Desert Island Discs

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BBC Radio 4 FM

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Castaway guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.

BBC Radio 4 LW

Desert Island Discs: Sonia Boyce, artist

Sonia Boyce, artist

BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Sonia Boyce, artist

Sonia Boyce, artist, shares the soundtrack of her life with Lauren Laverne.

Sonia Boyce, artist, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

In 2022 Sonia Boyce became the first Black British woman to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale exhibition.  She also took home the coveted Golden Lion Award for her installation Feeling Her Way, which combined video and collage with improvised performances by five female musicians.  

Sonia was born in London and grew up near the renowned Whitechapel Art Gallery.  As a very young child she would visit the gallery, often alone, relishing the light and space inside the building.  In 1985, two years after graduating from Stourbridge College of Art, she completed her drawing Missionary Position II, which was acquired by the Tate two years later.  She was just 25 and was one of the youngest artists and the first Black woman to enter its permanent collection.

In 1999 Sonia started work on the Devotional Collection, an archive of sound, ephemera and wallpaper relating to black British women in music, ranging from Shirley Bassey to Neneh Cherry, and celebrating their contribution to international culture. 

Sonia lives in London with her partner, the curator David A. Bailey. She has taught Fine Art studio practice for more than 30 years in several art colleges across the UK.  She was awarded an OBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to art. 

DISC ONE: Meet Me On The Corner - Lindisfarne   
DISC TWO: Help Me Make It Through the Night - John Holt    
DISC THREE: Caught You In A Lie - Louisa Mark  
DISC FOUR: Psycho Killer -Talking Heads   
DISC FIVE: Wolf & Leopards - Dennis Brown  
DISC SIX: Is That Jazz - Gil Scott Heron 
DISC SEVEN: Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
DISC EIGHT: Love and Affection - Joan Armatrading  

BOOK CHOICE: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl 
LUXURY ITEM: Champagne       
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Is That Jazz by Gil Scott Heron 

Presenter  Lauren Laverne
Producer  Paula McGinley

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