When Arlene Goldbard is not being a cultural activist or a consultant, she paints. When she is not painting she writes. She writes essays and novels. Her latest novel The Intercessor has just come out.
Owen Kelly talks to Arlene about how this specific burst of writing began, how the novel grew from the initial writing, and what she hopes the published book might achieve.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Laura Raicovich about Fall of Freedom, which begins on the day this podcast drops.
Owen Kelly looks at some of the deeper meanings of Katie Lam’s recent remarks on cultural coherence.
October 31, 2025
In this episode we explore Faircamp again, trying to find something to celebrate halloween. Then we take a peep at what we can find at Tribe of Noise.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso interview Betsy Damon whose work with water has had a healing impact across the globe. She talks about her work from early projects in China to her current undertakings.
Owen Kelly discusses Artists’ lives: ecologies for resilience, the new independent qualitative and longitudinal study by Susan Jones.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso offer their third podcast in a series about censorship and related issues, following on episode 54 with writer Jeff Chang and episode 55 with muralists Amber Hansen and Reyna Hernandez.
Owen Kelly discusses Teenage: the creation of youth 1875 – 1945, and reads excerpts to show just how wide a canvas Jon Savage uses to paint a picture of life for young people in the industrialising west in the latter half of the nineteenth century and the start of the twentieth.
We explain what Faircamp is, what a webring is, and then dive into some of the extraordinary variety of music available on the Faircamp webring.
On episode 55 of A Culture of Possibility, Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso host muralists Amber Hansen and Reyna Hernandez, who were the first interviewees on the podcast!
Reasons to read Fight Night by Mirian Toews.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk with author Jeff Chang, about the banning of his book Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A Hip Hop History.
Sophie Hope talks to Anthony Schrag about the complexities surrounding socially engaged art and ethics.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso follow up the two previous episodes by asking where we can go from here.
Owen Kelly discusses Ways of Attending, and other books by Iain Gilchrist and Peter Afford.
Moby and Little Walnut Productions have re-launched mobygratis with, their words “phenomenally expanded functionality and resources, making it the most robust iteration yet”. In this episode we dig deeper into #mobygratis and listen to a not-quite-random selection from the tracks available.
Owen Kelly talks to Belinda Kidd and John Phillips about the Museum of Unrest’s third collection called Community Arts. They discuss how they gathered the material, and what material they gathered.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk to Lori Pourier, founder and Senior Fellow at the First Peoples Fund.
Hannah Kemp-Welch recorded this, the final episode of Ways of Listening, at the symposium ‘Listening Together: Practices for Community-Centred Listening’ at London College of Communication in February 2025.
Our Summer Reading mini-series begins with Owen Kelly and David Morley discussing Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century, written by Christian Caryl and published in 2014.
Owen Kelly talks to Sovay Berriman about Cornwall, the conservation and nurturing of its language, rewilding, the dilemmas of arts management, and the connections linking all these.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk David Cutler about how and why the Foundation chose to focus on Arts & Mental Health; the impact they’re having; and how their work fits into the larger arts funding landscape.
Hannah Kemp-Welch chairs a panel featuring Beverley Bennett & Sam Metz at a symposium titled ‘Listening Together: Practices for Community-Centred Listening’.
In the final episode of this Special Edition, Sophie Hope interviews Youth Landscapers’ Producer Rebecca Lee along with members Alfie Ropson and Georgia Harris-Marsh, and board member Jo Wheeler.
Sophie Hope and Hannah Kemp-Welch discuss possible futures for socially engaged arts practice with Lucy Elmes, Owen Griffiths, and Kim Wide.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk about a remarkable book, Engineers of the Imagination: The Welfare State Handbook, first published in 1983 and still extremely influential.
Hannah Kemp-Welch talks to Hector MacInnes about a project in HMP Inverness.
In 2023, YLC created The Stage of Possibility – a vibrant, democratic space designed, built and curated to showcase stories and voices from the National Forest at Timber Festival. In this episode they share their experiences of the National Forest, through the songs they made and performed.
Ben Bordwick, Sophie Hope, Hannah Kemp-Welch and Leo Valls discuss how wheeled users might play freely in the city. How can we ensure more access and equality in the development of public spaces? How can we make certain that the voices of young people become embedded in planning processes?
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso talk about key questions for the future.
Hannah Kemp-Welch talks to Joanne Coates about her recent work with young women in the Yorkshire Dales and Orkney, Scotland.
An online conversation between Jo Wheeler, who helped initiate YLC and 3 of its Youth Council: Kris Kirkwood, Isaac Munslow and Alfie Ropson, & .
This episode we start another irregular series of podcasts of music issued under Creative Commons licences: this time almost exclusively from the venerable Tribe of Noise site.
Hannah Kemp-Welch & Sophie Hope talk with Nadia Shaikh and Mark Teh about how art and culture intersects with the right to access and use land.
Owen Kelly joins Arlene Goldbard to discuss a report entitled “State of Culture” from Culture Action Europe.
Hannah Kemp-Welch talks to Angharad Davies about her long term work with communities at Rurban in Poplar, London.
Owen Kelly talks to Ken Worpole about just some of the adventures of Colin Ward during his adventurous and varied life.
Arlene Goldbard talks with Clementine Sandison, an artist who works with people in Scotland to build solidarity networks.
Hannah Kemp-Welch & Sophie Hope talk with Kathrin Bohm, Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell about how creative enterprise models can bring communities greater fiscal equity.
Owen Kelly talks to John Phillips and Clive Russell about the Museum of Unrest: how it began, how it works, and where it might lead.
November 2024 has 5 Fridays, so we listen to episode 438 of Cory Doctorow’s podcast where he first lays out his theory of enshittification.
Hannah Kemp-Welch & Sophie Hope talk with Kim Wide & Anurupa Roy about jugaad, and the role of frugal innovation in cultural practice.
Arlene Goldbard talks with Libby Lenkinski, founder and president of albi.org about culture, Palestine and Israel.
Hannah Kemp-Welch talks to Nisha Duggal about Held, a multi-platform project in which she guided people to make simple, clay sculptures while sharing conversations.
Owen Kelly looks at three recent events and suggests we work out how to play the long game if we ever want things to go our way.
Hannah Kemp-Welch and Sophie Hope talk to 5 participants on the first day at Social Making 5 about what they liked and what they learned.
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso talk about words used in our fields of work. This time, they focus on community.
Paul Crook talks to Hannah Kemp-Welch about his work with young people to facilitate listening.
Owen Kelly talks with Professor Sara Selwood about the nature of nature writing, its effects on nature and its effects on culture.
Sophie Hope talks to Sean Gregory and Jo Gibson about the new Guildhall De-Centre.
Arlene Goldbard and François Matarasso talk with William Frode de la Foret, Art Director of Cork Community Art Link in Ireland.
Natalie Smith talks about her work with Arc Theatre and the role of listening in this work.
Hannah Kemp-Welch and Sophie Hope talk to Kim Wide, CEO and artistic director of Take A Part, about the Social Making symposium that takes place in Bristol in October.
This month we rebroadcast an episode of the Bees of Bensham podcast series in which Mattie interviews Barbara Keating, the lead artist on the project.
Sophie Hope talks to Barry Sykes about his current art project exploring permissable spaces for respite, refusal and reclining.
France Trépanier & Chris Creighton-Kelly talk about Primary Colours, an initiative to place Indigenous arts at the centre of Canadian arts.
Jorge Lucero discusses ‘Conceptual Art and Teaching’ and considers listening within critical pedagogy and as a daily practice.
With a new UK Labour government, and the opportunities that may or may not bring, Owen Kelly talks to Susan Jones about possible futures.
Presenting a completely re-edited and remixed look at a session about cultural democracy held at the Raymond Williams Society in 2019.
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso turn their attention to some words used in discussions of cultural democracy and community-based arts.
Alex Parry describes a collaborative project that intervenes in the structure of the seminar to disrupt the usual power dynamics.
July 5, 2024
Owen Kelly suggests that we should read A Guide for the Perplexed, the book that E. F. Schumaker wrote in 1977, but read it sceptically.
Sophie Hope talks to Ben Jones, founder of Dingy Butterflies about a recent citizen science and arts project called Bees of Bensham.
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso talk to Nati Linares, whose current focus lies in the solidarity economy for artists.
Simon James reflects on the process of a recent project, and how listening played a central part throughout it.
Owen Kelly and Sophie Hope discuss Solidarity Not Charity, by Nati Linares and Caroline Woolard. As often, this leads to a wider discussion.
In 2024, when a month has 5 Fridays, we will find another podcast that excites us and spread the word. This month we look at an old episode of Free as in Freedom!
Sophie Hope reports live from a meeting to acknowledge and celebrate the twelve years’ work of the Alternative School of Economics.
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso talk to James Thompson, founder In Place of War.
Practitioner and researcher Sylvan Baker examines listening within applied theatre practices.
Owen Kelly explains about Todoist, why you might host your own calendars, and how these relate to positive laziness and doing nothing.
Sophie Hope talks to Karen Pilkington about the origins of the Village Hub project in Plymouth, and what it has gone on to achieve.
Arlene Goldbard & François Matarasso discuss the difficult conditions community-based artists & groups must work under as austerity bites.
Marley Starskey Butler, a multidisciplinary artist and social worker, talks about workshops as spaces for listening.
Owen Kelly looks at some practical examples of changes we can make and tools we can use.
March 29, 2024
This year, if a month has five Fridays, we will find another podcast that excites us and spread the word. This month we look at episode 40 of Ferment Radio.
Sophie Hope brings together 4 people connected to the MA Art and Social Practice run by the University of Highlands and Islands in Scotland.
Arlene Goldbard talks with Sebastian Ruth about how classical music can connect with community arts and cultural democracy.
Jody Wood talks about listening as a practice of care – where to care is not to cure.
Owen Kelly looks at the evidence for considering three different dimensions of the digital tools we use.
Sophie Hope and Fabiola Fiocco discuss a workshop they led in Rome in February.
Arlene Goldbard talks with David Francis about the Traditional Music Forum in Scotland, and much more.
Disabled artist and drag king Lady Kitt talks to host Hannah Kemp-Welch about their practice of ‘mess making as social glue’.
Owen Kelly suggests that we update our ideas about the web to reclaim its radical, collaborative nature.
Brendan Jackson talks about the finale of the Jubilee Archives programme and the structure of Laundry.
Arlene Goldbard and Owen Kelly discuss the secret (and not so secret) spirituality that fuels their work.
Sam Metz talks about listening beyond the aural, sharing examples from their work with non-verbal participants.
Owen Kelly suggests three approaches that we might usefully develop in the coming year.
This year Miaaw celebrates its fifth anniversary and so every time we find a fifth Friday in a month we will relive an episode from our history.
Sophie Hope talks with Raluca Voinea about a joint venture of a group of artists, curators, theorists, economists and others in Romania.
Arlene Goldbard talks with Judith Marcuse about the growth & hibernation of Canadian community engaged art.
Edwin Mingard explores social change through moving image. Here he talks about the need to turn off ‘broadcast mode’.
Sophie Hope and Owen Kelly talk with Susan Jones about visual arts, arts policy, structural flaws, and and artists’ livelihoods.
This month Owen Kelly talks with Zeynep Falay von Flittner about transitions design and systems thinking.
François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard talk with Ralph Lister from Take Art, in rural Somerset, England.
Albert Potrony introduces his participatory arts practice, describing a recent project with young fathers in Gateshead.
Owen Kelly argues that corporations try to extend and merge the definitions of copyright and trademarks. This hurts creators, stifles creativity, and harms the public domain.
Sophie Hope talks with Sam Trotman from the Scottish Sculpture Workshop and asks her about SSW’s philosophy and practice.
Many people take democracy for granted, but what is it really: certainly more than majority rule and voting every once in a while?
Owen Kelly reads extracts from The Careless Society to contextualise the arguments that John McKnight proposes.
