Arts First

<p>In recent years the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk"><em>National Trust</em></a>, Britain’s largest heritage organisation, has faced growing criticism for shifting its focus. Once dedicated to preserving historic houses, gardens and landscapes for their architectural, artistic and historical value, the Trust has increasingly emphasised ‘decolonisation’, ‘social justice’ campaigns and reinterpretations centred on Britain’s links to slavery and colonialism.</p><p>Critics argue that this approach reflects a loss of confidence in the Trust’s original purpose: stewarding the nation’s built heritage and presenting it on its own terms. Reports and public statements have spoken of “repurposing” historic houses, moving beyond the “outdated mansion experience,” and prioritising contemporary relevance over the buildings’ intrinsic qualities. At the same time, selective historical framing and changes to displays have raised concerns about the erosion of authentic engagement with the past.</p><p>A particularly stark example is the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.restoretrust.org.uk/restore-trust-issues/the-anti-restoration-of-clandon-park">Trust’s handling of Clandon Park</a>, a Grade I-listed Palladian house that was gutted by fire in 2015. Initially expected to be restored, the property is now the subject of approved plans to conserve it largely as a fire-damaged shell rather than reinstate its celebrated interiors. The scheme includes modern interventions such as viewing platforms and a new roof terrace, using insurance funds that many argue should have supported full restoration. The decision has been pushed through with minimal scrutiny — approved by Guildford Borough Council in March 2025 despite widespread objections — and has highlighted broader concerns about how the Trust interprets heritage significance and overrides member opinion.</p><p>This episode examines what is at stake for Britain’s country houses and the wider heritage sector. Has the National Trust abandoned its historic role as custodian of the nation’s cultural inheritance? What does genuine stewardship of heritage require today? And why does the confident transmission of history and beauty matter more than ever?</p><p>Joining Niall and Wendy are three guests with deep knowledge of the issues: <strong>Cornelia van der Poll</strong>, chair of the campaign group Restore Trust; architectural critic and lecturer <strong>Calvin Po</strong>; and educator and campaigner <strong>Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert</strong>, director of Don’t Divide Us.</p><p>The discussion explores the origins of the current controversies, the importance of beauty and historical imagination, parallels with earlier cultural upheavals, and practical ways forward—including the role of membership, education, traditional craft skills, and alternative models of heritage management such as Historic Houses.</p><p>Guest Biographies</p><p><strong>Cornelia van der Poll</strong> is a co-founder and current chair of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.restoretrust.org.uk/"><em>Restore Trust</em></a>, the campaign group formed in 2020 to encourage the National Trust to return to its core mission of caring for historic houses and landscapes. She is a former lecturer in ancient Greek at the University of Oxford.</p><p><strong>Calvin Po</strong>: is a designer, researcher, writer and educator based in London. He lectures at the Architectural Association School of Architecture and writes on architecture for publications including <a target="_blank" href="https://thecritic.co.uk/author/calvin-po/"><em>The Critic</em></a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://spectator.com/writer/calvin-po/"><em>The Spectator</em></a>. His perspective is informed by both his experience of the British Empire’s final outpost and a deep appreciation of Britain’s architectural heritage.</p><p><strong>Dr Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert</strong> is an educator, academic, author and director of the campaign group <a target="_blank" href="https://dontdivideus.com/"><em>Don’t Divide Us</em></a>, which advocates for a common-sense approach to race and against the politicisation of education and culture. She stood for election to the National Trust council in 2024 and is a founding supporter of Arts First. She has written and spoken widely on the importance of historical and aesthetic education.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Arts First at <a href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Cultural historian, Dr Tiffany Jenkins’ new and highly acclaimed book, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Strangers-Intimates-Rise-Fall-Private/dp/1529034167">Strangers and Intimates: the rise and fall of private life</a> provides the focus for this episode. It is a thoughtful, well-researched, nuanced, very readable account of how the right to privacy for the individual and family emerged over the past 500 yrs or so, as a central social value and something to aspire to and defend, and how that right is gradually being eroded by cultural changes.</p><p>Although the book is not about art, making only occasional references to artworks, as I read it I could see that art, in its historic course, might reflect the changes in ideas about privacy that Tiffany explores.</p><p>For example, I recently watched the recent film <a target="_blank" href="https://www.universalpictures.co.uk/micro/hamnet">Hamnet</a> (Dir Chloé Zhao, 2025), which suggested that Shakespeare’s Hamlet was inspired by his son’s early death. Towards the end of the film, it struck me that Shakespeare by giving public expression to a deeply private sense of loss and grief provided an early theatrical example of what Tiffany’s book examines. </p><p>So I asked Tiffany if she’d be interested in identifying works of art that illustrate her thesis … and thus an idea was born. And I was very excited by the list of works Tiffany wanted to talk about because I knew they would provide a fascinating way of exploring the motifs within her excellent book.</p><p>The BBC Radio 4 programme, Desert Island Discs, inspired the structure of the episode although it is shaped by the narrative in Strangers and Intimates, instead of Tiffany’s biography. Her chosen works are:</p><p><strong>Johannes Vermeer, Girl Reading a Letter</strong>, exemplifying interiority and the inner life, which became increasingly important emerging from the Reformation in the 17th Century onwards. </p><p><strong>Samuel Richardson’s novel Pamela</strong> (1740) and <strong>Dr Samuel Johnson’s Diaries</strong> in the mid-in the 18th Century, reflecting the emergence of the public and private as separate spheres of life.</p><p>In the 19th Century,<strong> Mary Cassatt, The Child’s Bath</strong> (1893) reflected the growing importance of privacy as a sphere of warmth and intimacy while <strong>Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper</strong> (1892), revealed the tensions and dangers that such a high valuation of privacy might pose to women. </p><p><strong>Egon Schiele’s self-portraits</strong> in the early 20th Century revealed a growing preoccupation with psychology and a desire to reveal or externalise the ‘authentic self’, the psychological man — expression of angst. </p><p>Later in the century, <strong>Nan Goldin’s, The Ballad of Sexual Dependency</strong> (1973&1986), in its performative self-examination through candid photographic documentary, reveals important shifts in how private life is displayed and consumed. </p><p><strong>Sophie Calle</strong> (b1953) created works that highlighted the undermining and loss of privacy as the 20th century proceeded, with the blurring of voyeurism with artistic practice. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.frieze.com/article/sophie-calle-other-peoples-lives">See Frieze magazine here</a>. </p><p><strong>Vincenzo Latronico’s novella, Perfection</strong> (2022) seems to reflect a sense that privacy can no longer exist nor is it desirable. </p><p>The episode ends by contrasting the depiction of intimacy in <strong>Rembrandt’s Isaac and Rebecca</strong> (or <strong>The Jewish Bride</strong>, 1665-69) with <strong>Sally Rooney’s Normal People</strong> (2018). </p><p> </p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Arts First at <a href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>Arts First is now well into its second year and has created over 40 episodes (including our four-part Christmas Carols extravaganza). What started out as an experiment with an uncertain future has developed a bit of a rhythm of production and is very much part of our, its creators’, lives. We’ve enjoyed the process of deciding what to talk about and who to talk to, and of recording and creating the episodes which generally turn out better than expected, mostly because the people we have roped into our plans have such interesting and insightful things to say.</p><p>In this episode we take a bit of time, the three of us, to review where we are at and where we want to go with the podcast. Our conversations with people from various walks of life, from long standing friends to people we have only just reached out to, have confirmed that we are lucky to be able to draw on the experience and expertise of a great range of people.</p><p>Although there are a lot of arts podcasts out there, they tend to specialise in a particular art form. We have been deliberately eclectic in our approach. </p><p>We don’t have a ‘big plan’ but we do want to talk about the issues that we feel matter. We may seem quite eclectic to listeners, but the guiding themes of our episodes are freedom of expression in the arts and the idea of art for arts sake. We don’t focus on one particular art form, and are keen to look at how these issues are played out across the arts. We believe that the instrumentalisation and politicisation of the arts over recent decades has done them no good, and possibly some harm. We also wonder if there is a tendency in the art world to ‘dehistoricise’ art — even within the discipline of art history. We are worried that art schools have ceased to really care about developing artists as artists with a commitment to free expression, instead seeking to shape ideological agendas around DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), climate catastrophism and other contemporary preoccupations. So we want to explore how/how much these trends have undermined freedom of expression, and hence creativity, and presented artists with new challenges. </p><p>Arts First is London-based but we are keen to look at issues in the arts from around the UK and across the globe. So far we have featured episodes from Glasgow, Nottingham, Salford, Warrington, Bishop Auckland and elsewhere. Friends who have offered suggestions are welcomed with open arms! (So far we haven’t reached beyond our national borders yet, but we are open to suggestions.) </p><p>We have talked to a few artists who have faced cancellation because they don’t follow what seems to be the dominant ‘line’ in the arts sector: their support for Israel or critiques of transgenderist and Islamist ideologies, have got them into trouble so we have been keen to give them a chance to talk about their experiences. And we are always keen to talk to artists, and people working in the arts, about how they develop their art and their careers in the arts.</p><p>Introducing the creators.</p><p><strong>Wendy Earle.</strong> I grew up loving the arts. I particularly enjoy going to art galleries, the theatre, opera and concerts. I am also a keen traveller, and wherever I go, I prioritise visiting galleries, and if possible attending local musical and theatrical events. I organise an annual series of London Gallery tours which are led by the artist Dido Powell, which take a close up and informative look at visual art. All of this feeds into my thinking about the arts and the reason why I initiated, with Niall, the Arts First podcast. The freedom to enjoy the arts, and to create new work, is essential to a good society. </p><p><strong>Niall Crowley.</strong> I discovered art history, hanging out after school, aged 11 or 12, in the FE college library where my mom worked as the cleaner. It was here for the first time I encountered Modern Art, the Renaissance, El Greco, Leonardo, Stanley Spencer, David Hockney.</p><p>After school, I took an art foundation, and then messed around in design and print for a few years. Meanwhile I developed a passion for inter-war art, architecture, music and history. Later, bored with work, I decided to return to university, study Design History and ‘retrain’ as an academic.</p><p>I left with a decent degree but a little disappointed with the direction of the course, and returned back into the world of <strong>work</strong>. Despite, or perhaps because of its limitations the course <strong>did</strong> leave me with many unanswered questions. So getting involved in Arts First has been a great opportunity to pick up where I left off, and for me, many of the nascent trends back then, such as the politicisation of the arts, have become mainstream today.</p><p>My other passion would be music - 60s and 70s soul, jazz-funk, gospel, Brazilian jazz, opera, and classical. I’ve sung in a couple of <em>amateur</em> choirs and opera companies. </p><p><strong>Dr Michael Owens</strong> Mick to my friends. I’m a London-based researcher, writer and lecturer, focusing on urban change and the life of cities, reflecting my career background is in urban planning and development. I now teach undergraduate programmes for American university students studying abroad in London. </p><p>My Doctoral thesis (2018) is an ethnographic study of London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. I sing in a choir.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Arts First at <a href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>The artist, Miriam Elia, is probably best known for her series of very funny spoof children’s ‘learn to read’ books. I first met her about 10 years ago when I interviewed her for an article for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.spiked-online.com/2017/03/02/meet-the-conceptual-artist-in-revolt-against-the-art-world/">Spiked</a> after one of her works, exhibited under a pseudonym, Mimsy, was pulled from an exhibition, curated by the art group, Passion for Freedom*, because the police claimed the exhibit presented a provocation of terrorism against the gallery and threatened to charge an exorbitant security fee if it wasn’t removed. ISIS threatens Sylvania was a series of 3D tableaux using the Sylvanian Families miniature toy-sets to create idyllic scenes, where sinister miniature masked ISIS terrorists lurking at the edges, threatening invasion.</p><p>Miriam had already been busy stirring things up with her entertaining little book, ‘We Go to the Gallery’, which gently but sharply mocked the social pretensions of the art world. In this interview, she tells us about the development of her successful business that has emerged from her work as an artist, and about her run in with Penguin who tried to charge her with breach of copyright of the Ladybird logo. And about how she enjoys finding new ways of pricking hypocritical bubbles, not least the effects of lockdown during the COVID. </p><p>Miriam takes her inspiration from the traditions of satire in art, but like satirical artists from the past, such as Hogarth and Ralph Steadman, and her grandfather Ralph Sallon, a celebrated caricaturist, she is as committed to the aesthetic underpinnings of art and its subtly subversive potential, not in making bald political statements, but in challenging deluded groupthink and pointing out pretensions and hypocrisy — in a way that is often instantly funny but also challenging. So she explains about how she approaches developing her art, how the ideas emerge and take shape, and the centrality of the visual image.</p><p>We also talk about the contemporary threats to freedom of expression, its impacts on artists in Iran and the recent uprisings there, her concern about her Iranian friends, such as journalist Hengameh Shahidi, currently imprisoned in Iran for ‘propaganda against the system’, the impact of antisemitism on artists, and why Miriam thinks the Jewish tradition is so important to the survival of Western civilisation. Finally she tells us about her forthcoming publication which is about Moses … but not quite in the way you might expect. </p><p>Miriam’s work can be seen and bought at <a target="_blank" href="https://dungbeetlebooks.com">Dung Beetle Books</a>.</p><p>(*You can hear more about the work of <a target="_blank" href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/p/episode-4-passion-for-freedom-cd8">Passion for Freedom here</a>, an earlier episode of ArtsFirst, in conversation with Manick Govinda and Passion for Freedom’s founder, Agnieszka Kolek.)</p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Arts First at <a href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>This is officially Part IV but they’re not in any chronological order, so after part one it doesn’t matter too much where you begin.</p><p>When we set out on putting this episode together, we knew wanted to interview friends and colleagues and find out what Christmas carols mean to them, now or growing up, and if they have any favourites.</p><p>We start off with a conversation between Mick and an old colleague, David Adam, who you may remember from our episode on the Paris Olympics opening earlier this year. David kindly agreed to join us to talk about his very talented musical family and the impressive-sounding family carol concert they are staging for themselves and their loved ones this Christmas.</p><p>Then we catch up with some dear friends at a very <em>merry</em> Christmas carols party somewhere in north London. It’s an annual and very informal gathering where we eat, drink catch up before Christmas day and sing a few carols together. </p><p>Thank you again for everyone who took the time to speak to us and share their thoughts and their memories.</p><p>The music for this section was recorded at Waterloo Station where Mick just happened to stumble upon the London Philharmonic Orchestra entertaining commuters. And he also recorded a wonderful choir performing at Vauxhall station but we didn’t get their name. And we eavesdrop on our friends singing along at our annual Christmas carols party. </p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Arts First at <a href="https://artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">artsfirst.substack.com/subscribe</a>