Episode 2: Give me a break with Bengi Ünsal
2 min read
Forget glossy success stories – our new podcast shares honest, unfiltered accounts from people who forged their own paths in the arts. Our second episode features Bengi Ünsal, director of the ICA, London
For the second episode of Give me a break, Harriet is joined by Bengi Ünsal, director of London’s ICA. Bengi grew up in Turkey, and began her career in music programming. Coming up, she was a self-proclaimed “shy person” with no degree or ‘ins’ in the arts, but eventually proved a knack for finding new talent as an early champion of acts like Muse, St Vincent and Nils Frahm.
In 2016, she moved to London to become head of contemporary music at Southbank Centre before taking the top job at the ICA in 2022 (the first woman to do so in over half a century). There, against a backdrop of ever-shifting funding and political challenges, she has transformed the ICA into a hotbed of experimental art, music, film and cross-disciplinary happenings – a place where people want to be, and be seen. Bengi and Harriet discuss everything from begging for jobs and bad bosses to overcoming shyness, going bankrupt and starting over.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify and stay tuned for more exciting guests coming soon.
Bengi Ünsal interviewed by Harriet Lloyd-Smith
Production: Dora DB
Editing and sound: Steven Llewellyn
Image: Bengi Ünsal photographed by Anne Tetzlaff
