Ey Up with Harry Meadley

I’m going to be quite busy on a big project opening 2 March at Touchstones, Rochdale, so have had to put the podcast on hold for a little while.To sign up to receive an email notification when the podcast returns please click here.And can you also find the secret link by clicking here.

The Leeds West Indian Carnival is something very close to my heart, and those familiar with the carnival may have, like myself, always noticed that almost every notable image published of it over the years was photographed by someone called Max Farrar. A long standing local of Chapeltown, activist, sociologist, and author of The Struggle for ‘Community’ in a British Multi-ethnic Inner-city Area (2002), I was honoured to finally get the chance to meet and talk with Max about his own history within the area, his five decades of social action, and the work of the David Oluwale Memorial Association he is part of.For those not familiar with David Oluwale, I don’t feel it right to shorten his story in these episode notes, but be assured that his story will be re-told loudly and widely in the upcoming months as we approach the 50th anniversary of his death. You may remember from Episode 6 with Jade Montserrat, in which she speaks of Rasheed Araeen’s work For Oluwale (1971-73), that has surprisingly never been exhibited in Leeds. This work will finally be presented as an updated version at The Tetley from the 16th February.

I have found myself on occasion referring to Sally as the ‘spirit of the Leeds art scene’, a title I wish only to imbue with the utmost respect and reverence. Anyone who has put on or been to at least a couple of art or poetry events in the city over the last 15 years or so will have recognised and most likely encountered Sally. She quite literally goes to everything. No one else, or no where else, have I come across such a dedicated, interested, and incredibly supportive audience member, and even referring to her now as just an audience member seems a serious understatement.She is a much loved and appreciated person but equally quite a private person, and in many ways although she is someone deeply interested in others, many of us in fact, who have known her for years, don’t know that much about her, her life, and how she came to be the wonderful and iconic character of the city she is.Merry Christmas!

Mick (Episode 22) recommended I get in touch with Tony, as he had recently moved over from Chicago and become co-director of Chapel FM - an arts centre and radio station based in East Leeds. With a background in journalism, theatre and radio, Tony kindly shared with me many of his experiences from how the impact of watching Tiananmen Square on television lead to starting a student theatre group in Wuhan, to starting to work at WFMT radio and developing the Studs Terkel Radio Archive - a collection of well over a thousand local radio programmes by Chicago legend Studs Terkel who interviewed many of the great characters of the 20th century.We discuss the medium of radio, its relationship to theatre, podcasts, and how specific local-level activity and oral histories can have equal universal appeal and power; and beginning to ask “what does it mean to not be a bystander in the city that you live in?”

I recently had the pleasure of seeing some new video works by Clare Charnley and her long-time collaborator Patricia Azevedo at Film Free and Easy in Nottingham – that you may remember from Episode 38 with Pete Ellis. My memory had failed me again, as this episode begins with Clare telling me about how her and Patricia met, though it transpires that they had in fact told me that exact story as part of a project from over a decade ago I had completely forgotten I’d done!I find Clare has a particularly interesting body of work and has in various ways sought, as she puts it, to ‘demonstrate cultural ignorance’ through her often collaborative, and actually quite brave performance works that have taken place in countries such as Estonia, China, Israel, Mexico and Kurdistan. Now finding myself starting to make works in more international contexts, it was great to be able to learn from Clare’s many experiences, sensitivities, and her assertion of the importance of seeing ourselves in an international world.

With The Tetley celebrating its 5th birthday on Nov 28, I had the pleasure of catching up with one of its co-founders, and long-time Leeds art advocate Kerry Harker. Since first becoming an art student in 2005, many of the artist-led projects Kerry has initiated and run since that time have been hugely influential and significant in my own development as an artist - but far more importantly, have contributed hugely to the cultural landscape of the city itself.Speaking about her time as an art student and early-career artist, from the complexities of being in the New Contemporaries to the valuable support received by East Street Arts’ DECAP programme, Kerry reflects on how these experiences fed into moving on to more curatorial artist-led activity, and the incredibly steep learning curve involved. We also hear about her PhD research into the history of artist-led activity, establishing the East Leeds Project to further support artistic activity outside the city centre, and why it's difficult to both change and stay the same.

I’m currently on the Alchemy Film & Moving Image Residency at Café Tissardmine, on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. This message will appear if I’m unable to upload the latest episode whilst I’m out there. Full episodes will return Monday 19th November.

Having heard about the the somewhat mysterious ‘Art Doctors’ discussing and prescribing artworks to members of the public, noticing Liz’s involvement in setting up and co-running the wonderful 105 Women project at Union 105, and then finding out about the collaborative group / studio F= she is a part of who are currently embarking on their The Erotic Power of F= Conduit Tour 2018, I was very interested to invite her in and hear more about it all. We hear about her tendency to make projects in response to injustices, realising that working in the studio wasn’t for her but now starting to desire it, the curious town of Ambleside, the importance of playfulness, conversation, and art being a conduit to bring people together.With a way of working which commonly involves people in its process, often sitting alongside or outside of usual exhibition programming, or going directly into different community groups, Liz is an incredibly active, yet non-hierarchical and ethically conscious artist who’s many collaborative projects you often have to be a part of, or be directly engaged by to really experience.

When I started this podcast I made the decision that I wouldn’t do any extra research, or really prepare in any way going in to each recording. There were a number of reasons for this, mainly that the best source of information is the person themselves, and I find it’s much more fun to discover things then and there. For instance, I’ve known Matt for quite a few years and had no idea until this conversation that he grew up in Tanzania and the profound influence it has had on him and his work. I have always been curious about his approach to making, as in many ways it carves quite a unique place for itself; so it was great to have this opportunity to delve a bit deeper. From welding up sections of Elland Road to the recent sculpture out the front of the The Tetley, we talk Tutankhamun’s tomb, Dean Clough Studios, and the healthy realisation that art often isn’t as important as we think it is.

Alfie is someone I have had the pleasure to get to know and witness develop as an artist a few years after he moved to Leeds about ten years ago. Though as is often the case, in all that time it felt we hadn’t really sat down and talked at length about it all. Prompted somewhat by his imminent departure from the city to start an MFA elsewhere, it felt like a nice point to reflect with him on this last decade: how it wasn’t until after art school he really started to learn, how socialising and collaborations have shaped his thinking, and becoming more interested in other people’s ideas than his own; the sometimes depressing nature of art making, dismantling and rebuilding your practice, getting older, and making room for the newer generation.He also shares a little bit about his quite unusual upbringing in North Wales surrounded by the occult and esotericism, and how reconnecting with this through his work lead to a collaborative exhibition with his father at PERICLO, Wrexham, and ultimately brought them closer together.

Quite a few years ago now - whilst still an art student myself and as an artwork in itself, I set up a small art prize for students on the Leeds Foundation course where I had previously studied. Though generated by a different set of circumstances, the creation of the Northern Art Prize at that time was clearly an influencing factor. Every year I invited the winner of the Northern Art Prize to be one of the judges on my one – and this was how I first met Pavel. It always stayed with me how seriously he took this role and how diligently he approached it – especially given how publicly he expressed his uncertainties of art prizes (and of the one he’d just won).Known by many as an influential educator, internationally exhibiting artist, and regular subverter of symposiums, I have always enjoyed any chance I’ve had to speak with him, and hear some of his usually quite eventful stories. This time however, somewhat foregoing his own personal biography, he chose to share many of his thoughts on the nature of art, the teaching or inability of teaching it, and its many nonsenses.

Episodes will return Sep 10 on a now biweekly basis.

It wasn’t until this conversation with Charles that I found out he was behind the wave sculpture which stood for many years in Wakefield station – that was always a favourite of mine. Over the years Charles has produced a wide range of quite major public art commissions around the country. Although I knew he lived in Leeds, I had never had the chance to meet him. Part of the reason for that is that for the last couple of decades much of his working life has been in Preston teaching Public Art and co-running In Certain Places, a research project and commissioning body which has had a major influence on the city.Charles also tells me about his time in the Leeds art scene during the eighties and early nineties much of which I was surprised to know very little about, such as the Leeds Art Space Society and Breadline Gallery. We also talk model railways, ‘the shooting of the budgerigars’, H Block, subverting the National Grid, making work on instinct, and sitting on council meetings being part of his work as an artist.

I first got to know Nina as part of the Liverpool Biennial Associate Artists programme we have both been a part of. Having exhibited with her a couple of times and shown her work at blip blip blip, I still find her work a mystery. Often paired down to the simplest of means, it demands of you a serious level of looking in both senses of the word. She also doesn’t generally disclose much about the work, or even herself and so I was really made up she accepted the invitation to be a guest on the podcast. I’m still not sure how much I was able to find out but came away feeling personally much more reassured from our conversation and even more curious.Nina is currently exhibiting as part of We Are Where We Are, Baltic 39, Newcastle, and Oh, it is easy to be clever if one does not know all these questions, DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague.

Though having only met her briefly on a couple of occasions, I had been interested to have a longer conversation with Emma particularly as she has been producing and developing work through the use of table reads – something I’ve wanted to work with as a format myself but not quite figured out exactly how yet. Though more than that, she is the wielder of a critical and significant voice who has carved out a space for herself and supported many others. As well as being co-editor of Gordian Projects Emma also co-ran the Place & Memory project spoken about by Amanda Burton in Episode 27 and it was so great, albeit surprising, to learn the other half of that story.Emma Bolland’s recent essay ‘Manus’ was published as part of On Violence edited by Rebecca Jagoe and Sharon Kivland; and her forthcoming book and sound work ‘Over, in, and Under’ described as ‘a psychotic free-associative prose-poem translation of Sigmund Freud's essay ‘Screen Memories’’ will be published by Dostoevsky Wannabe Experimental in 2019.

At the time I don’t think I quite appreciated how fortunate I was to have had Pete as my personal tutor in the first year of my degree. As many of those who were taught by him I’m sure will testify – he would stand up for you and your work, especially against certain members of staff who held quite firm views about what did and didn’t constitute art making. He was a champion of inclusivity and of difference. At what was usually – as its fair to say many of his students would also hear a lot about during tutorials – quite a personally quite difficult time for him.Last year Pete retired from teaching, leaving alongside a large retrospective of his work at &model gallery, Leeds, and is now part of the Film Free and Easy screening and performance events. It was a genuine pleasure to have what was essentially one final tutorial with him. And as ever: contains strong language.

Maybe its because this episode comes out on my second wedding anniversary, and maybe it’s because during this conversation both me and Michael get rather uxorious – or rather that we discuss the idea of love within art, but I do feel this is something that is often over-looked as either the driving force behind or the content of a work itself. If anything, this podcast is a labour of love, and has given me license to connect or re-connect with people in what feels like a meaningful way. Michael is certainly one of those people and someone I have always loved talking to. On a brief trip back from his new home of São Paulo it was great to catch up with him, verbally recount some of his works (which often only exist within their verbal recounting), and talk about another shared love of ours – art education.

Garry has long been a stalwart of art education within Leeds College of Art, from first setting up a print workshop in 1974 to a vast list of positions, new courses and even centres. He has, however, always prioritised the educational experience of his students above all else, and had a profound effect on thousands of them over the years. We touch on this a little bit, but really I was interested to hear more about his own journey – his philosophies on art making, education, and life.I somehow managed to never have the fortune of being directly taught by Garry so thought I would take this as my chance. We talk about his relationship with his hometown of Dudley, the value of a bodily education, loosing his accent, always seeming to be visualising problems, how certain life experiences such as the birth of his first child shaped his practice, and his growingly popular Aphorisms for Young Artists.

A couple of years ago whilst doing an exhibition at Turf Projects in Croydon I met Chris. He had quite wisely come to a crit session I was asked to lead at the gallery, not so we could discuss his work, but because he was going to be leading the next one. It struck with me as quite a smart and sensible thing to do, and something I probably wouldn’t have thought to do myself. Since then I’ve noticed him frequently putting out really great work and projects, which have the nice habit of often wanting to exist much more within the real world. The morning before the opening of a collaborative exhibition with Liam Geary Baulch at serf in Leeds (with another group exhibition at the brand new LOWER.GREEN opening in Norwich) it was nice to sit down with Chris and probably get to know him. Chris Alton will also be part of this years New Contemporaries and Jerwood Space’s upcoming Survey show.

The past episode ‘Harry’s Easter Message’ ended with a recording sent in by artist Pamela Crowe of her children practicing their reading skills from the episode list of this podcast. After receiving this lovely recording I became interested in Pamela’s work as well as the various workshops she has been developing that in her words “all of which are conversations”, it seemed fitting somehow to invite her in to be a guest on the show to find out more. Needless to say we had quite an in-depth conversation and given her focus on trauma and kindness it was at times quite heavy, and at others very uplifting.Pamela Crowe has just initiated the peer support Creative Mothers Project at Aire Place Studios – and is currently developing Pamelashop for the upcoming Love Arts Festival.