Arts Editor Intro: Claire - The Culture Vulture

This is my second year as Arts section editor. It’s a role that never gets boring – London really is one of the best cities in the world for culture. It’s a wonderful mix of things old and new. Van Gogh and Warhol. Russian classical ballet and Merce Cunningham’s contemporary choreography. Shakespeare and Ibsen, cheek by jowl with new playwrights writing about issues for our times.

I joined Felix Arts back in third year, on the persuasion of the Arts editor at the time. The main draw was the press tickets really. At first I was nervous about reviewing. What if my writing wasn’t good enough? Was I entitled to have an opinion on things which I definitely wasn’t an expert on? If an award-winning artist had made something that I really hated, was I just incapable of appreciating its genius?

It took me some time, but I eventually got over those fears. Anyone can write (admittedly to varying degrees of quality, but that’s what editors are for). I also realised two important things: first, you don’t need to be an expert to recognise good or bad art, and second, even award-winning artists produce squibs.

I started to get excited about seeing my articles in print – it was the best feeling when people told me that they’d gone to see a show on the basis of my review. Or the reverse, for that matter. Writing a stinging review is actually more fun than writing a good one.

What sort of art do I appreciate the most? It’s a difficult choice, but I’d have to say the opera. The sheer melodrama! Jilted lovers, seething passions, murder and intrigue! The soaring voices and sublime music! You leave the grandeur and plush confines of the Royal Opera House feeling, for a moment, like you’d stepped into a different world.

That’s what I love about the arts and why I think more people should appreciate them. A brilliant play, an awe-inspiring artwork or a beautiful dance can take your breath away. It makes you stop for a moment. It makes you imagine things you may never have dreamed of, or feel emotions that you may never experience otherwise.

So join us at Felix Arts! Immerse yourself in all the weird and wonderful things London has to offer. And let your opinion on each and every one of them be heard.

We’re to be found at Felix Arts 2019/20 on Facebook, or at arts.felix@ic.ac.uk.