LAS Interview Collection

The LAS Interview Collection holds a wide range of interviews with artists and practitioners undertaken for the Live Art in Scotland project. Spanning the late 1980s to the present, these conversations reflect live art’s grounding in a range of different art forms, contexts and communities of interdisciplinary practice. A cross-section of an expansive field as it has developed over thirty years, they offer new perspectives on the conditions in which live art’s signature experiments become possible, and the possibilities which live art might enable in return.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Recorded between spring 2021 and summer 2022 during the global covid-19 pandemic, most of these interviews took place online via Zoom. Each conversation was then transcribed and shared with the interview participants for review before inclusion here. For more on this process visit: about the LAS collection.

These interviews are a starting place for further research, rather than a ‘final word’ as each interview reveals the plurality of voices and perspectives that might be included in any history of the field. They complement existing histories – such as those of the National Review of Live Art (NRLA) – while seeking to platform new voices. They reflect the work of artists based in Scotland as well as those whose practice has seen them returning to work here, again and again, over the course of their careers. Further interviews will be added to the collection over the coming months as final transcripts are reviewed and confirmed – and links to the audio recordings of these interviews will be available later in the year: join our mailing list for news of when this happens.

Other collections

Our Resources for Researchers guide details a broad range of other archives and collections that might support research in this field. These include the NRLA Archive at the University of Bristol – which also documents the broader work of Nikki Milican as curator and artistic director of New Moves International – and the Live Art Development Agency resource and study room in London.

The Interviews

By accessing or downloading any of the materials listed here, you agree to abide by the conditions of use for the collection.