From starting conversations to opening 'discussion' - how one podcast became an art exhibition
- Danielle Hutchinson
- Jun 28, 2025
- 3 min read
Down to a Fine Art podcast began as a project in covid lockdown, when Fine Art students (now graduates) Izzy Eastick and Anna Harris wanted a space to start conversations about the messy side of art - not just the finished piece, but how to even begin a creative project.
Since then, the podcast has hosted over 30 guests, from architects to filmmakers, poets, and even nurses. Episodes range from exploring existential artwork themes, such as in 'All aboard the deep time party bus' to navigating life as recent graduates in 'Panic at the jobcentre'.
This month, Down to a Fine Art launched their first exhibition at Wharfside Art Hub in Penzance.
Aptly named 'discussion', the exhibition is a collaborative show, featuring work from many of their podcast guests. From sculptures and paintings, to photography and videography, the exhibition showcases a broad range of creative styles with the aim of starting conversations.
Curators Izzy and Anna hosted a live podcast episode in the exhibition space to give an insight into the process of putting together 'discussion'.
"Something that's really important to the podcast is our guests - the discussions we have shape the podcast and we thought it would be nice to reflect that in the show."
Each artist's work is interspersed throughout the space to explore what happens when you put different pieces of art next to each other and let the ideas mingle.
"Neither of us even entertained the thought of each artist having a set space in the exhibition. Right from the start, we knew we wanted it to be like a discussion."
"There aren't many other contexts where you'd get such a variety of work."
Throughout the space, questions are posted on the walls, encouraging visitors to chat about the work and making the themes of the artwork more accessible.
"We asked each artist to send in two or three questions that relate to their work."
"Having questions on the wall just feels like a natural extension of the exhibition. It's prompting discussion, whether that's between people or if that's just with yourself and prompting thoughts as you go round."
Artist statements are still available in a printed leaflet, but the questions are the only text displayed in the exhibition, instead of having large paragraphs of context to wade through.
"Artist statements [about the meaning of the work] can be difficult to write as an artist, but also difficult to read. I feel like a question is more open - it's just guiding or suggesting a direction you could think about the artwork in."
The hope was that these questions would give visitors "a way in" and the curators have been pleased with feedback from visitors who have enjoyed the interactive style of the exhibition.
Although the exhibition is now closed, the full podcast episode 'discussion' is now available to stream on Spotify:
Thank you to Izzy and Anna for the invite to the live podcast, it was an absolute pleasure to join the discussion panel. We had a go at answering some of the questions from the exhibition, so if you fancy hearing what I think is buried beneath a mine, or what I would write in a spontaneous poem, then take a listen!
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