Doug Aitken

“We see the world as this huge kaleidoscopic field of information … and I think the way we see culture and the arts should also embrace that,” Doug Aitken says. In this conversation with Marc Spiegler, the interdisciplinary artist discusses his wide-ranging practice, from its roots in Los Angeles in the 1970s and 80s to his project Station to Station, which transformed a train along a 4,000-mile journey into a nomadic studio, to his recent collaboration with musician Jamie xx and creating sculptures that live underwater. Art Basel Executive Editor Jeni Fulton also speaks with musician Fatima al Qadiri about her latest album, Medieval Femme, her lifelong fascination with the sensual recitation of classical Arabic poetry, and her recent forays into scoring films.