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Talk Art
Róisín Tapponi
Robert meets Dr Róisín Tapponi to discuss her decadent debut novel Scene City, an insider's tale of hedonism and identity amid the London art world.
The effervescent first novel from film programmer and writer Róisín Tapponi, Scene City follows art history student Romy into the belly of the beast that is London's commercial art world. At risk of becoming too caught up in the rarefied glamour of it all, she tries to earth herself by writing what she sees, and soon begins developing a storyline starring her own merry band of gays... and a version of herself. Dynamic, smart and gossipy in the style of Babitz or Capote, Scene City is a book about authorship, authenticity and whether the search for meaning and the pursuit of pleasure are at all compatible.
Dr Róisín Tapponi is an academic, curator and founder of Shasha Movies, an independent streaming platform for South-West Asian and North African film and video. As a writer and critic she has contributed to frieze, Artforum, The Guardian, Vogue and more, and has delivered talks on film at institutions such as BAFTA, Venice Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, CPH:DOX and Sheffield Doc Fest.
Aside from her writing, Tapponi is a film programmer and Founder of Shasha Movies. For many years, she has worked at the forefront of global independent film and video, across programming, community-building and strategy. She has curated film programmes at The Academy, MoMA, 52 Walker St. David Zwirner, e-flux, Anthology Film Archives, Film Forum, Metrograph, Frieze, Chisenhale Gallery, Art Jameel and many more. Tapponi has delivered talks on film at institutions such as BAFTA, Venice Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, CPH:DOX and Sheffield Doc Fest. She is also a curator working more broadly across other mediums, and in 2023 curated a series of performances at Lisson Gallery.
In 2023, Tapponi was awarded Forbes 30 Under 30 for Europe. She was on the Elle 40 Women in Art List in 2025, selected by Eva Langret. Tapponi was on the jury of the Frieze Artist Film Award, CPH:DOX Artist Film Award, the Arab Critics Awards presented at Cannes Film Festival, and President of the Jury at St. Moritz Art Film Festival, and she now sits on the Curatorial Board. In 2022, Tapponi was Guest Curator of the 33rd Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). She was also the Juror of the Sheikh Saoud al Thani Photography Award, and the Film Curator of Tasmeem Doha, an international art and design biennial.
At 25 years old, Tapponi completed her PhD in History of Art at University of St. Andrews, where she received a fully-funded scholarship. She has guest lectured on film at universities including Oxford University, Sothebys Institute, Columbia University, UC Berkeley, the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (UCL), Royal College of Art (RCA) and Northwestern University.
Tapponi starred in a new theatre play, titled Pretender, written and directed by Saam Farahmad, which premiered in London in May 2025.
Tapponi (b. 1999) is Assyrian Iraqi & Irish. She also founded and ran Habibi Collective, ART WORK Magazine and Independent Iraqi Film Festival (IIFF), since disbanded.
Follow: @RoisinTapponi
Visit: https://www.roisintapponi.com
Dr. Róisín Tapponi is a novelist and film programmer based in London.
Her debut novel, Scene City, is out now with Verso Books.
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1. Introducing Talk Art
39:25||Season 1, Ep. 1Welcome to Talk Art! Actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament discuss how they first became friends a decade ago, plus more recent adventures at Frieze Art Fair, the Turner Prize, South London Gallery and other exhibition highlights in London, as well as Robert's gallery relocating to the seaside town of Margate, Kent.2. Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE
01:05:51||Season 1, Ep. 2Russell & Robert talk with leading artist Sir Michael Craig-Martin CBE exploring 50 years of art-making. From his early 1960s work as a conceptual artist culminating in the seminal ‘An Oak Tree’ (1973) through to more recent decades as an internationally-renowned painter, sculptor and printmaker as well as his influential role as a teacher to two generations of Young British Artists at Goldsmiths.3. Pedro Pascal
01:00:02||Season 1, Ep. 3Russell & Robert talk with leading actor Pedro Pascal, star of Narcos, Game of Thrones and forthcoming Star Wars 'The Mandalorian'. They discuss his favourite artist, a classic painting on display at Museum of Modern Art that offered Pedro comfort when he moved to New York in the mid 1990s, as well as his more recent art experiences at Tate Modern and Frieze Art Fair whilst filming in London for his latest movie Wonder Woman 1984.4. Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman
53:37||Season 1, Ep. 4We celebrate the holidays with two dear friends, the actresses Sarah Hadland and Laura Aikman (both stars of The Job Lot comedy sitcom with Russell). Topics include Olafur Eliasson’s melting ice installation highlighting climate change, Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirrored room, the paintings of LS Lowry, Beryl Cook, Picasso and Ed Ruscha. Plus we discover which guest once pole danced for Madonna! Happy Christmas everyone. We will return in Spring 2019 with a weekly season. Love Russell and Robert X5. Louisa Buck
50:02||Season 1, Ep. 5Robert & Russell chat with leading British art critic and author Louisa Buck, columnist for the Art Newspaper and a judge of the Turner Prize in 2005. They explore how the art world has evolved since the 1980s and 90s, discover which artwork Grayson Perry made as a commission to commemorate the birth of Louisa's daughter as well as revealing the best, and very worst, interviews she's conducted. Happy International Women's Day!6. Martin Creed
01:00:57||Season 1, Ep. 6Robert & Russell meet legendary artist and ‘poet of the everyday’ Martin Creed (and his dog Jimmy). Find out why this Turner Prize winner doesn’t read reviews of his own work, who his favourite comedians are and how music has informed his art. We delve deep into Creed’s creative output spanning more than 30 years. From a giant kinetic sculpture with the word MOTHERS lit up in neon, a live performance where athletes run through the Tate as fast as they can, to a more recent handmade textile work: a multicoloured neck-warmer (worn by the artist during this very interview).7. Sadie Coles
46:12||Season 1, Ep. 7Robert & Russell meet gallerist Sadie Coles, one of the world’s most respected and successful art dealers. Discover why she set up her gallery in London after managing Jeff Koons’ studio in New York in the mid 1990s; how she first discovered the work of Sarah Lucas and John Currin; the skill of representing new artists on the primary market and the importance of taking a longterm view. We discuss feminism and equality in the workplace and why it's good to be collegiate. Finally we explore childhood trips to visit Tutankhamun at the British Museum, a memorable performance by mime artist/choreographer Lindsay Kemp and a pivotal Nancy Grossman exhibition.
8. Tracey Emin
01:07:57||Season 1, Ep. 8Robert & Russell meet Tracey Emin CBE, one of the world’s most respected, successful and controversial artists. During an hour-long private tour of her current solo exhibition ‘A Fortnight of Tears’, we explore her mother’s recent death, grief, everlasting love, the supernatural, insomnia and abortion. Tracey reveals that nature is one of her biggest influences and how working in a small South of France studio enabled the artist to wholeheartedly and triumphantly return to painting. Learn more about her longterm connection to the work of Edvard Munch, her return to her childhood hometown of Margate and why, surprisingly, she doesn’t keep a diary. For images of all works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!9. Ryan Gander OBE
56:50||Season 1, Ep. 9Russell & Robert chat to leading conceptual artist Ryan Gander OBE. We explore artist persona, designing a kitchen sink, family ties, the soul of objects and why his art has been so commercially successful in Japan. Ryan reveals how a limited edition Rolex watch transformed into an artwork, why he worked with glow-in-the-dark concrete, the importance of empathy and why we should all ‘let the world take a turn'. For images of works discussed in this episode, visit our Instagram @TalkArt. Ryan’s new BBC Four documentary ‘Me, My Selfie and I’ is available to view on iPlayer until mid April 2019. Please leave us a review and rating if you’ve enjoyed this episode!