001 Collective Creation between Welfare and Austerity

For the first of our new podcast series, we present Collective Creation between Welfare and Austerity. This was recorded at the first event in our Summercamp series, a day-long symposium led by Professor Gavin Butt and developed from his research on post-punk culture and British art schools. The day focused on collective creation across art, music, and theatre, between the heyday of the Polytechnic and today.

The day was devised and led by Professor Gavin Butt with contributions from Green Gartside of Scritti Polliti, Chris Goode of Ponyboy Curtis, Kevin Lycett of the Mekons, writers Claire MacDonald and Amy Spencer, and representatives from DIY Space for London. More details of the event can be found here.

001A Gavin Butt, Green Gartside and Kevin Lycett – The Post-Punk Artschool

This panel discussion explores the formation of music bands, and the importance of banding together to make art, in the art school milieu of the late 1970s and early '80s. The panel consists of two former art students, Green Gartside, the creative force of the left-wing-inspired post-punk band Scritti Polliti, and Kevin Lycett, co-founder of the Mekons, a shifting musical collective formed in Leeds in the late '70s.  

Right-click to download here.

001B Clare MacDonald, and Chris Goode – Ensemble creation between then and now

This panel discussion considers ensemble creation between then and now. The panel includes Claire MacDonald, co-founder of Impact Theatre Co-operative, which as a company fused text, music, visual and performance art and Chris Goode, lead artist of Chris Goode & Company and director of the performance ensemble Ponyboy Curtis.

Right-click to download here.

001C Donna Lynas and Amy Spencer – From DIY to DIT

This panel discussion looks at DIY and DIT infrastructure of contemporary art and music. The panel consists of writer Amy Spencer, author of the book DIY: The Rise of Low-Fi Culture, and representatives from the cooperatively-run social centre DIY Space for London. The session is chaired by Wysing's Director Donna Lynas. Please note: the contribution from DIY Space for London is not archived.

Right-click to download here.