Art Against the World

About Art Against the World

A contemporary art podcast that brings together artists, writers and thinkers to discuss how art responds to the world around us. Hosted by philosopher Vid Simoniti, each episode features artists in this year's Liverpool Biennial exhibition, paired with unexpected guests--from cultural critics to community voices. In Season 2, we unpick the central idea of Liverpool Biennial 2025: Bedrock. In an often polarised and fragmented world, what remains our bedrock? What are the things that ground us? Our guests explore answers from a shared family, history, or culture, to a critique of the economic and political realities that undergird our everyday experiences. You can listen to the episodes in order, or by scanning the QR codes next to the artworks exhibited around the city. Each episode features two LB2025 artists, and puts them in conversation with a thinker, performer or writer. www.biennial.com Credits Written and presented by Vid Simoniti, with contributions from Marie-Anne McQuay Co-producer Martha Murphy Sound design Luke Thomas Visual design ohfourtwoseven ⁠ Supported by Liverpool Biennial and the University of Liverpool

Publisher

Liverpool Biennial

Category

arts · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

11 Mar 2021

Latest episode

22 Jun 2025

Latest episodes

12 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Jun 2025

   The Soil and the Rock - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 6

   Artist collective DARCH, artist Petros Moris, and geologist Anjana Khatwa explore Liverpool Biennial's theme, revealing connections between art, history, and the earth's bedrock in this episode.

2. 

   15 Jun 2025

   The Oldest Chinatown - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 5

   Artists Karen Tam and ChihChung Chang, musician Zi Lan Liao, and researcher Emily Beswick explore the evolution and cultural significance of Chinatowns worldwide, focusing on Liverpool's historic Chinatown and its impact on identity and community, in this interview episode.

3. 

   6 Jun 2025

   Materials That Make Us - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 4

   Artists Linda Lamignan and Odur Ronald, along with art historian Stephanie O’Rourke, examine the complex relationship between artists and globally traded materials, revealing animism's potential to reshape our understanding of natural resources in this interview episode.

4. 

   1 Jun 2025

   Layers of the City - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 3

   Writer Jeff Young, artist Elizabeth Price, and artist Cevdet Erek explore how architecture and art installations in Liverpool reveal lost social memories and political struggles, in conversation with Vid Simoniti.

5. 

   25 May 2025

   The Historical and the Personal - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 2

   Curator Marie-Anne McQuay discusses the Liverpool Biennial 2025, highlighting artists Dawit L Petros, Jennifer Tee, and Michelle Peterkin-Walker, who explore historical narratives and personal reflections through diverse mediums, revealing the enduring impact of the past.

6. 

   18 May 2025

   Chosen Families - Liverpool Biennial 2025 Ep 1

   Artist Alice Rekab, filmmaker Amber Akaunu, and activist Felix Mufti explore how chosen families and ancestry inspire belonging and shape queer communities in Liverpool, with curator Marie-Anne McQuay providing context in this interview episode.

7. 

   11 Mar 2021

   What is a Biennial? · Liverpool Biennial Episode 6

   Liverpool Biennial Director Sam Lackey and curator Manuela Moscoso discuss curatorial narratives and processes within biennials, focusing on the Liverpool Biennial 2021 in this interview with Vid Simoniti.

8. 

   11 Mar 2021

   Speculation · Liverpool Biennial Episode 5

   Artist Larry Achiampong and Luisa Ungar explore Afrofuturism's legacies and fiction's archival role, while critic Pablo Larios and presenter Vid Simoniti discuss imagining alternative futures, in this interview episode.

9. 

   11 Mar 2021

   The Port · Liverpool Biennial Episode 4

   Curator Elvira Dyangani Ose discusses art portraying seas and migration, including Alberta Whittle's video linking climate change and colonialism, and Invernomuto's sound installation tracing Black diaspora influences, in an interview with Vid Simoniti.

10. 

    11 Mar 2021

    Transitions · Liverpool Biennial Episode 3

    Curator Chus Martinez discusses art's reflection on changing bodies with Vid Simoniti, highlighting Pedro Neves Marques' film on male pregnancies and Ane Graff's sculptures on adapting to pollution in this interview.

11. 

    11 Mar 2021

    Forest · Liverpool Biennial Episode 2

    Artist Jorge Menna Barreto and video artist Bo Zheng explore art's response to ecological challenges, such as rainforest protection and human connection with plants, in conversation with curator Margarida Mendes and presenter Vid Simoniti in this interview.

12. 

    11 Mar 2021

    Violence · Liverpool Biennial Episode 1

    Painter Ebony G Patterson and photographer Sohrab Hura explore representing violence sensitively in art, discussing their respective works depicting gang members in Jamaica and social media violence in India, with commentary from curator Catalina Lozano in this interview episode.

Who has been a guest on Art Against the World

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• DARCH
• Petros Moris
• Anjana Khatwa
• Karen Tam
• ChihChung Chang

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 24 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

48

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

0

Contact Art Against the World

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.