Episode 4 - and the final episode - of ASSET ARREST's mini-series on culture-led housing, made in collaboration with the London Cultural Diversity Lab, takes us to speak to artist Jill Kennedy-McNeill about her experiences living as a property guardian for many years in London. I then speak to artist Sean Roy Parker about his involvement in artist-led co-living project The Field, which is situated on the border between Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in rural England.

Episode 3 of ASSET ARREST's mini-series on culture-led housing looks at Bow Arts in London and their provision of 'affordable' housing for artists, which operates to a property-guardianship framework. I speak to artist Rab Harling (aka Balfron Social Club), an ex-resident of the flats they managed between 2007-14 at the iconic Balfron Tower - a brutalist tower block designed by Erno Goldfinger - in Poplar. He talks about his experience there and his ongoing fight against the artwashing and social cleansing that took place. I then hear from a current resident of the properties they currently manage in an estate in Thamesmead, which are planned for demolition within the next few years. For more information: https://rabharling.com/ https://balfronsocialclub.org/ https://novaramedia.com/2013/08/20/social-cleansing-in-tower-hamlets-interview-with-balfron-tower-evictee/ https://novaramedia.com/2023/08/04/its-a-scandal-how-property-developers-failed-to-sell-a-single-flat-in-balfron-tower/

In this episode, I speak to Newcastle-based artist Andrew Wilson, previously a resident of Artist House 45 - a housing project for artists by artist-led organisation East Street Arts in Leeds, which ran between 2015 and 2020. Andrew lived and worked there with his collaborator Toby Lloyd (together they are known as Lloyd-Wilson), where they developed relationships with their immediate neighbours and existing community projects. For more information about Andrew's work visit: https://www.iamandrewwilson.co.uk/

What is culture-led housing and can it play a role in tackling the UK's housing crisis? This is the introductory episode to a new ASSET ARREST mini-series on 'culture-led housing', made in collaboration with The London Cultural Diversity Lab at City, University of London. The London Cultural Diversity Lab is one of five cross-Europe “laboratories” that form the Creative Impact Research Centre Europe (CIRCE). Throughout 2023, the five labs are exploring the multiple challenges and opportunities facing the European creative economy in the midst of an unfolding polycrisis. In this episode I introduce the idea of 'culture-led housing' and speak to architectural researcher and practitioner Jonathan Orlek. Clips sampled can be found at: 1. Anthony Gormley's London by Tate (2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PQVrak66FvM 2. Bow Arts on Home Truths, Channel 4 (2017): https://vimeo.com/224470391 3. An Introduction to London City Island, Ballymore Group (2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZmdta3uL8k 4. Mark Davy and Peter Tullin, Live TV interview with ABC 24 News Weekend (2015): https://vimeo.com/129414015

Investing in social housing is growing in popularity. This is the first of a series of ASSET ARREST shorts - 'SMALL TALK' - that give telephone-based insights to speculative real estate and investor-driven housing. Find out how investors plan to maintain profits in a time of polycrisis.

FRIEZE WEEK SPECIAL #3!!! The Property Investors Show, ExCEL, London. “Why would anyone want to live 15km from the centre of Lagos? Because there’s an 18-hole golf course!” “The vast majority of landlords out there are great people.” “You do get professionally bad tenants who will prey on vulnerable landlords.” “Covid has given landlords a big bloody knock.” “Deep inside we’re all investors.” “Anomalies and loopholes can be translated into entrepreneurial opportunities!” A contemporary horror story featuring flesh eating creatures called investors and blood sucking monsters called landlords, who are desperate for bodies to take to another dimension they call ‘property’. Finding myself trapped in a hellscape and lost in a word cloud, I begin to realise that Utopia Corporation is not as utopian as the branding would suggest…. What the reviews are saying: "Scariest thing since the Blair Witch Project!" "The unflinching brutality of the ASSET ARREST Frieze Week Special 3 is captivating." "I sure hope I never end up in 'property' - not for the faint of heart!"

Episode 26 and my 2nd Frieze week special!! In this episode I visit two houses on (and just off of) Avenue Road in St Johns Wood – named London’s most expensive street in 2020 – with Berlin-based curator and writer Tirdad Zolghadr. We talk about the art-gentrification-real-estate relation; artists' complicity in these processes of social cleansing; the Haus der Statistik in Berlin, and hope. One house is £38 million and the other £55 million 🤯 Since 2017 Tirdad has been artistic director of the Sommerakademie Paul Klee. Curatorial work includes biennial settings as well as long-term, research-driven efforts, most recently as associate curator at KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, 2016-20. Writing includes TRACTION: an applied and polemical Attempt to locate Contemporary Art, Sternberg Press 2016. *Please note, the "political looking artwork" I refer to is the one in the image, and it's a Gilbert and George work - lol - so not as out of place as I'd thought on first glance.*

“We really tried to manufacture a sense of life and in some ways, it paid off.” – random developer man in suit who networked me. “Yes, ultimately we have the sinister goal of increasing property prices, but it doesn’t mean we don’t care about culture.” – John Mulryan, Managing Director of Ballymore who couldn’t help but network me too. FRIEZE WEEK SPECIAL!!!!!!!!!! ART + REAL ESTATE = HOUSES EVEN FURTHER OUT OF REACH!!! Episode 25 is bit long and unwieldy but incase anyone is interested, it is a recording of an event I attended this morning called ‘Productive Placemaking, New Opportunities: What does successful regeneration truly look like? Held at the Trinity Art Gallery on London City Island, it featured a bunch of mainly posh men in suits – an array of planners, developers, investors, etc – saying very little of meaning and just rambling on about how successful they and their placemaking strategies are. A chance to hear how those on the other side speak about these things! They left little time for questions, but I did manage to get one in right at the end, which led to me having a long conversation with John Mulryan, Ballymore’s managing director, after the event. Sadly the recording of this conversation, and my other networking efforts, was not usable due to the crowds of loud networking people in the space. Apologies for the imperfect audio but I was recording on the sly in a difficult room full of people.

A special episode made for the 'Prospect Us' exhibition at Shieldfield Art Works (SAW) in Newcastle. I visit several private student accommodation blocks in the area and speak to a number of former, current and future students to visit their accommodation or view new accommodation with them and discuss their experiences of searching for and living in this form of housing. Presented in the gallery alongside a video that compiles imagery and footage from the various student accommodation’s promotional material in the form of a tour around their various spaces. With thanks to Anna Muddiman, Anna Li, Grace Armstrong, Renee Wong and Anantha Ram Kalepu for their participation. --- 'Prospect Us' explores the social, emotional and political impact of commodification of land, rapid urban development and studentification in Newcastle. Through art, satirical games and discussion we’ll examine the power imbalance between landowners, developers, long-term residents and students. What prospects do students have, having been lured by a glossy prospectus into paying high rents to private accommodation providers? With land seen as a commodity to squeeze out the maximum profit, what prospects does this leave the people and communities who inhabit the land, but don’t own it? How can we convince developers to serve the communities they produce as well as the communities they displace, and not only prospect for profit? Prospect Us seeks to bring different groups together through an exhibition and events to discuss and share knowledge about the effects of studentification, and the commodification of land, housing and communities. A collaboration between SAW, BxNU institute, Newcastle University, artists and researchers. The project features work by Julia Heslop, Dwellbeing, Mike Jeffries and Lily Arnold. More information: https://www.saw-newcastle.org/prospect-us/

Episode 23 of ASSET ARREST is here and is a viewing of Hale Works by Anthology, in Tottenham Hale, with artist and researcher Alberto Duman who is my first return guest (and was guest in the first episode I published too) and who makes brilliant and important work around issues of culture and art practice within the “world-class” city: its relationship with capital and urban space, and its role within strategies and regimes of opportunistic planning and city-making. We talk about his perspective - as a local resident - on Tottenham Hale’s regeneration plans; the personification and personalization of future real estate via individual’s stories; and have a meandering conversation in response to the five flats we viewed in this 32-storey block situated on the edge of “Hale Village”, an “eco district” with “sustainability and community at its heart”. Listen on Spotify/SoundCloud/iTunes or whatever platform you prefer. Enjoy, share and follow on Instagram for more updates @assetarrest And check out more on Alberto’s work: http://www.albertoduman.me.uk/ https://repeaterbooks.com/product/regeneration-songs-sound-of-investment-and-loss-from-east-london/