Claret & Conversation: Voices from the Creative Industry

Jack-of-all-trades Ray Foulk discusses his extraordinary life as the Isle of Wight festival creator, city events planner, art deco gallery curator and author. 

Ray grew up on the Isle of Wight. When the island needed funding to build a new swimming pool, he and his brother decided to set up a festival. Now an internationally renowned event with headliners such as Lionel Ritchie and Lewis Capaldi, Ray credits its early success with prosperity the support of Bob Dylan. Catapulted into success, Ray and his brother were brought into the Milton Keynes city planning project. Asked to develop the town’s leisure space, Ray once again went the extra mile and brought Buckminster Fuller, the celebrated architect, on board.

In his late twenties, Ray ‘retired’ to run an antique shop in London. Here, again, Ray quickly became successful, acquiring famous pieces of art deco furniture and curating exhibitions. Ray’s interest in this area spurred him to learn more. He received a degree from the Open University before being offered a place at Cambridge to study architecture. Later in life, Ray worked in schools to raise environmental awareness, which he credits as being his greatest creative contribution.

In this podcast, Katie and Ray discuss the importance of thinking big in the creative industry, and how this ambitious drive can be harnessed for success. They also discuss Ray’s new book, Picasso’s Revenge, and the world of Picasso and 1920s Paris.

Listen to the British composer and music leader discuss his role as a creative catalyst and the importance of collaboration.

Adam Saunders’ musical ability was clear from a young age. Growing up near Portsmouth, Adam attended a small school where few people played instruments. From the age of seven, he found himself accompanying the school choir and music groups and was, in his own words, ‘thrown in at the deep end’. Preferring to play by ear rather than from sheet music, Adam continued to enjoy working in a communal environment and has fond memories of playing obscure Edwardian requests for punters in Portsmouth pubs.

At Trinity Laban, Adam discovered his desire to work in community-based projects through his friendship with Pete Churchill. Marrying the professional with the pedagogical, Adam began involving himself in group projects, focusing on bringing music to those with no formal training or musical background. It was in this role as a creative catalyst that Adam came to Clapham Community Choir, working with an eclectic group of people with mixed abilities to create a fun and dynamic society.

In this episode, Katie and Adam discuss the role of ‘creative catalysts’, those in the creative industry who enable others to create through training and guidance. They also consider the role of collaboration in creativity, and how often it is through working together that we can show our strengths and minimise our weaknesses.

Listen to the award-winning director and filmmaker Tor Bridges discuss using creativity as a force for positive change and social justice, and how this ethos has impacted her work.

Tor Bridges studied documentary film making in the States before moving back to the UK and joining the BBC as a researcher. She quickly became disenfranchised with the hierarchical, male and mercantile environment and left the organisation to pursue her career as a director. Joining forces with her husband, they set out to make documentaries which brought people’s attention to hard-hitting international issues. More recently, Tor was the executive producer for ‘Anna: the woman who went to fight ISIS’. The documentary is about Tor’s niece, Anna, who went to fight with the Kurds against ISIS and was sadly killed by a Turkish airstrike in the town of Afrin in northern Syria.

Tor believes passionately in the ability of documentaries as a force to inform and change people’s opinions. Her films contextualise the bigger picture by bringing in personal stories, as she believes it is the individual which will intrigue her audience.

In this podcast, Katie and Tor discuss the role of documentary makers in shaping and respecting the narrative of their subjects. They also explore how creativity can be a force for change and the need for more female voices in the filmmaking industry.

'Creativity is Curiosity.' Mathematics professor at Oxford, art historian, poet, philosopher, superb aphorist - is there anything Simon Altmann can't do? Listen as he discusses how creativity and curiosity have shaped his life.

Simon Altmann was born in Argentina and grew up in the shadow of WWII. After receiving British Council funding to study in London for two years, Simon returned to Argentina. He soon realised he would have to leave, not only because there was little opportunity to earn a living as a mathematics professor, but also because of the political situation under Juan Peron. After refusing to join the political party, Simon left to work in Oxford and has only returned to Argentina once ever since.

As a professor of mathematics, Simon made many breakthroughs. He wrote code for the Manchester computer and developed new uses and understanding of rotational algebra. After retiring in the 1990s, Simon turned his attention to writing, publishing a book on mathematics and then philosophy. He continues to write poetry and has recently published a paper on art history.

In this podcast, Katie and Simon discuss the role of curiosity in creativity. They examine how being curious allows one to learn more and deepen understanding and how this in turn permits you to be more creative. They also talk about the need to go back to the source, reading not just the expert opinion, but the opinion which informs the expert opinion.

Listen to acclaimed playwright and author of Learning German (badly) Tim Luscombe, as he discusses European identity, Brexit and Eurovision.

Tim Luscombe grew up in the Surrey suburbs near Epsom. He left to study Geography at Oxford and quickly realised that he could get by without doing any work until third year. Consequently, he spent most of his degree directing plays before finally getting round to some studying in the last three months. After leaving university, Tim took part in the Old Vic directing attachment. He credits this as being a formative experience in which he learnt to reach out to everyone around you in order to fulfil your creative endeavours. Since then he has gone on to write and direct many successful productions and co-founded a gay theatre company which has worked with many famous actors, including Jude Law.

Identity is central to Tim’s work, whether national, gay or European. In particular the idea of common identity. Do these groups have a common identity? And if so, what is this common identity and how does it bring people together? Much of Tim’s work on this has been examined through the lens of Eurovision, which Tim loves for its campness, European-ness and politics. More recently, Brexit has become the leitmotif of Tim’s work. His book, Learning German (badly) (Claret Press; 2019), humorously examines the interactions of a group of people from across the world as they attempt to pass their German citizenship exams.

In this podcast, Katie and Tim discuss Europe in the wake of the Brexit referendum. They debate what it means to be European and whether it is an economic or social institution. They also talk about the role of failure in the creative process and how to develop the resilience needed to succeed in this industry.

Sweeten your January by listening to Clapham entrepreneur Wendy Yates discuss compotes, marmalades and ketchups and managing her own micro-business.

Wendy Yates started her career in a very different industry: speech and language therapy. After spending five years studying, she entered the profession and slowly began to realise that it was not for her. She was faced with the decision of whether to maintain her stable job or strike out to find happiness in another area. Wendy credits the supportiveness of her partner with allowing her to make the jump to compote maker, and we are very glad she did!

Growing up in the countryside on the border with Wales, Wendy was always surrounded by fresh produce and her mother's inspirational cooking. These influences helped to shape the values and ethos of Wendy’s company, Fruition Preserves. Wendy’s compotes are made using fresh ingredients, old-fashioned techniques and low sugar. Her products are so delicious that they have even won awards, with her Seville orange marmalade taking the bronze Marmalade Award.

In this podcast, Katie and Wendy discuss the practicalities of being a sole-business owner. Together they examine the decision making behind growing a business, the trials and tribulations of marketing, and the power of good logo. They also discuss the importance of collaboration within the creative process and how feedback and inspiration are integral parts of creativity.

Sound artist Tansy Spinks talks about how to listen. Thoughtful and informed, this experimental artist makes a fascinating podcast.

Tansy Spinks always knew she wanted to be an artist. Growing up in a family of female painters, her decision when she left school was not whether to be creative, but which creative path to follow: art or music. Choosing to attend Leeds University and study photography, Tansy relished the opportunity to experiment. Now a senior lecturer at Middlesex University, Tansy works with students, evaluating their work by examining the students’ curiosity and their commitment to their course and their research.

Tansy has had a varied career as an artist. During her forties, she returned to university to study for her phD, and here she began to combine her interest in sound with her art process. Fascinated by what our ears bring to the experience, Tansy enjoys performing live. She visits places and performs using objects that are readily available or have a special relevance to the historical or current environment. She’s performed live at various locations, from Brixton Market to an old WWII sea fort in Kent.

In this podcast, Katie and Tansy discuss Tansy’s life and work. Working through the writings of Marx, Morris and Ruskin, they discuss the relevance of creativity in the human world, how we are inherently creative beings, and the need for schools and society to recognise and value this reality. They also listen to an extract of Tansy’s sound art, a 45-minute recording of re-enacted Leeds United football and discuss the narrative value of sound.

Uncertain who to support in the upcoming Canadian elections? The world leading expert in match-fixing, Declan Hill, has boxed with Justin Trudeau, had dinner with the Russian Mafia and spills all on Claret and Conversation season two. 

Author, illustrator and organiser of Clapham Book Festival sits down with Katie to kick of the second season of Claret and Conversation with a bang. Learn about the fascinating panels in the upcoming Clapham Book Festival and the hidden truths about the area of Clapham that so many writers love.