Compelling with Katy Wellesley Wesley

What does the day-to-day reality of a conceptual art studio actually look like? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley asks Noémie Goudal to pull back the curtain on her Paris studio and the team behind the illusions. Noémie describes a lean permanent setup, a studio manager, rotating interns and a deep bench of freelance specialists that scales to meet each project. From...

What drives an artist to build vast illusions in real landscapes only to film them as they burn, melt and dissolve? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley sits down in Paris with French conceptual artist Noémie Goudal, whose photographs, films and performances probe how landscapes are formed, transformed and imagined. They trace her path from a darkroom hobby in late-1990s Paris...

What would you keep perfectly preserved in a bottle if it could be anything other than perfume? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley returns to her conversation with Marc Chaya, co-founder and CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, for a more philosophical exchange on creativity, perception and the legitimacy of scent as art. Marc argues that we have been taught to appreciate...

What happens when a luxury industry built on marketing starts putting the creator back at the centre?  In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley speaks with Marc Chaya, co-founder and CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, about building a modern fragrance house where strategy exists to protect creative freedom, not constrain it. Marc traces his journey from growing up in Beirut during t...

How does an art fair grow from 5,000 visitors into the defining cultural moment for an entire country? In this bonus clip from Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, founder of ART X Lagos, about the ten-year journey from a bold idea to a multidisciplinary platform that has activated an entire city. Tokini traces the evolution of ART X Lagos edition by editio...

What does it take to build cultural infrastructure in a country where the state will not do it for you? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, entrepreneur and founder of ART X Lagos — West Africa's leading international art fair — about a career defined by creative conviction and strategic clarity. From her childhood in Lagos, through a la...

What happens to taste when algorithms stop us discovering anything unexpected?  In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley sits down with New York-based designer and creative director Rafael de Cárdenas for a wide-ranging conversation on the forces shaping culture, luxury, and design right now. Rafael traces a non-linear path from Calvin Klein to architecture school and, ultimately,...

What happens when a luxury business makes decisions based on people, not spreadsheets? In this bonus episode of Compelling, Katy Wellesley-Wesley speaks with Vitalie Taittinger about the human logic that sits behind a family-owned Champagne house: choosing distributors for fit and friendship, building long-term relationships, and treating fun and ease of collaboration as real business signals. The...

What does it take to lead a centuries-old Champagne house like a startup, without losing what makes it special? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley speaks with Vitalie Taittinger, President and CEO of Champagne Taittinger, about independence, legacy, and the long-term thinking that comes with family stewardship. Vitalie reflects on her early ambition to become a painter, the...

What makes people pay attention to a fabric house founded in 1935, in a world full of fast trends and louder brands? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Patrick Frey of Maison Pierre Frey about why authenticity, roots, and a tangible connection to history still carry real weight with clients around the world. Patrick explains how provenance can feel almost s...

What does it take to protect a legacy? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Patrick Frey, Creative Director and President Emeritus of La Maison Pierre Frey, about the unpredictable, joyful mystery of creation. Patrick shares how he grew up learning to see: travelling through Europe with his interior‑designer mother, absorbing architecture, landscapes, and museums,...

In memory of Martin Parr (23 May 1952 - 6 December 2025). This interview was recorded before his death.  How does a chance encounter on a doorstep evolve into one of the most compelling collaborations? In this bonus episode of Compelling, we go behind the scenes with Lee Shulman on a year-long filmmaking journey that saw Lee kidnap the legendary Martin Parr to revisit the locations of his early ca...

What role do books play in shaping a life devoted to art? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Staffan Ahrenberg, owner and publisher of Cahiers d'Art, for a quick-fire conversation about the books, habits and dreams that define his approach to art and life. He discusses the formative impact of Malevich's The Non-Objective World and Kandinsky's Concerning the...

What role should books and digital experiences play in the future of art institutions? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley sits down with Daniel Birnbaum, director of Acute Art and former director of Moderna Museet, for a quick-fire conversation about life, art and ambition. They explore the books and writers that shaped his thinking—particularly Italo Calvino—and discu...

Happy holidays! Thank you for listening to Compelling. I've really enjoyed the first six episodes and I hope you have too. A huge thank you to my early guests on the podcast for their trust, time and inspiring conversations: Lena Evstafieva, Lee Shulman, Clemente Boisseau, Charlotte Bouygues, Staffan Arhenberg, Daniel Birnbaum, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Camille Miceli. If you've enjoyed what you've h...

What does it really take to reinvent an icon without erasing its history? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks to Camille Miceli, Artistic Director at Pucci, about how she is reimagining one of Italy’s most recognisable maisons for new generations. From a childhood spent between fashion shoots with her stylist mother, to observing glamorous dinners that her parents host...

What does it mean to keep an art institution alive for a hundred years – and why do books still matter in a digital age? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley sits down at Cahiers d’Art in Saint‑Germain‑des‑Prés with publisher Staffan Ahrenberg, curator Daniel Birnbaum and Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist. Together they trace their personal journeys into art, fro...

How do you launch a luxury beauty brand that remains absolutely true to its "love of the soil" DNA while navigating the brutal practicalities of industrial manufacturing? In this bonus content, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Charlotte Bouygues, founder of the new beauty line Dix Hectares, about her journey to find "unobvious collaborators" and materials that would not compromise her vision...

How do you build a successful luxury brand that operates with a positive impact?  Host Katy Wellesley Wesley sits down with entrepreneur Charlotte Bouygues, founder of the seasonal, regenerative skincare line, Dix Hectares. Charlotte's journey is a modern evolution of the powerful Bouygues family legacy, which began with the foundation of a global construction and infrastructure company and expand...

How do you twist an 85-year-old logo and have it generate a record number of customers in stores?  This bonus discussion with Clément Boisseau, CEO of Maison BETC, dives into the genius of combining brand DNA with cultural timeliness. Using the iconic Lacoste crocodile as a case study, Clément reveals the strategy behind highly successful campaigns, including the one that replaced the logo with en...

How does a luxury brand stay true to its heritage while constantly reinventing itself for a new generation? This week on Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley explores the dynamic intersection of art, culture, and commerce with Clément Boisseau, CEO of Maison BETC and Global Chief Strategy Officer of the BETC Group. A humanities scholar who transitioned from École Normale Supérieure to the world...

What does a box of forgotten vintage slides reveal about our shared identity, and how do you transform a passion project into a viable global cultural phenomenon?  Host Katy Wellesley Wesley sits down with visual artist, filmmaker, and founder of The Anonymous Project, Lee Shulman, to delve into his journey from buying a random box of Kodachrome images to curating an archive of over a million slid...

What does it take to transform a wild dream into a thriving slow luxury hospitality business? In this episode, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with her friend and former colleague, Lena Evstafieva, founder of the extraordinary Villa Lena. Lena, a former director at Pace Gallery, shares how she leveraged her creative background to build a hospitality brand unlike any other. They discuss the ambit...