Facebook)

www.poetrypharmacy.co.uk

EXTRA EPISODE!

POETRY READING BY THE POETIC DESIGNER

THE POETRY COLLECTION

‘DIRTY LAUNDRY’

BY DEBORAH ALMA

The Emergency Poet, Entrepreneur, Editor, Lecturer

OWNER OF THE POETRY PHARMACY

Episode 6 is a great talk with the Australian landscape artist, Zoe Grey. She is based in Hobart, Australia.

Since Tassie is so close to my heart, it is only natural I bring in talents from OZ too.

I became aware of Zoe a few years ago and have been following her ever since. She recently won the, ‘Hadleys Art Prize in Australia, which is a prestigious art prize for Australianlandscape art. Zoe, a young, and very much, new and rising star in the art world, won the prize with her landscape painting, ‘The Shape of Rock’. Come join us as we learn more about her as an artist and her beautiful island filled with inspiration for her incredible works. How she works and future plans.

www.zoe-grey.com

insta: zoe_makes