Who is responsible for making a work of art? In each episode of this collaborative podcast series, one anthropologist, specialising in a particular cultural context, has a conversation with an artist of their choosing, exploring issues of authorship and responsibility in art. Ranging across geographical locations and creative practices, discussions address and unpack the conceptualisation of the artistic person, authorship as centred upon an individual or bounded group, and the development of responsibility for artworks during and after their making. Each episode brings a fresh perspective on where ideas come from, what agency an artist feels in the creation of their work, and how, and in which contexts, ownership and responsibility for the artwork are claimed. Ultimately, as a collection, the series encourages listeners to think about ‘the artist’ and ‘the artwork’ as dynamic processes in a relationship of authoring.

Episode 6 features Bronagh Lawson with Kayla Rush

Bronagh Lawson is an artist based in Belfast who has written a blog about the vibrant local contemporary visual arts scene for the last ten years. Previously she ran cross-community cross-border development programmes for 13 years. Originally from Portaferry and Strangford, Northern Ireland, she is a Fulbright scholar and graduate of Winchester School of Art. Bronagh is a co-founder of the Hydrangea project, a Belfast-Chicago collaboration which uses contemporary art underpinned with art therapy to act as a healing mechanism. Her book Belfast City of Light: Looking and Listening to Belfast Come with Me is based on her experience as a non-churchgoer attending every church in Belfast for a service.

https://www.lulu.com/shop/bronagh-lawson/belfast-city-of-light/paperback/product-1z7ympqj.html?page=1&pageSize=4https://iarc.ie/exhibitions/previous-exhibitions/ebb-and-flow-prints-by-bronagh-lawson/https://us4.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=849f2610883f3b34ac8274556&id=595d763c41

Kayla Rush is an anthropologist of art, music, and performance. She is an assistant lecturer in music at Dundalk Institute of Technology in Dundalk, Ireland. Kayla's previous research examined community arts in contemporary Northern Ireland; her book on this research, The Cracked Art World: Conflict, Austerity, and Community Arts in Northern Ireland, was published in June 2022. Her current research is focused on private, extracurricular, fees-based rock and popular music schools.https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/RushCrackedhttps://doi.org/10.1386/jpme_00054_1

Artery is a podcast organised by Iza Kavedžija (University of Cambridge) and Robert Simpkins (SOAS, London) and supported by the AHRC.Music: Footsteps, by Robert Simpkins.