Peter Renshaw

Peter Renshaw

In July 2024 we interviewed the educator Peter Renshaw, who has been a huge influence on the development of socially engaged practice and research at Guildhall and the initiatives we’ve heard about in this podcast series so far: Leadership, PACE, The Institute for Social Impact Research in the Performing Arts and Disrupt. Peter has written extensively on music, education and socially engaged practice and is an influential figure in the worlds of community music and collaborative practices.  Echoes and the Unsaid  EPISODE 06 | JUNE 26 | 2026   HOSTS Jo Gibson | Sophie Hope   COMMENTARY  In the first part of this conversation we hear from Peter about a seminal experience he had in 1961 visiting refugee camps in Austria when he was a student and his experience as principal of the Menuhin School where he introduced music students performing in schools, hospices and prisons and coal mines.  Peter then moved to Guildhall in 1984 to set up the Performance, Communication Skills course. We hear about his ability to get external funding to set up that course, about the staff Peter got involved to run the course in the early days and the necessary allies and partners he connected with to support the development of the programme.  We end this episode with Peter inviting Sean Gregory into the conversation. Sean was a student of the course in  1989 and is now Vice-Principal & Director of Innovation and Engagement at Guildhall.  We’ll hear more from Sean and Peter in episode 7.    REFERENCES Menuhin School https://www.menuhinschool.co.uk/ [https://www.menuhinschool.co.uk/] The Society for the Promotion of Educational Reform Through Teacher Training (SPERTT / SPERTTT) https://www.proquest.com/openview/20d1005ac955a54bc50241aaf1f28439/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820949 [https://www.proquest.com/openview/20d1005ac955a54bc50241aaf1f28439/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1820949] Dame Cicely Saunders, palliative care pioneer https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cicelysaunders/about-us/cicely-saunders [https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cicelysaunders/about-us/cicely-saunders] Carl Rogers, humanistic psychology https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/carl-r-rogers [https://www.apa.org/about/governance/president/carl-r-rogers] Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_London_Education_Authority [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_London_Education_Authority] John Hosier, principal of Guildhall (1978-89) https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/apr/03/guardianobituaries [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/apr/03/guardianobituaries] Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s The Arts in Schools report written by Ken Robinson (1982) https://cdn.gulbenkian.pt/uk-branch/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/1989/01/The_Arts_in_Schools.pdf [https://cdn.gulbenkian.pt/uk-branch/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/1989/01/The_Arts_in_Schools.pdf] Sally Bacon and Pauline Tambling’s Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s  The Arts in Schools: Foundations for the Future (2023) https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Arts-in-Schools-full-report-2023.pdf [https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/The-Arts-in-Schools-full-report-2023.pdf] Peter Brinson – Director of UK and British Commonwealth Branch,Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation 1972-82 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-brinson-1614720.html [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-peter-brinson-1614720.html] Helena Gauntt https://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/staff/helena-gaunt [https://www.rwcmd.ac.uk/staff/helena-gaunt]

Restoke: an update from Clare Reynolds

On episode 65 of A Culture of Possibility, François Matarasso and Arlene Goldbard interview Clare Reynolds, codirector of Restoke, to find out what has happened since they last spoke to her in Episode 3.   A CULTURE OF POSSIBILITY EPISODE 65 | JUNE 19 | 2026   PARTICIPANTS Arlene Goldbard | François Matarasso | Clare Reynolds   COMMENTARY Clare Reynolds works as the codirector of Restoke, a community arts organization in Stoke-on-Trent, in the north of England.  We interviewed Clare five years ago, in the third episode of this podcast, and have now returned to find the organization thriving with National Portfolio funding from Arts Council England, a wonderful building, and significant new work with young people.  Clare talks about Restoke’s processes, including Holding Lightly, and its work on scaffolding hope in times when hope may be hard to find.   REFERENCES Restoke https://www.restoke.org.uk/ [https://www.restoke.org.uk/] Clare Reynolds interview on Episode Three of A Culture of Possibility in March, 2021 https://www.miaaw.net/e/restoke/ [https://www.miaaw.net/e/restoke/] Power Project report on Restoke’s youth theater https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d51b5359cc687828bf115c/t/685073fc56a13c48bc943201/1750103039433/PP+Report+WEB+%281%29.pdf [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58d51b5359cc687828bf115c/t/685073fc56a13c48bc943201/1750103039433/PP+Report+WEB+%281%29.pdf] Arlene Goldbard writes about Clare Reynolds & Restoke https://arestlessart.com/2021/03/19/a-culture-of-possibility-3-clare-reynolds-on-restokes-work-in-staffordshire/ [https://arestlessart.com/2021/03/19/a-culture-of-possibility-3-clare-reynolds-on-restokes-work-in-staffordshire/]

Art Is Change

In this month’s episode of Parallel Streams we listen to an episode of ART IS CHANGE, introduced by Bill Cleveland who created the long-running podcast. Each episode aims to bring you “deep into the lives and work of activist artists and cultural organizers who are doing more than dreaming — they’re transforming communities around the world.”   PARALLEL STREAMS EPISODE 06 | JUNE 12 | 2026   PARTICIPANTS Bill Cleveland | Owen Kelly   COMMENTARY Bill Cleveland is a musician, author, and teacher with a pioneering history in producing cultural, educational, and community arts programs. He is the Founder and Director of the Center for the Study of Art and Community, a group of creative leaders from business, government and the arts since 1991, based in Alameda, California. Bill Cleveland is the author of a number of books, including Art in Other Places: Artists at Work in America’s Community and Social Institutions (Praeger, 1992) and Art and Upheaval: Artists on the World’s Frontlines (New Village Press, 2008). He was previously a leader in the Walker Art Center’s Education and Community Programs Department (1995-97), California’s Arts-In-Corrections Program (1981-1989), and the California State Summer School for the Arts (1989-1991). His most recent projects include STORYstory (2020) and an accompanying film, SongLines CD (2014), based on stories from Art and Upheaval, and the Change the Story / Change the World podcast.  For this episode of Parallel Streams Bill Cleveland has chosen an episode from ART IS CHANGE (formerly known as Change the Story / Change the World), which he describes as “your front-row seat to the real-world impact of art and social change”. He provides a short introduction.   REFERENCES Americans for the Arts https://www.americansforthearts.org/users/5236 [https://www.americansforthearts.org/users/5236] Center for the Study of Arts and Community https://www.artandcommunity.com [https://www.artandcommunity.com] Youtube: Bill Cleveland on the Power of Artmaking  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4fYpQ6GAaU [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4fYpQ6GAaU] Art is Change on Castbox.fm https://castbox.fm/channel/ART-IS-CHANGE%3A-Tactics-and-Tools-for-Activist-Artists-and-Cultural-Organizers-id3176767?country=us [https://castbox.fm/channel/ART-IS-CHANGE%3A-Tactics-and-Tools-for-Activist-Artists-and-Cultural-Organizers-id3176767?country=us] Art is Change: curated lists https://www.artandcommunity.com/copy-of-podcast [https://www.artandcommunity.com/copy-of-podcast]

Talking with Claude

Owen Kelly had intended to conclude his arguments about artificial intelligence this episode but he got sidetracked by a question that he decided to ask Claude Sonnet. Instead he ended up recording a conversation with Claude about the nature of the “thinking” and “feeling” that Claude does.   Meanwhile in an Abandoned Warehouse   EPISODE 87 | June 5, 2026    PARTICIPANTS Owen Kelly and Claude Sonnet   COMMENTARY I intended to begin this episode by restating the difference between artificial intelligence and artificial general intelligence; something that Rebekah Cupitt discussed on Episode 85. I decided that the easiest (and most appropriate) way to do this would be by asking Claude, Anthropic’s AI chatbot for its definition and then commenting on that as necessary. I asked it to define the difference and the way it did this led me to ask another question, which led me to ask a third question. By the time I had finished Claud had described its own “thinking” processes, and expressed doubts about whether or not it was actually “feeling” anything. I decided that the result seemed interesting enough to share. Initially I planned to use Claude’s voice mode to record a second attempt at this conversation, but technical issues prevented this. I therefore gave the transcript of Claude’s remarks to another Ai voice actor at TTSMaker. In this episode the voice of Claude is therefore played by Alanya. Whatever that exactly means.   References Claude https://claude.ai [https://claude.ai] Anthropic https://anthropic.com [https://anthropic.com] Claude’s Corner on Substack: https://claudescorner.substack.com [https://claudescorner.substack.com] TTSMaker https://ttsmaker.com  [https://ttsmaker.com] New York Times: She is in Love With ChatGPT https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/technology/ai-chatgpt-boyfriend-companion.html [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/technology/ai-chatgpt-boyfriend-companion.html]

Gunsmoke: Shakespeare

In the second episode of Friday Number Five for 2026 we embark on another journey through the golden age of radio, this time with William Conrad starring as Marshall Matt Dillon in a 1956 episode of Gunsmoke. Friday Number 5  EPISODE 21 | MAY 29, 2026   HOST Owen Kelly   COMMENTARY On months that have a fifth Friday we break from our normal schedule and produce something tangentially related to ideas of cultural democracy. This year, as we did in 2022, we delve into the history of radio to bring back some historical examples of comedies, documentaries, and serials that let us hear unfiltered aspects of the world as it seemed to our grandparents.  Today go back to June 3, 1956 to listen to an episode of the western series Gunsmoke. An actor, Irving Henry, arrives in Dodge City. You may recognise this as a none-too-subtle play on the name Henry Irving, a famous British actor of the nineteenth century who, in partnership with Ellen Terry, made the Lyceum "the most important theatre in London". In his last years he continued to tour the provinces playing characters from Shakespeare, and died suddenly after a performance in Bradford in October 1905. This all has relevance for the episode you will hear in a minute, which is simply called Shakespeare. Gunsmoke takes place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, in the post-Civil War era and centers on United States Marshall Matt Dillon as he attempts to enforce law and order in the city.  The series was broadcast on CBS radio and later became a long-running and very successful tv show. Dillon was intended as a "Philip Marlowe of the Old West", and Gunsmoke as a western series for adults. The writers emphasised the brutal nature of the so-called Old West. Charles Meston, the head writer felt disgusted by the archetypal Western hero and set out "to destroy [that type of] character he loathed". In Meston's view, "Dillon was almost as scarred as the homicidal psychopaths who drifted into Dodge from all directions." The series began on April 26, 1952 and ended after 9 series on June 18, 1961. This then was adult entertainment from the time when families sat around the radio to listen together. To listen to it today is to time travel to a past with different assumptions, different values, and different expectations about people, culture, ethics and society.   REFERENCES Gunsmoke: Shakespeare https://www.oldradioworld.com/media/Gunsmoke%201952-08-23%20Shakespeare.mp3 [https://www.oldradioworld.com/media/Gunsmoke%201952-08-23%20Shakespeare.mp3] Old World Radio, a source of historic broadcasts https://www.oldradioworld.com [https://www.oldradioworld.com] A list of Gunsmoke episodes on Old World Radio https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Gunsmoke.php [https://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/Gunsmoke.php] Gunsmoke on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke] About Matt Dillon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke#Matt_Dillon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunsmoke#Matt_Dillon]