ABOUT THIS PODCAST 🔗
Arts First challenges the contemporary view of the arts as tools for social change; highlights how freedom of expression is compromised by political activism and institutional cowardice; explores what is unique and special about the arts; and celebrates new artistic achievement and courage in the face of today’s challenges. Arts First is produced by the Academy of Ideas Arts. and Society Forum.
artsfirst.substack.com
artsfirst.substack.com
Update frequency:
every 18 days
Average audio length:
39 minutes
Guest interviews
English
United States
53 episodes
since June 16, 2024
episodic
LATEST EPISODE 🔗
Rosie Kay has had an award winning career in dance and choreography. She is the director of her own company K2CO and is in the forefront of the campaign Freedom in the Arts, which she founded with Denise Fahmy, after the experience of being cancelled because of her gender-critical views.
We have in…
PREVIOUS EPISODES 🔗
I really enjoyed this discussion with Nat Edwards, Leeds-based Director General and Master of the Armouries, Ella Nixon, an academic, curator, and writer, specialising in regional art collections and women’s art; and Lawrence Goldman, Executive Editor of History Reclaimed. After I presented the the…
Mention the words ‘Venice’ and ‘opera’ together and for most of us that would bring to mind La Fenice, the city’s world-famous opera house, which first opened in the 1790s. But the history of opera in Venice goes back much further, beginning with a small, largely forgotten playhouse called Teatro S…
In our 50th episode we take a bit of a roundabout look at the Odyssey on film. We discuss some of the creative challenges and opportunities faced by filmmakers who choose to take on this epic poem that inspired Classical Greece, but predated it by many centuries.
Of course, its influence casts a ve…
During this episode, I changed my mind about Tracey Emin and started to understand her as an artist who is not necessarily as narcissistic as some see her. Rather she plumbs the depths of her own experience to create works which are multilayered, shocking, challenging, disturbing and sometimes beau…
David Hockney died on June 12, 2026 at the age of 88. The Arts First team, meeting for a planning session just a few days after he died, decided to do an impromptu appreciation of him on video. Wendy Earle, Niall Crowley, Michael Owens and Rachel Jordan talk about what he meant to them, as a true f…
In this episode we interview writer, broadcaster and artist, Lachlan Goudie who recently published his remarkable new book — The Secrets of Painting: The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today (Thames & Hudson 2026).
Lachlan Goudie is a writer, broadcaster and artist. His previ…
I have long wanted to do an episode on the subject of art education but have found it difficult to decide how to focus a discussion. It’s a huge subject, ranging from teaching school children art, to the work of art schools in the development of artists and designers, to questions about who now get…
In this episode we turn our attention to opera, particular at life away from the major institutions. Beyond the large companies there’s a plethora of small independent opera companies, festivals and ensembles, often working in intimate venues and with limited resources. Today we explore some of tha…
Today we dive into the world of contemporary art, focusing on the New Contemporaries exhibition, currently on show at the South London Gallery.
We’re joined by two good friends of the show: artist Rachel Jordan and curator, writer, and campaigner Manik Govinda.
New Contemporaries is a long-running …
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Arts First, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
PODCAST SEARCH ENGINE
You can use our website to search 3,823,850 podcasts and 195,671,065 episodes by people, places, or topics.
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious, and
I listen to podcasts.
‐ Albert "Llamacorn" Einstein
CLAIM THIS PODCAST
Why to claim podcasts?
If you are a podcaster, the best way to manage your podcasts on Listen Notes is by claiming your Listen Notes
podcast pages.
It is a great, free way to engage the podcast community and increase the visibility of your podcasts.
After claiming your Listen Notes podcast pages, you will be able to:
✓
Manually refresh the RSS feed to sync up
✓
Get a verified badge (
✓
) alongside with your podcast name on Listen Notes
✓
Post classified ads for sponsorship,
guests, co-hosts,
cross-promotion...
✓
Respond to listener comments on Listen Notes
✓
Use speech-to-text techniques to transcribe your show and
edit transcripts
✓
Improve the presence of your podcasts, e.g., self-service
podcaster interview...
✓
If you share your Listen Notes page and at-mention @ListenNotes
on X (formerly Twitter),
our official X (formerly Twitter) account will retweet to promote
your show to our followers.
Coming soon:
◯ Self-service promotion on Listen Notes
◯ Track your podcast stats on Listen
Notes, e.g., listens, page
views...
◯ Manage episodes
EDIT
Thank you for helping to keep the podcast database up to date.
