Jonny Tanna is the founder of Harlesden High Street, a gallery rooted in northwest London that centres artists of colour, outsider practices, and community engagement. He explains how the space grew organically from film nights and curatorial experiments into a platform designed to welcome people who are often excluded from the contemporary art world. Throughout the conversation with brave podcast host and arts editor, Victoria Comstock-Kershaw, Jonny challenges the dominance of the white cube, the decline of traditional art fairs, and the narrow collector base that many galleries rely on. He argues for broader cultural engagement, drawing from music, film, and counterculture, and speaks about Minor Attractions as an alternative fair model that prioritises social exchange, experimentation, and atmosphere. The episode explores how outsider artists are supported at Harlesden High Street, including Jonny’s approach to curation, performance, and installation. He shares stories that highlight how everyday encounters, local communities, and unconventional narratives shape the gallery’s programme. Jonny also reflects on sincerity in the art world, warning against the performative use of terms like community and accessibility. He emphasises that galleries are ultimately people-driven spaces and that treating artists and audiences with respect is essential for long-term sustainability. The conversation closes with future plans for Harlesden High Street, including archival-focused projects, exhibitions exploring music history and cultural shifts, and Jonny’s ongoing commitment to building platforms that prioritise cultural value over commercial posturing.

Curator, writer and founder of communications agency The Inventive, James Marshall joins Victoria Comstock-Kershaw for a new brave podcast episode to talk about access, class and confidence in the art world, and how he built a career without the usual pathways. Growing up in rural Scotland with little access to museums or galleries, James shares how arriving in London at 17 reshaped his relationship to art, and why he decided to create his own opportunities rather than accept unpaid labour as the entry fee. Throughout the episode, James breaks down the power dynamics behind internships and early career roles, and explains how bringing a clear skill set to the table can shift the balance. From learning social media on the fly to building The Inventive, he reflects on the reality that experience does not pay rent, and why paid apprenticeships and properly funded routes into the sector are overdue. The conversation also explores language, communication and the performance of the gallery ecosystem, and why contemporary art needs fewer barriers and less art speak. James and Victoria discuss accessibility in exhibitions, the value of wall texts, and how formats like Minor Attractions can help audiences connect with work beyond the white cube. James also shares what is next, including plans for a group show exploring queer relationships with intimacy, and a full circle moment working with Simone Brewster on a commissioned installation film at the Design Museum.

Artist Eva Dixon joins Victoria Comstock-Kershaw for a new brave podcast episode to unpack the ideas behind, ‘Mercury 13’, Eva’s exhibition inspired by the women who secretly qualified for astronaut training in the 1960s. Eva shares how their overlooked history, especially the story of Wally Funk, shaped the direction of the show. Throughout the podcast, Eva talks about her approach to materials, sourcing firehoses, discarded objects and community donations to build sculptures that feel alive, improvised and full of tension. Eva’s process blends invention with instinct, letting found materials guide her into new narratives. The conversation also dives into joy as resistance, the problems with the tortured-artist myth and the importance of community, reciprocity and care. Eva is currently exhibiting work at Work In Progress with her solo exhibition ‘Mercury 13’, and at Rose Easton as part of the group show ‘Abigail’s Party’.

Host Victoria Comstock-Kershaw sits down with artist Esther Gatón at her exhibition Vowels, with anteroom for an episode of brave podcast. Together, they explore the deep relationship between material, process, and intuition that underpins Esther's practice. The conversation moves through ideas of repetition, dreams, care, natural light, and the emotional intelligence of materials. Esther reflects on working across different cities, collaborating with friends, balancing artistic labour with discipline, and the importance of forging one's own path without self-censorship. Esther speaks about her working process, including her transition from sculpture to graphite drawings. She offers insight into her handmade bioplastic sculptures and explains how humidity, geography, and low-tech methods influence their final form. Victoria and Esther also discuss audience interpretation, fluid mechanics, and the quiet, mysterious ways artworks build connections across generations and contexts. The episode concludes with a look ahead to Esther's forthcoming six-month museum exhibition at Patio Herreriano in Spain. A special thank you to Flavia Nespatti, co-founder of anteroom.

London-based painter Elizabeth Dimitroff joins brave host Victoria Comstock-Kershaw for a rich and thoughtful conversation recorded on the eve of A Boy Falling Out of the Sky at Soho Revue. Elizabeth traces her unexpected journey from studying furniture design at the Rhode Island School of Design to rediscovering painting in her mid-twenties, reflecting on how memory, nostalgia, and a quiet surrealism shape her figurative worlds. As the co-founder of God Save the Scene, Elizabeth brings a unique perspective on community and the shifting culture of London’s art scene. She shares grounded advice on residencies, building a sustainable studio practice, finding support systems, and navigating the early years after art school. The conversation unfolds with honesty, humour, and a refreshing openness that resonates long after it ends. A special thank you to the team at Soho Revue.

In this episode, artist Anna Pakosz joins host Victoria Comstock-Kershaw to discuss how her journey from Hungary to the UK, beginning with the Tracey Emin Artist Residency in Margate, shaped her evolving practice. Anna reflects on how movement, gesture, and material experimentation, from dance to rust and blackboard paint, converge in her work to explore presence, rhythm, and transformation. Pakosz opens up about finding her voice in London’s fast-paced art scene, the shift from structured environments to artistic independence, and the balance between control and surrender in her creative process. Pakosz also shares insights on her debut solo exhibition Long Takes at Deák Erika Galéria in Budapest, and her plans for future residencies in warmer places. A conversation about process, vulnerability, and trust, in materials, in the body, and in the unknown.