Front Row

Alistair Hudson, Director of the Whitworth in Manchester and Charles Esche, Director of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven have been awarded a Transformative Grant to rethink their respective art institutions. They join Front Row to discuss how the concept of useful art has the power to remake museums and galleries fit for the 21st century. England has one, Scotland has one, Wales has two, but Northern Ireland has none – we’re talking National Theatres. Nóirín McKinney, Director of Arts Development at Arts Council of Northern Ireland, reflects on the desire for a National Theatre of Northern Ireland, and why it has yet to be fulfilled.The bicentenary of the birth of celebrated art critic John Ruskin is being marked by events and exhibitions across the country, but one art historian has gone further than most in bringing Ruskin’s work to life for a modern audience. Dr Paul O’Keefe has been performing Ruskin’s lectures in character for two decades. He explains why a bad wig turned out to be the perfect prop fo