We launch Season 6 of Art Persists with Chilean feminist collective LASTESIS. We chat to Sibila Sotomayor Van Rysseghem and Daffne Valdés Vargas from the collective about their work, using performance and video art to unpack feminist texts and to challenge global patriarchy and its impact on women and the LGBTQI+ community. Sibilia and Daffne discuss some of their most important works including Un violador en tu camino (a rapist in your path) - a performance that went viral and was replicated...

The Art Persists Podcast is back with Season 6! Join us for one of our best seasons yet as we chat to artists and activists from all around the world. We'll talk about some of the biggest threats facing the arts today, hear from those who are using their work to fight for freedom and justice globally no matter the cost, and have conversations with poets, writers, film makers and more about how art can help make the changes we want to see in society today. Join us for the first episode out...

We chat to Sami Tamimi about his life growing up in East Jerusalem where he became interested in cooking after working in a hotel at the age of 17. His career took off when he moved first to Tel Aviv before settling permanently in London. Sami talks about the making of his cookbook, Falastin, which explores contemporary Palestinian food and tells the story of the Palestinians he met along the way. We also discuss how he has been coping since the October 7 attacks and subsequent siege on Gaza...

We speak to Standing Together about their grassroots movement working towards peace and justice for Palestinians and Israelis. The organisation gives us insight into Israeli attitudes towards Palestinians, particularly since the October 7 attacks and Israel's subsequent siege on Gaza. We end discussing their Theory of Change towards an equal and just future. As always, if you are enjoying the Art Persists podcast please leave a review wherever you listen. Only with your help can these...

We are joined by Palestinian artist, activist, DJ, and producer Nour Palestina. We chat to Nour about her project, Refugee Chronicles, where she interviews survivors of the 1948 Nakba which saw 700,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced and a further 15,000 killed. Nour talks about her project and its eerie parallels to Gaza today where over 1.8 million people have been internally displaced and at least 15,500 have been killed since 7 October 2023. She talks about media bias and the role of...

In this episode, we are joined by Kurdish poet and journalist Nedim Türfent. The conversation focuses on Nedim’s recent release from prison in Turkey, where he spent 6 years and 7 months imprisoned for his journalism. We talk about his dedication to exposing Turkey’s brutal treatment of Kurdish communities which led to his arrest and subsequent imprisonment after an incredibly unfair trial. Throughout the episode, Nedim talks about poetry as a form of resistance, something that kept him alive...

In the episode we chat with Cuban artist and activist Tania Bruguera about her 30-year career as a pioneering artist advocating artistic freedom and human rights in Cuba and beyond. We discuss how she uses art as a tool of social change, transforming her audience into “citizens” to bring about real change. She coins the practice Arte Útil - art as a tool. We go on to discuss the systematic oppression she has faced for her work at the hands of the Cuban state, beginning thirty years ago with...

In this episode, we talk to Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, renowned for investigating human rights violations globally. We speak to one of Forensic Architecture’s Lead Researchers (who will not be named), about the dire situation in Gaza since Israel’s siege began. They talk about the work they are doing to use evidence-based research to uncover the truth and document human rights abuses as the death toll of civilians reaches 10,000 people...

In the Season 4 finale of the Art Persists podcast, we speak to multi & interdimensional artist Murugiah. We talk about his early life growing up in Wales, and his turn away from architecture to art. He discusses finding his unique style, combining bright, bold colours with surrealism and his Sri Lankan identity. We end talking about his wonderful commission for this year’s Refugee Week, and his exploration into public art. His upcoming 3D sculpture installation, Rangoli Mirrored Cosmos,...

In the latest episode of the Art Persists podcast, we speak to filmmaker, curator, and member of AVAH Collective, Parwana Haydar. We discuss Parwana’s work and the Afghan artists who have influenced her the most. We then talk about her participation in AVAH Collective, connecting Afghan artists around the world and working to recall the art history of Afghanistan. AVAH’s latest exhibition, CHILDHOOD(S) - of memories in art, is on at Haus Coburg until 10 September. As always, if you are...

Hong Kong artist Kacey Wong joins us for the latest episode of the Art Persists podcast. We chat about his early life growing up in Hong Kong, at the time still under the control of the British. He then talks about his participation in Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement and 2019 Anti-extradition Law Movement, using his work to connect with fellow protestors and using humour to mock and ridicule the authorities. The conversation ends with Kacey talking about his difficult decision to leave...

In this episode, we speak to architect Sofia Karim about her work as an architect and also as an activist. She talks about her move into art-activism after the imprisonment of her uncle, the renowned photographer Shahidul Alam. Since that moment, Sofia has dedicated much of her career to art-activism, campaigning for the release of political prisoners worldwide. As always, if you are enjoying Art Persists please leave a review wherever you listen. Only with your help can these important...

We speak to Syrian cinematographer and filmmaker, Ayman Alhussein. In the episode, we hear about his early life growing up in Syria and taking part in the revolution in 2011 before making the impossible decision to leave - first to Turkey before finally coming to the UK. We talk about the making of AYMAN and his more recent film Matar, and the importance of lived experience in filmmaking. As always, if you are enjoying Art Persists please leave a review wherever you listen. Only with your...

We are back! Launching Season 4 with a special episode recorded live during Refugee Week in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts. The conversation brought together 3 renowned artists Laura Nyahuye, Ghafar Tajmohammad, and Olga Tkachenko, together, we spoke about the place of art in mental health recovery, along with resilience and it’s limitations in each of the artists’ contexts; from addressing social issues through art, to the Afghan diaspora experience, and finally escaping war in...

In this episode, we speak to choreographer and activist Donna Miranda. Donna talks about her upbringing as a dancer and choreographer in the Philippines before transforming her practice into activism during President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drugs in 2016. She now works as a land activist, promoting the rights of farmers - leading to her unjust arrest in June 2022.Thank you to Donna for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE....

In this episode, we speak to Shilo Shiv Suleman, artist and founder of The Fearless Collective. Shilo describes finding her voice as a artist starting at the age of just 13, founding The Fearless Collective - working with communities across the world to create resistance through creativity, and how through the collective she visualises a fairer future.Thank you to Shilo for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with...

In this episode, we speak to Ahmed Tobasi, Artistic Director of The Freedom Theatre in the heart of Jenin Refugee Camp in Palestine. We discuss his own experience growing up under occupation and ultimately finding theatre after being imprisoned at the age of just 17. Tobasi talks about theatre as a form of resistance, uniting communities, and giving children their childhood back.Thank you to Tobasi for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW,...

We speak to Turkish artist, poet, and activist Ege Dündar about his experience of forced exile following the persecution of his father in Turkey, his debut poetry book, All These Things Aren’t Really Lost, and how solidarity acts as ‘medicine’ against oppression.Thank you to Ege for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard.Ege Dündar is a 28 year old writer and activist from...

We speak to Chinese artist Badiucao. In the episode, Badiucao talks about his self-exile from China, becoming a dissident artist who uses his work to stand up to Xi Jinping’s regime and other authoritarian governments. He also draws on the ongoing threat he faces by the Chinese government, extending beyond China to Hong Kong, Australia, and the rest of the world.Thank you to Badiucao for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE....

In this episode, we speak to artist Gianluca Costantini. We talk about his expansive career - becoming a voice for political prisoners worldwide through his drawing, and telling human stories with books including Libia.Thank you to Gianluca for joining us for this episode and Elettra Stamboulis for interpreting. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard. Gianluca Costantini is an activist and artist who for...

In this episode, we speak to artist eL Seed about his phenomenal career creating immense works in public spaces; from a mural on a minaret in his hometown of Gabes in Tunisia, to a vast mural across the neighbourhood of Manshiyat Nasr in Cairo. We talk about his practice and how he uses art as a way of challenging perceptions and creating unity amongst people. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard. eL Seed...

In this episode, we speak to Nigerian multi-disciplinary artist Jelili Atiku. We discuss his performance work that highlights social issues in Nigeria and beyond including political assassinations, the devasting impact of Boko Haram, and the destruction of traditional values by the British during colonialism. Thank you to Jelili for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help can these stories be heard. Jelili...

In this episode, we speak to Iranian visual artist Soheila Sokhanvari. We chat about her experience leaving Iran to the UK as a young woman, the road accident that caused her to leave her career as a biochemist and pursue her dream of becoming an artist, and her current exhibition Rebel Rebel, honouring 28 Iranian female artists who were forced to abandon their careers after the Iranian Revolution in the 70s. Thank you to Soheila for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art...

In this episode, we speak to Syrian activist and filmmaker Waad al-Kateab. We discuss her early life growing up in Syria and her experience of the Syrian Revolution in 2011 which soon descended into war. Waad describes her life during the war as a young mother, filmmaker, and human being, and her experience of fame after the release of For Sama. Thank you to Waad for joining us for this episode. If you are enjoying The Art Persists Podcast, please FOLLOW, RATE, and SHARE. Only with your help...