The Start

The poet shares the story behind Invisible Kisses, a poem that impressed on him the true value of family

The playwright and screenwriter reveals how a fascination with tyrants and their wives compelled her to write Splendour

The artist and activist tells how investigating schoolchildren’s deaths in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008 spawned his mammoth installation, Remembering

The internet artist recalls how her groundbreaking YouTube project Scandalishious allowed for self-reflection, but also invited the scrutiny of a watchful audience

In the second episode of our new culture podcast about artistic beginnings, Damien Hirst reveals how his neighbour – a compulsive hoarder – triggered a creative explosion that set him on the road to success

Our new culture podcast, The Start, brings major artists to the mic to reveal how they began their careers. In this first episode, Sofia Coppola talks about the fear and the thrill of directing her debut film, The Virgin Suicides

A new podcast about artistic beginnings, as told by great artists of our time. The first episode will be coming soon...