My Gurus

Michael Szpakowski

Michael is an artist, composer, writer and lecturer who works across various media: photography, painting, video, music and digital media. I first met him in 1998, when he was commissioned to compose the score for a participatory performance piece, ‘Eye Test’, which I produced. I have been lucky to work with Michael on numerous occasions since and on a wide range of cross-arts projects. I have always thoroughly enjoyed working with him – he is a brilliant and prolific artist, an inspired and inspiring teacher, a real thinker. We have also become good friends – he is incredibly generous and kind. Michael has a knack for getting the best out of people, creatively and musically. He is fiercely intelligent and always interested in pushing artistic boundaries and exploring different ways of working. Over the years, he has created a fascinating and constantly evolving body of work. I love his work and am inspired by it.

In 2008, when Drake Music went through a particularly tricky phase, Michael introduced me to Furtherfield’s Artistic Director Ruth Catlow, saying “I think you’ll get on”. This was the start of a really exciting partnership between Drake Music and Furtherfield which continues to this day.