Leslie Ramos: Philanthropy and Fundraising for the Arts

In this episode I am speaking with Flavia and Laura about the development of Antesala, a new collaborative programme combiing exhibitions, sales, residencies, events and curatorial collaborations with a particular focus on art and artists from Latin America. Interest in the visual arts from this region has seen siginifcant growth in the UK over the last ten years and I joined them at their new gallery in Fitrovia, London to dicussed their desire to create a centre deciated to the long term study and support of work across the Americas and how they are building a model of commerical, curatorial and social collaboration. Central to the conversation, and their vision for Antesala, is the idea of community building and the need for a new approach in the contemporary economic and cultural moment focused on partnership and shared resource. LEARN MORE: https://antesala.art/ Art and Other Futures is produced by the Artists' Research Centre in partnership with Navy and Grey. https://navyandgrey.com/

In this episode we'll be speaking with Benjamin Seroussi, curator and artistic director of Casa do Povo Sao Paulo. In 2012 Ben took up the directorship of a run down and all but forgotten jewish cultural centre in the heart of Sao Paulo Brazil. Through his leadership, establishing a radically inclusive and collaborative operational structure, Casa do Povo or the House of the People, has blossomed and thrived. Inhabited by a dozen different groups, movements and collectives, including support for the homeless, antifacist boxing, a choir and a newspaper, Casa do Povo is a radical evolution of the cultural institutional model. Its interdisciplinary, process-based programming and socially-engaged activities conceive art as a critical tool in an ongoing process of social transformation. In this endeavor, the audience is not a target, but rather an active participant. in addition to visiting, people can also propose activities, making the space a locale for encounters, development and experimentation: a living monument, a place where to remember is to act. Casa do Povo's programme is both diverse and inclusive encompassing a library, print studio, theatre, exhibitions, community kitchen and shared event spaces.

In this episode we'll be speaking with Professor Tessa Giblin, Director of Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh. Tessa's curatorial practice engages with issues being digested as part of the national conversation, championing art and exhibitions as platforms for complex histories and debates, pushing back against polarisation.

In this episode I'm talking with Martyn Evans, Creative Director at Landsec with responsibility for developing and delivering the company's public art and cultural engagement programmes. From the annual commissions on fourth plinth in London's Trafalgar Square to the Angel of the North or a Banksy appearing in Cheltenham, public art projects are the most visible and accessible manifestations of contemporary art practice in our society. They are also uniquely divisive, sometimes becoming well loved icons of communities and places, they can also be reviled stoking anger, protest or disenfranchisement. The evolving use and role of public art is equally fluid, shifting between temporary and permanent, memorial, celebration, social critique, decoration and activism. Public art also plays an important role in articulating how we define public space in an increasingly privatised world and the debates we have about our history and culture. I spoke to Martyn at Landsec's head quarters in Central London, talking about the trajectory of his career and approach to developing cultural programmes - his priorities at Landsec and how he's working to change the ways developers understand working with art.

In this episode I'm talking with Francesca Anfossi, artist and co-founder of Rochester Square in London. In 2016 Francesca and her partner Eric bought Rochester Square a derelict plant nursary in Camden, North London and established a dynamic Ceramics Studio and Garden dedicated to socially engaged projects and artistic collaborations. Drawing together the central elements of Francesca's creative practice. Today Rochester Square is a thriving creative community supporting artists to make new work, encompassing a kitchen garden and community resource offering open days, schools workshops, ceramics library and Pot Shop. I spoke to Francesca at Rochester Square about what drives her creative practice, building cultural communities and power of ceramics to bring people together. We talked about the challenges of taking on a protected square, the value of not having a plan and letting things grow organically. LEARN MORE https://www.rochestersquare.co.uk https://benroberts.art