🎙️ In this episode, I visited London-based artist Lydia Smith (@lydiasmithartist) at Kindred Studios in West London to discuss her artistic practice and the work she is doing as co-founder of FÉ Collective.
🎟️ Purchase tickets for FÉ's Gala (June 12th) here
🌿 FÉ is a female-led collective inspired by Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own and dedicated to creating time, space, and opportunities for the next generation of women artists. Through exhibitions, events, lectures, and its Freshers programme, the collective aims to foster critical dialogue and support artists at pivotal stages of their creative careers.
🎨 We discuss Lydia's multidisciplinary practice, which spans sculpture, works on paper, and digital media, drawing on themes of ancient history, technology, science, and spirituality.
🌱 We also cover the importance of arts education when navigating the contemporary art world; CIC's ("Community Interest Company"; building meaningful communities and support systems for women artists; and finding a balance between order and chaos when managing creative careers.
🥀 The conversation also explores FÉ's upcoming Freshers Gala on 12 June. Conceived as an alternative to the traditional art world summer party circuit, the event celebrates the artists, assistants, photographers, technicians, and cultural workers who are often working behind the scenes. This year's theme, Dark Rococo, invites guests to embrace rich textures, deep tones, ornate details, and unapologetic theatricality while raising funds for FÉ's end-of-year exhibition.
✨ Lydia Smith is a London-based multidisciplinary artist whose work has been exhibited at Christie’s, the Saatchi Gallery, Bowman Sculpture, and throughout London's contemporary art scene. Her work has been featured in publications including , , , and .