Compelling with Katy Wellesley Wesley

Bonus Content: Building a Studio That Scales

What does the day-to-day reality of a conceptual art studio actually look like? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley asks Noémie Goudal to pull back the curtain on her Paris studio and the team behind the illusions. Noémie describes a lean permanent setup, a studio manager, rotating interns and a deep bench of freelance specialists that scales to meet each project. From the optical engineer who calculates the precise dimensions of her paper backdrops, to the pyrotechnician who stages controlled explosions, to the iconographer who brought order to years of chaotic research, each collaborator opens a new field of knowledge that feeds back into the work. Katy also asks whether the number of women among Noémie's key collaborators is deliberate. The balance, she says, is organic rather than engineered. A quick, candid glimpse into how large-scale art is actually made. Noémie Goudal: Noémie Goudal is a French conceptual artist whose photographs, films, performances and sculptures construct illusionistic interventions in the landscape, underpinned by research at the intersection of ecology, anthropology and paleoclimatology. She graduated with an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2010, after studying graphic design at Central Saint Martins. Goudal was shortlisted for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 [https://www.artbasel.com/stories/prix-marcel-duchamp-2024-pompidou-paris-noemie-goudal] at Centre Pompidou, where she premiered the films Grand Vide and Supra Strata. Her Artangel-commissioned installation The Story of Fixity is touring to Le Portique in Le Havre for Normandie Impressionniste 2026, with further exhibitions at the Pola Foundation in Japan and a major monographic survey opening at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, in 2027. Visit Noémie Goudal [https://www.noemiegoudal.com/] Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships. Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art. Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. This year, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Visit Cahiers d’Art [https://www.cahiersdart.com/] Art direction by Eddie Harrop Studio [https://www.eddieharrop.com/] Website and Production by Story Ninety-Four [https://www.storyninetyfour.com/]

Noémie Goudal: When Art Burns, Melts and Dissolves

What drives an artist to build vast illusions in real landscapes only to film them as they burn, melt and dissolve? In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley sits down in Paris with French conceptual artist Noémie Goudal, whose photographs, films and performances probe how landscapes are formed, transformed and imagined. They trace her path from a darkroom hobby in late-1990s Paris, to Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and to her shortlisting for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 [https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en/pompidou-plus/magazine/article/noemie-goudals-time-landscapes] at Centre Pompidou. Noémie unpacks the rigour behind series such as Cascade, Phoenix, Anima and the Artangel-commissioned The Story of Fixity, currently touring to Le Portique in Le Havre [https://www.normandie-tourisme.fr/agenda/exposition-noemie-goudal-the-story-of-fixity/] for the 2026 Normandie Impressionniste festival. She reflects on collaboration with director Maëlle Poésy and aerial artist Chloé Moglia, the role of paleoclimatology and the water cycle in her research, and what it means to build a first monograph spanning 17 years of practice ahead of her 2027 Norton Museum survey. * (00:00) - Welcome to Compelling * (02:07) - Growing up between Architecture and Theatre * (04:56) - St Martin's, the Royal College and Finding Space in London * (06:20) - Cascade and the Birth of Constructed Photography * (10:34) - Why Real-Time Illusions Matter More than Photoshop * (13:59) - Building Anima with Maëlle Poésy and Chloé Moglia * (20:28) - Paleoclimatology, Water and Letting Research Click * (26:45) - Building a First Monograph across 17 Years * (33:52) - Inside the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 * (39:56) - Influences from Theatre to Marfa and Las Pozas * (42:46) - Hard Work over Talent and the Discipline of Finishing * (51:15) - Le Portique, Pola Foundation and What Comes Next Noémie Goudal: Noémie Goudal is a French conceptual artist whose photographs, films, performances and sculptures construct illusionistic interventions in the landscape, underpinned by research at the intersection of ecology, anthropology and paleoclimatology. She graduated with an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art in 2010, after studying graphic design at Central Saint Martins. Goudal was shortlisted for the Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024 [https://www.artbasel.com/stories/prix-marcel-duchamp-2024-pompidou-paris-noemie-goudal] at Centre Pompidou, where she premiered the films Grand Vide and Supra Strata. Her Artangel-commissioned installation The Story of Fixity is touring to Le Portique in Le Havre for Normandie Impressionniste 2026, with further exhibitions at the Pola Foundation in Japan and a major monographic survey opening at the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, in 2027. Visit Noémie Goudal [https://www.noemiegoudal.com/] Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships. Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art. Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. This year, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Visit Cahiers d’Art [https://www.cahiersdart.com/] Art direction by Eddie Harrop Studio [https://www.eddieharrop.com/] Website and Production by Story Ninety-Four [https://www.storyninetyfour.com/]

Bonus Content: The Pleasure of Art Through Smell

What would you keep perfectly preserved in a bottle if it could be anything other than perfume? In this bonus episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley returns to her conversation with Marc Chaya, co-founder and CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, for a more philosophical exchange on creativity, perception and the legitimacy of scent as art. Marc argues that we have been taught to appreciate art through sight and sound, yet rarely through the nose. He unpacks the long technical training behind perfumery, the difference between mastering a craft and being a true creator, and Kant's idea of the genius of creativity, where imagination and reasoning fall into spontaneous harmony. He closes with a striking answer to Katy's question, choosing to bottle the feeling of transcendence — that universal, intangible emotion great art provokes. Marc Chaya: Marc Chaya is the co-founder and CEO (President) of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the Paris fragrance house he launched with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2009. Before co-founding the Maison, Marc built a fast-tracked career at Ernst & Young in Paris, where he made partner in under ten years and later served as Global Telecoms Markets Leader, before leaving to pursue entrepreneurship and a creativity-led approach to luxury perfumery. He is known for advocating for perfumers’ authorship and for expanding fragrance into wider artistic forms, including the Palais de Tokyo retrospective celebrating 30 years of Francis Kurkdjian’s work beyond the bottle. Visit Maison Francis Kurkdjian [https://www.franciskurkdjian.com/uk-en] Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships. Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art. Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. In 2026, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Visit Cahiers d’Art [https://www.cahiersdart.com/] Art direction by Eddie Harrop Studio [https://www.eddieharrop.com/] Website and Production by Story Ninety-Four [https://www.storyninetyfour.com/]

Marc Chaya: Baccarat Rouge 540 and the Making of a Modern Cultural Icon

What happens when a luxury industry built on marketing starts putting the creator back at the centre?  In this episode of Compelling, host Katy Wellesley-Wesley speaks with Marc Chaya, co-founder and CEO of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, about building a modern fragrance house where strategy exists to protect creative freedom, not constrain it. Marc traces his journey from growing up in Beirut during the civil war to becoming Ernst & Young’s youngest ever partner, and explains why beauty, reading, and the arts became both refuge and fuel for an entrepreneurial life. The conversation goes deep on authorship: why perfumers stay invisible, why copying a scent is treated differently from copying a song, and what it would take to secure meaningful intellectual property protection for fragrance formulas. Marc also unpacks the origin story of Baccarat Rouge 540 and why it became a cultural phenomenon without traditional advertising. Along the way, we touch on sustainability, the future of gifting, and the challenge of scaling without compromising craft, as the global fragrance market continues to expand. * (00:00) - Welcome to Compelling * (01:51) - Meet Marc Chaya and the Conversation Setup * (04:32) - Urgency, Impact, and a Drive to Build Something That Matters * (05:21) - From Ernst & Young to Entrepreneurship * (08:58) - The Dinner Party That Sparked a 22-Year Partnership * (09:20) - Putting the Perfumer at the Centre of the Maison * (15:29) - What It Really Takes to Build a Luxury House * (23:30) - Perfume Beyond the Bottle: Art, Installations, and Scents as Sculpture * (33:18) - ICON(S) and The Alchemy of the Senses Documentary * (40:57) - Dupes, Aspiration, and the Case for IP Protection in Fragrance * (58:25) - Sustainability, Packaging, and the Future of Refills Marc Chaya: Marc Chaya is the co-founder and CEO (President) of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, the Paris fragrance house he launched with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2009. Before co-founding the Maison, Marc built a fast-tracked career at Ernst & Young in Paris, where he made partner in under ten years and later served as Global Telecoms Markets Leader, before leaving to pursue entrepreneurship and a creativity-led approach to luxury perfumery. He is known for advocating for perfumers’ authorship and for expanding fragrance into wider artistic forms, including the Palais de Tokyo retrospective celebrating 30 years of Francis Kurkdjian’s work beyond the bottle. Visit Maison Francis Kurkdjian [https://www.franciskurkdjian.com/uk-en] Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships. Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art. Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. In 2026, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Visit Cahiers d’Art [https://www.cahiersdart.com/] Art direction by Eddie Harrop Studio [https://www.eddieharrop.com/] Website and Production by Story Ninety-Four [https://www.storyninetyfour.com/]

Bonus Content: The Evolution of ART X Lagos

How does an art fair grow from 5,000 visitors into the defining cultural moment for an entire country? In this bonus clip from Compelling, host Katy Wellesley Wesley speaks with Tokini Peterside-Schwebig, founder of ART X Lagos, about the ten-year journey from a bold idea to a multidisciplinary platform that has activated an entire city. Tokini traces the evolution of ART X Lagos edition by edition. From integrating live music on day one, to launching ART X Cinema, establishing the country's leading emerging artist prize, and building an education programme that brings hundreds of school children into the fair each year. By its tenth edition in November 2025, ART X Lagos had sparked close to 50 satellite events across Lagos, drawn collaborators including Yinka Shonibare and his artist residency programme, and positioned the city as a fixture on the global arts calendar. This is a conversation about what happens when a platform stops being an event and becomes a movement. Tokini Peterside-Schwebig: Tokini is the founder and CEO of ART X Collective, the cultural enterprise behind ART X Lagos — West Africa's first and leading international art fair. Launched in 2016, the fair has grown into an anchor event on the global arts calendar, welcoming galleries from over 70 countries and establishing Lagos as a dynamic cultural capital. Under her leadership, ART X has expanded into a year-round ecosystem encompassing ART X Live! (a platform for emerging musicians), the ART X Prize (an annual award for emerging artists across Africa and its diaspora), and ART X Cinema (a showcase for independent African filmmaking). Visit ART X Lagos [https://www.artxlagos.com/] Katy Wellesley Wesley: With over 18 years of leadership across galleries, foundations, and startups, Katy has built a career shaped by curiosity and a drive to explore new ideas. She spent a decade at leading commercial galleries—first at Gagosian, then at Pace, where she was Director of Exhibitions in London. She went on to lead the Villa Lena Foundation in Italy as Director, before joining the founding team of ROKBOX, a pioneering environmentally focused art logistics startup, as Sales Director. After relocating to Paris six years ago, Katy developed a strong interest in the intersection of art and luxury. To deepen this focus, she recently completed an Executive Master’s in Luxury Management and Design Innovation, a joint program between ESSEC Business School and Parsons School of Design. She now works as a consultant to brands, artists, foundations, and collectors. Among her clients is the legendary art publisher Cahiers d’Art, where she heads Commercial Partnerships. Compelling is proudly in partnership with Cahiers d’Art. Compelling is produced in collaboration with Cahiers d’Art, the iconic Paris-based art publisher founded in 1926, home of the Catalogue Raisonné of Picasso and most recently the Frank Gehry Drawings Catalogue Raisonné. At the heart of it's publishing program is the Cahiers d'Art Revue, one of the most significant and longest-standing annual art publications of the last century. In 2026, Cahiers d’Art will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a series of major publications, projects and exhibitions in collaboration with leading global institutions, including the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, the MoMA in New York City and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Visit Cahiers d’Art [https://www.cahiersdart.com/] Art direction by Eddie Harrop Studio [https://www.eddieharrop.com/] Website and Production by Story Ninety-Four [https://www.storyninetyfour.com/]