Interviews with artists

Interviewing artists is important for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it provides insight into the creative process and the inspirations behind their work, allowing audiences to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the art they produce. Additionally, interviews with artists can offer valuable perspectives on current social and cultural issues, as many artists use their platform to comment on and draw attention to important topics. Furthermore, these conversations provide an opportunity for artists to connect with their audience on a more personal level, fostering a sense of community and understanding. Overall, interviewing artists serves to enrich the artistic experience for both the creators and their audience, making it an essential practice in the art world.

David Paskett

Born in London, David Paskett studied at Hornsey, Exeter, and Liverpool Colleges of Art. Living in Hong Kong from 1986 to 1990 David has regularly returned to exhibit and collect fresh material for paintings. One of Britain’s leading watercolourists, Paskett is held in equally high regard in China, which is a major source of inspiration for his paintings.

His visits to many parts of China have resulted in a collection of images that, viewed together, represent a rich visual archive of Chinese everyday life.

Bridget Strevens Marzo

Bridget Marzo is a bilingual, award-winning author-illustrator  of nearly 30 picture books published across the world.  She loves sharing her love of picture books and art and with children of all ages at schools, festivals and in workshops in London, Cambridge and France. 

Xu Bing

Xu Bing is a Chinese artist who served as vice-president of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is known for his printmaking skills and installation art, as well as his creative artistic use of language, words, and text and how they have affected our understanding of the world. He is an A.D.

David Crilly

David Crilly is the Artistic Director of the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival.

David Crilly established the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival Company in Oxford in 1988 whilst still a member of Magdalen College, where he undertook doctoral research in musicology. He is a composer and has performed on many occasions as an orchestral conductor in Cambridge. He has published on semiotics, music analysis and aesthetics, and also on the music of Britten, Debussy and Charlie Parker. For eighteen years he was Director-in-Residence for Anglia Opera. He is also an independent researcher in Music and Drama and recently returned from lecture tours of India, Oman, Jordan, Namibia and South Africa.

Tim Chalk

Tim Chalk is a sculptor and founder of Chalk Works, which is an art and design studio based on the work of artist Tim Chalk, specialising in the design and fabrication of a wide range of Site Specific Artworks. Designers, Architects, Museums, Schools and private individuals have benefited from his input.

Steven Coghill

Steven Coghill, the Head Gardener of King’s College Cambridge, describes his career in horticulture. This included lecturing at horticultural college, and managing the gardens at two great estates: Braxted Park and Glemham Hall. His work at King’s College Cambridge has included the creation of a new garden as a setting for the memorial to the renowned Chinese poet Xu Zhimo.

Matthew Blakely

Matthew Blakely is a distinguished and internationally known potter. He was born in the United Kingdom and emigrated to Australia in 1988 where he studied at the National Art School in Sydney, winning the State Medal in 1993. He moved back to England in 2002 and lives near Cambridge.

Svend Bayer

Svend Bayer is a Danish-British studio potter described by Michael Cardew as "easily my best pupil." Bayer grew up in Tanganyika and discovered pottery whilst studying geography and economics at the University of Exeter from 1965 to 1968.