The Art Persists Podcast

In the Season 8 finale, we’re joined by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning writer and director Bassel Ghandour. Bassel shares his insights on filmmaking in the Arab world and the ongoing struggle for authentic representation in Western cinema, where stories are often distorted or oversimplified. We explore the making of his acclaimed feature films Theeb and The Alleys, and he speaks to the vital ro...

This week, we’re joined by Sudanese graffiti artist, graphic designer, and visual artist Assil Diab, also known as ‘Sudalove’. When the Sudanese Revolution erupted in 2018 and protesters began to be killed, Assil responded by painting powerful murals honouring those who lost their lives at the hands of the regime. We speak to her about the role of art in resistance and remembrance, and the deep em...

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by the acclaimed sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp. Sokari takes us through her remarkable journey in steel sculpture - how she discovered the medium, and how it became a powerful tool for creating monumental, research-driven, and at times, kinetic works of art. She reflects on her early life in Rivers State, Nigeria, her adoption, and the experience of being sent...

In this episode, we sit down with comedian and entrepreneur Usman Khalid. Usman shares his remarkable life story - from growing up in Pakistan to navigating life in the UK without papers. He shares his harrowing experience in a UK detention centre and the systemic mistreatment he faced. Usman goes on to tell us about founding Haven Coffee, a social enterprise that supports refugee communities acro...

Gazan visual artist and author Malak Mattar joins us on the podcast. She talks about growing up in Gaza - facing bombing her entire life and dealing with notions of home. She goes on to talk about the cultural destruction of Gaza - how all the schools, universities, galleries and museums that once inspired her have been now been totally destroyed. How the artists she admired and the teachers who g...

The Art Persists podcast is back with Season 8! Kicking off the new season, we’re joined by Dione Roach and Steve Happi (aka Vidou H), founders of Jail Time Records - a music label born inside the Central Prison of Douala, Cameroon. In this episode, Dione and Steve share the remarkable story of how the label came to life: from Dione’s early workshops in the prison, to Steve’s unjust 18-month pre-t...

Hello listeners and viewers! Georgia and Faz here - hosts of the Art Persists podcast. Season 8 starts next Wednesday - we are so excited for you to hear from our incredible guests. We really want to thank you all for sticking by us for 8 whole seasons. It's been a truly amazing experience. If you are enjoying the podcast please make sure you follow us and give us a rating! Enjoy! Georgia & Fa...

For our Season 7 finale, we are joined by Iranian photographer and activist Reihane Taravati. Reihane shares her story of growing up in Iran and the significant challenges she faced as a young woman pursuing a career in photography. In April 2022, she had the unique opportunity to photograph Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and human rights defender, during a brief release...

This week, we’re joined by Belarusian poet, translator, and writer Hanna Komar. Hanna shares her early life, growing up in a small village in Belarus, where she found comfort in poetry, and later discovered the power of writing poetry in Belarusian rather than Russian. She recounts the nationwide protests following the rigged presidential elections in Belarus, in which long-time President Lukashen...

This week, we are joined by artist and activist Peter Kennard. Since the 1970s, Kennard has produced some of the world’s most influential works of resistance and protest. From the Vietnam War and the anti-Apartheid movement to the war in Ukraine and the siege on Gaza, Peter’s five decades of work have been dedicated to fighting for justice and holding power to account. We talk at length about his...

This week, we are joined by Melissa Bolivar, founder of Kites in Solidarity—a grassroots movement of volunteers founded in 2023 in response to the ongoing siege of Gaza. Melissa shares with us her decision to start Kites in Solidarity. After witnessing the horrors of the siege in Gaza through her phone every day, she felt compelled to take action. Since then, the movement has grown across the UK a...

On the latest episode of Art Persists, we speak to Omaid Sharifi, Co-Founder & CEO of ArtLords, a grassroots movement founded in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2014, driven by the desire to harness the transformative power of art. We talk to Omaid about the early days of ArtLords, where he and group of artists and volunteers would paint the empty walls of Kabul and the rest of Afghanistan with murals,...

We launch Season 7 of Art Persists with a special episode recorded live during Refugee Week 2024 in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts . Three artists / creative producers, Solomon aka. KMT, Boseda Olawoye, and Sally Watkins joined us live to talk about how they use art to create dialogue, connection, and community with people from refugee and minority backgrounds. Find out more about their wor...

The Art Persists Podcast is back with Season 7! Join us for another incredible season as we chat to renowned artists and activists from all around the world. We will hear from creative practitioners working in some of the most dangerous countries for artists in the world. As well as guests who use art to build communities, foster solidarity, and combat hate. Join us for the first episode out Wedne...

In Part 2 of the Season 6 finale of The Art Persists Podcast, we continue our conversation with journalist, filmmaker and writer, Dr Myriam François. Myriam chats to us about the rise of Islamophobia today and why she thinks it is often considered an acceptable form of racism within society. We chat about having hope in youth and why she thinks current student protests in America and beyond are wi...

In the Season 6 finale of The Art Persists Podcast, we sit down with journalist, filmmaker and writer, Dr Myriam François. We chat to Myriam about how she is dealing with the state of the world today amid Israel's bombardment of Gaza. She questions society's moral boundaries, emphasising the need for discomfort in addressing the conflict. We go on to explore the artist's role in solidarity and res...

In the latest episode of Art Persists, we speak to interdisciplinary artist and writer Coco Fusco. Coco talks to us in depth about the historic oppression of artists in Cuba, which has accelerated since 2018 when the government introduced laws that stifle freedom of expression within the country. She tells us about her activism, advocating for the release of imprisoned artists in Cuba including he...

In the latest episode of Art Persists, we speak to journalist, writer, and Chief Contributing Editor of The Art Newspaper, Gareth Harris. We chat about Gareth’s book, Censored Art Today, two years after its publication. We reflect on how censorship of the arts has changed and transformed since the book’s release - including the silencing of artists in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza. We go on to...

In the latest episode of Art Persists, we speak to award-winning poet, playwright, author and editor, Joelle Taylor. Joelle talks about growing up in Lancashire and how punk and live performance introduced her to spoken word and poetry. She opens the conversation by reading an extract for her brilliant new novel, The Night Alphabet . We chat about the central themes of patriarchy and the strength...

In the latest episode of Art Persists, we speak to information designer Federica Fragapane. We talk to Federica about her work, humanising data by unpacking it in creative, organic forms. From visualising the number of civilians killed in Gaza, to showing European attitudes to immigration, or the silencing of environmental activists in Brazil, Federica's work manages to evoke empathy and understan...

We launch Season 6 of Art Persists with Chilean feminist collective LASTESIS. We chat to Sibila Sotomayor Van Rysseghem and Daffne Valdés Vargas from the collective about their work, using performance and video art to unpack feminist texts and to challenge global patriarchy and its impact on women and the LGBTQI+ community. Sibilia and Daffne discuss some of their most important works including Un...

The Art Persists Podcast is back with Season 6! Join us for one of our best seasons yet as we chat to artists and activists from all around the world. We'll talk about some of the biggest threats facing the arts today, hear from those who are using their work to fight for freedom and justice globally no matter the cost, and have conversations with poets, writers, film makers and more about how art...

We chat to Sami Tamimi about his life growing up in East Jerusalem where he became interested in cooking after working in a hotel at the age of 17. His career took off when he moved first to Tel Aviv before settling permanently in London. Sami talks about the making of his cookbook, Falastin, which explores contemporary Palestinian food and tells the story of the Palestinians he met along the way....

We speak to Standing Together about their grassroots movement working towards peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis. The organisation gives us insight into Israeli attitudes towards Palestinians, particularly since the October 7 attacks and Israel's subsequent siege on Gaza. We end discussing their Theory of Change towards an equal and just future. As always, if you are enjoying the Art...

We are joined by Palestinian artist, activist, DJ, and producer Nour Palestina. We chat to Nour about her project, Refugee Chronicles , where she interviews survivors of the 1948 Nakba which saw 700,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced and a further 15,000 killed. Nour talks about her project and its eerie parallels to Gaza today where over 1.8 million people have been internally displaced and at l...