ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT
KENT ARTIST PROFILE:
Briony Kapoor
INTERVIEW BY LISAMARIE LAMB
BRIONY KAPOOR IS AN ARTIST WITH A VISION – A VISION FOR HER OWN WORK, AND ALSO FOR THE ROMNEY MARSHES WHERE SHE LIVES AND WORKS.
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How would you describe your art?
I think that I am more of an impresario than an artist. I conceive projects, instigate and carry out design ideas but the real artistic skill comes from the painters and sculptors who are commissioned.
What made you want to be an artist?
Almost immediately after university I shared ownership of a gallery in Central London. The gallery had an eclectic vision and I was introduced to many approaches to the arts. Prior to that my mother had helped to develop my interest in the arts. She had a natural talent and was one of the founders of the Romney Marsh Art Society.
What is it about Kent in particular that inspires you?
Kent is a beautiful country with a wonderful history but for me there are two or three things that count particularly. Romney Marsh is home and the landscape here is an acquired taste that is deeply affecting over time. The land has a beauty that is not obvious but reveals itself slowly. The air is like champagne and the peace allows a sense of eternity to mature.
Our relationship with Europe is also significant and I campaigned for the United Kingdom to stay inside the EU – alas unsuccessfully. Our area of Britain has a long association with the Continent. Who would want to be elsewhere? We have access to a lot of the best art in the world and I include all forms of cultural expression in this use of the word.
You’ re the founder of the IMOS Foundation – can you tell us about it?
The IMOS Foundation was a developing idea from about 2005. I found myself alone in life and with a wish to contribute as well as a desire to return to my life in the arts after several years of practical concerns and family responsibilities. All along its length the South Coast was becoming an arts destination with prestige projects. Romney Marsh seemed to be left behind. The advantage of this was that there was a fairly blank canvas with which to work.
We are now a registered charity with four trustees and have employed a large number of artists over the years. On public display are about 150 original works of art, mainly mural paintings and some sculptures. We have developed a design for a Romney Marsh flag and travelled the UK with a major exhibition of portraits from each of the countries of the EU.
The charity has been variously funded, notably by the Roger De Hann Charitable Trust and by the Arts Council, Europe House in London and several universities, Magnox, the Kent Wildlife Trust and others.
What are the Foundation’ s aims?
I felt that the desire and the giving was everything and that money was secondary. I
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