Artists' Tales

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet James Stedman, a storyteller, poet, and theatre‑maker whose work blends queer identity, folklore, and heartfelt social commentary. Based in Leith, James creates imaginative, emotionally rich performance that weaves together fairy-tale logic, personal memory, and contemporary politics. We explore his multidisciplinary practice across storytelling, spoken wo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet eco‑artivist, rubbish artist, and waste mosaicist Francesca Busca. Known for transforming discarded materials into what she calls “trashure”, Francesca has built a practice that merges art, activism, and environmental urgency. Since 2017, she has created mosaics entirely from waste, using textile scraps, unrecyclable aluminium, scrap paper, and even marine...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we hear from textile artist Russell Barratt, a self‑taught maker celebrated for his bold, joyful quilted artworks crafted entirely from second hand fabrics and repurposed clothing. Rooted in memory, domestic life, and a lifelong DIY ethos, Russell’s practice embraces recycling not just as a material choice but as a creative philosophy. Russell shares how his backg...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we hear from an award‑winning saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Hannah Horton, a rising force in contemporary UK jazz. An official Selmer artist, Hannah is celebrated for her bold, melodic soundscapes that blend jazz, folk, and funk with striking emotional clarity. Described as a “melodic maverick” with a distinctive tone and boundary‑pushing style, Hannah sha...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Jo Stapleton, an alternative‑process film and darkroom photographer known for her richly experimental approach to analogue image‑making. Jo’s practice spans lith printing, photograms, chemigrams, and cyanotypes, creating constructed photographic realities shaped by models, found objects, collage, and hands‑on darkroom manipulation. Her work explores themes...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet portrait photographer Casey Orr, whose acclaimed work explores identity, community, fashion, and youth culture across the UK. Best known for Saturday Town, her award‑winning, decade‑long project, Casey has photographed hundreds of young people in pop‑up portrait studios on high streets, capturing how style becomes a language of self‑expression. Through her...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we hear from Twinkle Troughton, whose paintings unravel the myths woven into the English landscape. Troughton explores how ideas of “Englishness” are constructed through idyllic scenery, stately gardens, and inherited cultural memory. Her work digs beneath the surface of the so‑called “green and pleasant land,” revealing the colonial histories, class structures, a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we hear from Glasgow‑based artist Tinsel Edwards, whose bold, autobiographical practice spans painting, printmaking, assemblage, installation and public art interventions. Born in the Midlands and trained at Goldsmiths, Tinsel has built a distinctive visual language that blends emotional honesty, humour and political critique. We explore the themes that define her...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Sabes Sugunasabesan, a photographer and mixed media artist whose work explores identity, memory, diaspora, and the emotional legacy of the Sri Lankan civil war. Based in England and shaped by his migration from Sri Lanka over forty years ago, Sabes creates photographic and mixed‑media projects that weave personal history with wider socio‑political narrativ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet with Luke and Ellie from the award‑winning Bridge House Theatre, one of South East London’s most exciting Off‑West‑End venues. Based above the historic Bridge House pub, the theatre has become a vibrant creative hub known for intimate productions, bold programming, and a strong commitment to emerging and under-represented voices. Luke and Ellie share the s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Libro Levi Bridgeman - a non-binary writer, editor, and lecturer based in London, whose work explores gender identity, queer desire, and creative resistance. Trained at E.15 Drama School and holding a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing, Libro teaches across institutions including Birkbeck, Guildhall Drama School, and Imperial College London. Their intern...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Sukhy Hullait - a multi award-winning storytelling photographer based in London, whose work captures the emotional texture of everyday life. Rooted in British social documentary, Sukhy’s images explore themes of home, identity, and inequality, often spotlighting marginalised voices and overlooked stories. Sukhy’s thoughtful, immersive approach has earned h...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Ailish Henderson, a textile artist, writer, and educator based in Tyne and Wear, whose emotionally resonant work blends stitched portrait collages, narrative textiles, and mixed media. Beginning with playful sketchbook drawings inspired by photographs and personal memorabilia, Ailish builds layered compositions using fragments of clothing, tickets, and eph...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Jane Thakoordin -a Birmingham-based participatory artist of British and Guyanese heritage whose textile practice weaves together mental health, social justice, and co-production. Using repurposed materials and collaborative making, Jane creates powerful works that challenge systems and celebrate resilience. Founder of Birmingham Artivistas and member of th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Holly Searle - the creative force behind The Subversive Stitcher , whose textile-based practice turns embroidery into protest. Born in Central London and shaped by the “make do and mend” generation, Holly rediscovered her artistic voice after a striking encounter with a Victorian sampler at the Wellcome Collection. Her acclaimed Subverted Vintage Tea Towel...

Send us Fan Mail This episode shines a light on Barons Court Project, a West London charity offering holistic support to people facing homelessness or mental health challenges. Director Michael Angus shares how the centre provides showers, meals, emotional care, and life skills programmes — all rooted in dignity and hope. We also hear from Guan, an artist whose journey from homelessness to creativ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Amanda Cotton - a contemporary sculptor and 3D designer based at Trinity Buoy Wharf, East London. Working across ceramics, composites, and mould-making, Amanda’s practice explores identity, body image, and emotional resonance through unconventional materials and meticulous technique. She’s the creator of Inexorable , the UK’s first non-binary sculpture, co...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet James Cook - a London-based artist transforming the humble typewriter into a tool of extraordinary expression. Trained in architecture at UCL’s Bartlett School and raised in Essex, James left behind blueprints to pioneer a new form of drawing: intricate portraits, skylines, and architectural scenes composed entirely from typed characters. With a collection...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we speak with digital media artist and photographer Geoff Titley, whose thought-provoking work explores speculative landscapes and the shifting interplay between nature and technology. Blending digital photography, moving image, and 3D printing, Geoff imagines “other nature” — a futuristic vision of the natural world transformed through digital mediation. Through...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we meet Canadian textile artist, actor, and writer Kirk Dunn, whose extraordinary knitted works weave together themes of faith, social justice, and human connection. Best known for Stitched Glass - a 15-year knitted triptych inspired by stained-glass windows - Kirk uses yarn as a metaphor for healing across divides. His one-man show The Knitting Pilgrim blends sto...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Nigerian visual artist Jacqueline Suowari shares the philosophy behind her striking ballpoint pen drawings — vast, intricate works composed of thousands of layered strokes. Blending drawing, painting, and design, Jacqueline explores identity, emotional expression, and cultural heritage with fearless honesty. Her portraits confront societal taboos around grief, dep...

Send us Fan Mail This episode features British filmmaker and photographer Mal Woolford and actor-educator Charlotte Woolford to discuss No Relation — their powerful collaborative project exploring ancestry, identity, and the legacy of transatlantic slavery. Though not family, their shared surname sparked a profound artistic journey. Using wet-plate collodion photography and archival research, No R...

Send us Fan Mail Holly Revell is a London-based artist and photographer who specialises in LGBTQ+ performance, portraits and projects. They published 'People like us' photobook in December 2024 which explores trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming (GNC) identities and experience from the assigned female at birth (AFAB) perspectives. The episode was recorded on the 28 November 2024....

Send us Fan Mail FIKA book and zine is a collective of photographers who collaborate on book and zine projects. The founding members are Arun Misra, Frankie McAllister and Joanne Furniss. We talk about how the group was formed and how they support each other on their projects, whether personal or as a group. Arun, Frankie and Joanna are members of London Independent Photography. The episode was re...

Send us Fan Mail Sokari is a photographer, curator and gallery owner based in London, UK. He is a self-trained photographer and his work is driven by his passion for architecture, art, design & the human form. His artistic vision is expressed through his photography, capturing the interplay of light, texture, and shapes in architecture, as well as the human form. He founded the London Lighthou...