Extraordinary Creatives

Some artists spend their whole lives trying to outrun the work that made them famous.

Others spend their lives trying to find their way back to themselves.

Today's guest has somehow done both.

Wreckless Eric exploded onto the music scene with Whole Wide World, a song that became part of popular culture. But behind the myth sits Eric Goulden: musician, songwriter, producer, writer and relentless observer of ordinary life, who's spent four decades building a body of work far richer and more personal than most people realise.

In this conversation, we go far beyond punk and nostalgia.

We talk about growing up, art school, perfectionism, collaboration, his distrust of the music industry, and what it means to keep evolving when everyone thinks they already know who you are.

We explore his partnership with songwriter Amy Rigby, why imperfection makes music human, and how returning to songs he'd once considered failures became one of the most liberating creative acts of his life.

This isn't really a conversation about success.

It's about staying curious enough to keep becoming.

I loved every minute of it, and I think you will too.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

You don't need perfect conditions to make honest work. You can start exactly where you are, with the tools and spaces you already have, and let the scruffy, makeshift reality around you quietly seep into what you make.
Celebrate your idiosyncrasies and make the work anyway. No one is queueing up for it - and that's freeing. The wrong notes, rough edges and sudden left turns are often where the real human connection lives.

BEST MOMENTS

“You should celebrate your idiosyncrasies rather than try and fix them.”

“Stay curious. Keep experimenting. Trust your odd rhythms. The work that lasts isn't usually the work that tries hardest to fit in. It's the work that sounds unmistakably like you.”

“I got it in my head that rhymes were really banal… but she said they take you to places that you probably wouldn't go without them.”

“It's like Morris dancing in a in a recording studio.”

EPISODE RESOURCES
https://www.wrecklesseric.com
England Screaming - https://www.promojukebox.com/PEMDL87209220-2AV5YA5R7TBB4BCS-sean%40bureau-b.com%2Csean.newsham.tapet
Leisureland - https://www.promojukebox.com/PEMDL42485375-R24DCBHF4GCTBTR7-sean%40bureau-b.com%2Csean.newsham.tapet
Amy's Rigby’s Hang In There With Me - https://www.promojukebox.com/PEMDL50672250-FNXA4A4HAZTVPWDE-sean%40bureau-b.com%2Csean.newsham.tapet

HOST BIO
With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

**
Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career https://cerihand.com/membership/

**

Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.
https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

**

Book a Discovery Call
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com

**
Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

There is a page in Emma's notebook that has been written out, in more or less the same words, most weeks for months.

Five things on it. Email the curator she met last spring. Book the studio visit. Get the new work up on the website. Finish the residency application. And every week, in that big looping handwriting of hers, the same five things go down on a clean page, and by the following week not one of them has a line through it.

If you have a page like that, and I think most of you do, I think some of you could recite yours to me right now, then this one is for you. It will help you to work out why you are repeatedly delaying doing those specific tasks, so you can finally break that cycle, get them done and make some real progress.Before we go any further, if you haven't followed the show yet, do that now, because these solo episodes land every week and they are built to be used rather than just listened to.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The task that´s been on your list for weeks isn’t a procrastination problem; it’s an emotional one. Emailing the curator, updating your website, raising your prices look like simple tasks, but by not doing them you are actually dodging the risk of rejection, judgement, or getting it wrong in public.

Instead of asking, “Why can’t I just do this?”, say, “I’m not avoiding the task, I’m avoiding the feeling that…”.

Reframe the task, make it tiny and less threatening: “email the curator” becomes “practice reaching out,” “update my website” becomes “practice being seen.”

Make taking action embarrassingly small. Send a three‑line email to that curator, spend 30 minutes on updating your website – so fear doesn’t get a vote, and you can actually do it on an ordinary, messy day.

BEST MOMENTS

“Not one of those five tasks was a task. All five were feelings that she'd already decided the task would produce.”

“You tell yourself to put the new work online, and it (your brain) files that under judgement. And you tell yourself to raise your prices, and it files that under losing everything you've built.”

“Confidence arrives afterwards. It arrives as evidence. Every difficult email that you've sent, every application you've submitted, every room that you've walked into before you felt ready, your brain quietly loved that you came out the other side.”

“Practising saying it out loud to yourself over and again is how it becomes embodied.”

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today!

https://cerihand.com/membership/

****

Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course

Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today

To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity

Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

What does it really take to create extraordinary work with another person?

Not just the exciting bits of making, but everything that happens behind the scenes. Building trust. Navigating creative differences. Talking honestly about money. Knowing when to compromise and when to hold your ground. And finding a way to keep making work together over many years without losing your own artistic voice.

That's what today's conversation is really about.

My guests are composer and sound artist Ain Bailey and vocalist, composer and movement artist Elaine Mitchener MBE, two artists whose work has quietly shaped the landscape of contemporary art and experimental music in Britain and internationally.

Ain's work has been commissioned and exhibited by organisations including Camden Art Centre, the Serpentine, FACT Liverpool and CCS Bard in New York, and she's a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Foundation's Awards for Artists.

Elaine is a Wigmore Hall Associate Artist, an MBE for Services to Music, a former DAAD Artist-in-Berlin Fellow, and an exhibiting artist in British Art Show 9, with a practice spanning contemporary music, performance and visual art.

Together they've created Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner for Art on the Underground. But what they share today reaches far beyond a single commission.

This is a conversation about creative partnership, artistic integrity, sustaining a practice over decades, and what it really takes to make ambitious work that lasts.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Creative careers aren't built by endlessly saying yes. They're built by knowing what deserves your time, having the courage to walk away from what doesn't, and trusting that the quieter seasons aren't empty.

The best creative partnerships are sustained by relationships that exist beyond a single project. Building trust over time, staying connected to your community and continuing to initiate relationships creates the network of people and opportunities that keep an ambitious practice moving forward.

BEST MOMENTS

“They don't confuse trust with vagueness. They ask difficult questions, they're clear about expectations, they value each other's time, and they aren't afraid to have honest conversations.”

“There are friends who have seen the work of somebody online and think that they would want to collaborate with them. Then they do - and it's a horror show.”

“You're not behind. Rest is part of the work. Learning is part of the work.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://ainbailey.com/

https://www.elainemitchener.com/

https://www.instagram.com/elainemitchener1/

HOST BIO

With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

**

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today!

https://cerihand.com/membership/

**

Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course

Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

**

Book a Discovery Call Today

To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com

**

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

I was looking at an artist’s proposal recently for a really significant exhibition, and it was one of those proposals where you can immediately see that the artist has really thought about the opportunity.

They haven’t just taken some existing work and thought, right, where can I put this? They’ve responded to the place, they’re thinking about how people might move through it, there are new works, things happening outside, possible collaborations and performances, ideas around public engagement. You can feel their excitement about what the project might become.

And I was excited by it too. But because I’ve spent so many years on the other side of these proposals, working in galleries and institutions and actually having to get exhibitions and programmes made, I found myself reading it in two slightly different ways.

One part of me was thinking, this could be fantastic.

And the other part of me was thinking, bloody hell, this is a lot of work.

This episode addresses how ambitious creative ideas can quickly spiral into overwhelming production work. It offers practical guidance on how to navigate institutional proposals in a way that makes sure you don´t inadvertently agree to do all of the tasks needed to deliver the project.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Many ambitious artists let the excitement of a big idea quietly lead them to taking on responsibility for too many aspects of the project. Do not use your own labour to quietly fill the gap between a project's ambition and the available resources.

The language in your proposal matters. Innocently writing "I will organize" or "I will connect" can quickly turn speculative ideas into lines on someone else's production schedule that you are expected to deliver.

Find the beating heart of your project. Identify the essential core elements you care about most so you can navigate changes and compromises.

An institution's commitment to your work goes beyond money. Look for their investment in time, expertise, relationships, advocacy, access to audiences, and quality documentation.

BEST MOMENTS

“One idea leads to another because that’s what you’re good at. Before long, you’ve offered the moon on a stick.”

“Stop assuming that you have to arrive with every answer.”

“I don’t think ambitious artists need to demonstrate their ambition by showing everybody how much they’re prepared to carry.”

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****

Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today!

https://cerihand.com/membership/

****

Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course

Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.

https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today

To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com

****

Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity

Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

PJ Raval has spent his career asking a deceptively simple question: whose stories are we willing to see, and whose stories have we been taught to ignore?

He's an award-winning Filipino American filmmaker whose documentaries explore identity, community, justice and belonging. Across films including Call Her Ganda, Before You Know It and Who We Become, his work follows people whose lived experiences reveal much bigger questions about power, history, colonialism, ageing, queerness and what it means to find home.

What struck me most about this conversation wasn't just PJ's extraordinary filmmaking. It was discovering that before he ever picked up a camera, he trained as a molecular biologist. We ended up having one of my favourite conversations on the podcast about the surprising parallels between science and art, why experiments never really fail, and how curiosity can become the engine for an entire creative life.

We also explore growing up as a queer Filipino American in a small conservative town, navigating isolation, discovering filmmaking almost by accident, and why every documentary he makes is also a way of understanding himself.

If you've ever wondered how artists choose the questions that become their life's work, or how creativity can become a way of making sense of the world, I think you're going to love this conversation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The questions that keep pulling at us are often the ones worth following, even when we don't yet know where they will lead. You don't have to know the answer before you begin - the work can be the way you find it.
There is a particular freedom in knowing when to let the work go. After months or years of making, we have to release our grip and allow other people to bring their own experiences, interpretations, and meanings to it.

BEST MOMENTS

“There's no bad experiment because you learn from it. So even if something quote unquote fails, its knowledge gained.”

“Community isn't something that arrives once you've become successful. It's one of the things that makes success possible.”

“PJ follows curiosity, trusts the process and allows the work to change him along the way.”

“Ultimately, I'm most intrigued by and fascinated by people's lived experiences and by looking at these lived experiences, presenting them to an audience. Hoping that people understand these social issues and the context that these people are living in.”

EPISODE RESOURCES

https://unraval.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pjraval/

PODCAST HOST BIO
With over 35 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She has sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

****
Ceri Hand Coaching Membership: Group coaching, live art surgeries, exclusive masterclasses, portfolio reviews, weekly challenges. Access our library of content and resource hub anytime and enjoy special discounts within a vibrant community of peers and professionals. Ready to transform your art career? Join today!
https://cerihand.com/membership/

****

Unlock Your Artworld Network Self Study Course
Our self-study video course, "Unlock Your Artworld Network," offers a straightforward 5-step framework to help you build valuable relationships effortlessly. Gain the tools and confidence you need to create new opportunities and thrive in the art world today.
https://cerihand.com/courses/unlock_your_artworld_network/

****

Book a Discovery Call Today
To schedule a personalised 1-2-1 coaching session with Ceri or explore our group coaching options, simply email us at hello@cerihand.com

****
Discover Your Extraordinary Creativity
Visit www.cerihand.com to learn how we can help you become an extraordinary creative.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/