Spotlight on Art – Intangible Labour and the New Folk Culture
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In this episode of Spotlight on Art, the conversation turns to the elusive, everyday forms of creativity that often pass without recognition. Artist and curator Miffy Ryan introduces the idea of “intangible labour” as the starting point for her forthcoming exhibition at the Basement Gallery, opening 12th January 2026. It is a concept that emerges not from theory but from dialogue, rooted in the instinctive, often unnoticed forms of cultural work people carry out in their daily lives.
The discussion unfolds with Miffy, James Chantry, and Paul Conneally exploring how culture is shaped not only by formal institutions but by gestures, rituals, memories and expressions that rarely make it into official accounts. From parents at the school gates in dressing gowns to unrecorded performances in marketplaces, these moments are described as carrying the weight of lived experience and cultural transmission. They challenge the narrow boundaries of what is considered legitimate culture, inviting listeners to think again about where cultural knowledge resides and how it moves across generations.
James brings a perspective grounded in land, folklore and queerness, drawing on the spectral, rural and often unsettling histories of the Fens. His work shows how intangible culture can emerge from soil, water, memory and myth, revealing how landscape and identity intertwine. Paul reflects on decades of artistic experimentation, from collaborative conceptual work to his long-standing involvement in poetry and sound. His stories highlight how cultural value is negotiated through class, access and the subtle hierarchies that shape artistic legitimacy.
Across the conversation, a shared thread develops: the tension between cultural expression that arises organically within communities and the forces that shape, package or suppress it. Whether through social expectations, algorithmic sorting or rigid artistic conventions, many forms of creativity remain unacknowledged until someone takes the trouble to frame and recognise them.
Miffy’s exhibition seeks to create that frame. By gathering artists who work with ambiguity, contradiction and lived experience, Intangible Labour aims to open a space where masculinity, class and everyday creativity can be explored without judgement or prescription. It is an invitation to reconsider what culture is, who defines it and how it might be passed on.
The episode closes with a sense of anticipation for the exhibition’s mix of performance, live painting, poetry and experimental sound—activities that bring the intangible into shared view, even if only for a moment. What emerges is a portrait of contemporary culture as something fluid, grounded and constantly recreated: a new folk culture shaped not by institutions but by the people who live it.
Listen to the full discussion on Soar Sound and join the conversation about how art, memory and identity continue to shape the stories we tell and inherit.
