Simon Armstrong 'The 2020 Culture Wars - and why everything interesting is happening at the edge'

In this episode of #TheNewAbnormal, I interview Simon Armstrong, who has the incredibly enviable job of being the book buyer for The Tate. He's a fascinating individual, with a background across an array of leading-edge cultural positions. In this interview, he describes his journey from a working-class background in the North East, to running what many consider to be the finest art bookshop in the world. (Where the subject matter of the stock includes Modern & Contemporary Art, Photography, Design, Fashion and Architecture, etc.) Along the way, we discuss the vital role of culture during the pandemic - despite it apparently being being deemed 'non-essential' by many Governments; debate the highly divisive culture wars, the search for artistic authenticity (with an obligatory nod to Sartre), and why actively supporting counter-culture / sub-culture is so important, because - as ever - the most interesting things happen on the periphery 'where everything influences everything else'. Finally, he emphasises how crucial it is to promote fresh thinking and to have 'thoughtful disagreements'. So...enjoy!