Read, Watch & Listen

Professor Sarah Hibberd explores the history of opera as a vehicle for reflecting, responding to and even effecting political change.

We caught up with artist Jennifer Stein to learn more about how a chance meeting with the then-unknown graffiti artist, 'SAMO' aka Jean-Michel Basquiat, at a New York loft party led to a vibrant collaboration on a collection of postcards capturing the energy and creativity of their youth.

Silent London’s Pamela Hutchinson looks back at the origins of silent cinema and contemplates the striking similarities to what we’re watching now on our phones and on the big screen. 

How can we tackle the lack of diversity on stage? We spoke to theatre company, Told by an Idiot, for their advice.

We’re moving to the margins in a documentary short to explore ‘DIY Art’ as we meet performance collective, Figs in Wigs in their home. An ex-morgue.

We speak to Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui about the process of translating manga for the theatre, the impact of manga on the creative process and get an insight into rehearsals with the Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon.

Christian Campbell, Trinidadian Bahamian poet, essayist and cultural critic, considers the importance of Basquiat’s work for today’s audience.

In the first of our series of 'How to' workshops focussing on traditional crafts, tapestry weaver Christabel Balfour invites us in her South London studio for a weaving demonstration.

Basquiat’s early graffiti experiments as SAMO© intertwined with the burgeoning hip hop, rap and graffiti scenes of the late 1970s and 1980s. Discover the sound of the era.

We look back at our May 2017 Instagrammer, Adeola Adeko to explore their Barbican shots.

The first in our Subject to Change series, Katie Hale presents, ‘Honey’, inspired by an incident on 2 January when a Virgin Trains East Coast customer complained on Twitter about a male staff member’s passive aggressive use of the word ‘honey’.

In the first of our year-long series of short films exploring The Art of Change, London-based, Swedish animation director Amanda Eliasson presents her interpretation of ‘Censorship’ in her hand-painted animation, Square Face.