We interview Rana Begum in her studio, asking about definitions of sculpture, and things which aren’t usually spoken about – how to balance family life and her artistic career, and the problems she has encountered. We asked her about biography, race, identity and Britishness and how these issues feed into her work.

In a candid interview in her studio we asked Phyllida Barlow about how she came to sculpture, how she defines what sculpture is, how she disrupts those ideas, her recent successes and how they have impacted her.

Kim Lim was born in Singapore and moved to Britain in the 1950’s to enroll at art school. Despite a successful career (there are over 80 of her works in UK public collections) she has been left out of histories of 20th century British Art. This episode explores the reasons for that and ask how these exclusions happen.

In this episode, we explore hidden narratives in Frink’s career, and consider how artists can be sidelined by the ‘art world’ yet remain popular with the public.

Barbara Hepworth was born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire in 1903. By the time of her 1975 death, she had become one of the most important artists of the century, creating a poignant and innovative sculptural language.

Dame Barbara Hepworth, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Kim Lim, Phyllida Barlow, and Rana Begum - some of the most globally well-known British artists are women sculptors. Conversely, the profession and practice of sculpture was seen by many throughout the 20th century (and before) to be very much a man’s world. Often using heavy and hard materials, sculpture was not typically viewed as suitable for women artists. The Sculpting Lives podcast series explores the lives and careers of these five...