Making Sense

The British painter Rose Wylie was born in 1934 and is one of the most celebrated artists working today. Pop culture, art history and everyday moments have equal footing in her expressive, messy paintings. She welcomes Tim Marlow into her Kent studio to discuss reality, beauty and how the seating plan from a recent lunch party inspired her new work. Follow and rate the show to never miss an episod...

From illegal welding jobs to big brand collaborations, the American artist Tom Sachs has been expanding the field of sculpture for 30 years. In this week’s episode of Making Sense: Conversations on Creativity, he joins Tim Marlow at the Design Museum, London, to dive into his daily pot-making, his Nasa projects and why an archive of incomplete works and dirty offcuts are his “most valuable materia...

The renowned ceramicist Magdalene Odundo joins Tim Marlow on this week’s episode of Making Sense: Conversations on Creativity to discuss the deep connection between clay and the human body, the importance of vessels throughout history and her desire to create the “perfect bowl”.  Follow and rate the show to never miss an episode. Tap here to catch up on last week’s episode featuring Thomas He...

On this week’s episode of Making Sense: Conversations on Creativity Tim is a little closer to home, speaking to Thomas Heatherwick at his London studio. From his fascination with making and fixing objects as a child, to his advocacy for reusing and repurposing older buildings today, Thomas covers his early desire to be an inventor, the importance of collaboration with colleagues and how the margin...

The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is known globally for his powerful, frequently political works. He sits down with Tim Marlow to discuss his life and career, including his early childhood in the Gobi desert and an 81-day secret detention by the Chinese government in 2011. Weiwei also discusses his use of humour and irony, and why tricks, parallel meanings and coded references are key to t...

For the first episode of Making Sense, host Tim Marlow (art historian and director of the Design Museum, London) travels to New York to speak with the world’s best-known performance and conceptual artist, Marina Abramović.  Join them as they discuss the moments that have shaped her extraordinary career. From early childhood memories to the extremes of Rhythm 0 and The Artist Is Present , Mari...

Launching Tuesday 25 November 2025. Where do ideas come from? And what does it mean to create something in today’s world? Join the art historian and director of London's Design Museum, Tim Marlow, as he makes sense of it all in conversation with the biggest names in art, design and architecture. Making Sense: Conversations on Creativity is a Cultureshock production, available wherever you get your...