The State Of The Arts

Jasmine Myra is Leeds’ breakout star in the UK jazz scene. We chatted to Jasmine about how it’s been writing, releasing and touring her second album 'Rising', released earlier in 2024. We also discussed how her experience as a Leeds native and Conservatoire graduate has shaped Jasmine’s career, differences between the Leeds jazz scene and that of her current home in the capital, as well...

Last year, the city of Leeds held its Year of Culture - a 12-month programme of arts and culture events, delivered by LEEDS 2023. Now the dust has settled, how do its leaders feel about it? And what did it take to deliver a project of this scale? We sat down with Kully Thiarai , Creative Director & CEO, and Emma Beverley , Programme Director, of LEEDS 2023 for an honest reflection on this even...

Darren Emerson is a VR artist who’s been working with the medium for years. In 2021, Darren produced ' In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats ', an immersive piece exploring Coventry's acid house rave scene of the 1980's. Darren recently joined TSOTA to discuss the piece and virtual reality art in general, with a conversation touching on the state of VR today, the scale of work require...

The State of the Arts are proud to be starting a new digital exhibition project focusing on the overlooked moments that make up the North’s musical landscape. To start, we’re focusing on the Jazz-Funk era of the late 70’s and early 80’s that took over the North and Midlands. We enlisted three key characters from the scene that drove its success in Manchester, the North West and beyond - DJs Colin...

Manchester’s music scene is always thriving, but the city's R&B/neo-soul movement is having a special moment. Mali Hayes, Fliss and [ K S R ] are just a few of the artists shaping the city's sound and turning Manchester into a national capital for the genre. For our latest roundtable podcast episode, TSOTA spoke to them about the scene, their music, their careers and much more!

'Culture Matters' return explore  the state of the independent and grassroots cinema industry! The State of the Arts enlisted several figures from across the North’s cinema landscape to discuss how the industry will recover from lockdown… Tony Mundin – The Savoy, Regal, Rex & Ritz cinemas Sally Folkard – Film Hub North Wendy Cook –  Hyde Park Picture House Michael Pierce & Monika...

Jack McLoughlin and Georgia Madden are two talented, young Liverpudlian filmmakers, both featured at this year's BFI Future Film Festival. The festival takes place from the 17th - 20th February 2022 and both filmmakers' short films are up for awards. We chatted to Jack and Georgia for a roundtable podcast episode, discussing their work and what it means to be nominated by the BFI. And wi...

Listen back to a special roundtable discussion coordinated by Molly McGrath of Leeds Library, featuring Jack Simpson of Hyde Park Book Club, Poppy Jennings from Leeds Poetry Festival, author Dan Coxon, Amanda Truman or Truman Bookstore and Zoe Turner from Comma Press. Leeds Lit Fest returns in 2022 for a programme packed with the best literary events and performances the city has to offer. For thi...

Dave Haslam is one of the most versatile creatives that the North has produced. With a career that's taken him from  the decks of the Hacienda, to a desk for writing an array of books about British cultural history. As part of an event in partnership with Hyde Park Book Club, director of TSOTA Jack Simpson caught up with Dave about everything from his new book to his creative process to Sylvi...

Our second Culture Matters panel event looks at ‘Nightlife’,  the corner of the cultural landscape sorely missed for over a year – our clubs, events and festivals, responsible for uniting selectors and sounds with party goers across the country.  The State of the Arts enlisted several figures from across the North’s nightlife culture to discuss how the industry will recover from lockdown… DJ Paule...

‘ Culture Matters ’ is a new series of panel events looking look at how different creative industries have navigated, and will bounce back from, the lockdown. Our first event explores ‘Galleries’,  the essential spaces that connect artists with audiences, which have been largely closed across the UK since the pandemic began. The State of the Arts enlisted three leading figures working with galleri...

DJ Paulette has had a massive influence on culture in Manchester and around the world. Her career has been filled with success, from DJing at the Hacienda to her autobiographical ‘Homebird’ gallery at The Lowry . She has residencies with Reform Radio , Worldwide FM and has kept busy in lockdown with several remote DJ sets streamed across the globe. We spoke to Paulette about her career, got her th...

In our third episode, we spoke to Dr Dave O’Brien, an expert on arts and culture policy and co-author of ‘Culture is Bad For You’. His new book uncovers the inequalities that exist within the creative industries and the way we consume culture, using a wealth of data and interviews to show how race, gender and class determine your chance of making it as a creative. Hailing from Liverpool, he’s spen...

As part of our ‘See/Hear/Read’ series, The State of the Arts has launched its very own podcast. Our podcast episodes will feature interviews and showcase artists and creative thinkers in the North of England. In each episode, we’ll hear a new artist speak about their work and the world of the arts in general. In our second episode, we spoke to David Firth, creator of Salad Fingers, MC Devvo, Locus...

As part of our ‘See/Hear/Read’ series, The State of the Arts has launched its very own podcast. Our podcast episodes will feature interviews and showcase artists and creative thinkers in the North of England. In each episode, we’ll hear a new artist speak about their work and the world of the arts in general. In our first episode, we sat down with GoGo Penguin ’s Chris Illingworth, pianist in Manc...