1. Where did you come from and how did you get here?
I came from London by plane and from Madrid by car. The drive from Madrid is such a pleasure, the landscape opens out in to wide stony plains then changes to become a golden wavy plain of recently harvested crops. It is still warm so there’s an Autumnal feel to the whole journey. I live part of the time in Southern Spain and its a reminder of the diversity and hugeness of Spain to come here where the power of the centre of Spain is so evident.
2. What are your impressions of Segovia and favourite moments so far?
Segovia is a beautiful small city which is quite hard to negotiate. The whole city is the colour of the golden light stone. As everyone is talking about the effects of artificial intelligence and the ways we can negotiate the future of information its quite strange to be in a place which is so dominated by its own past. The catholic church is present on every street corner and there still seem to be monasteries and religious orders, one gets the feeling that there are people going about their lives within the walls of the buildings. The architecture is spectacular, one building was pointed out to me that has the entire exterior made from pointed pyramid forms facing outwards each one carved from stone individually, hundreds and hundreds of man hours spent on a single wall. I have enjoyed walking the city early in the morning and at night.
3. Which events, other than your own, have you seen and what stayed with you?
I attended a talk by architect Kayuzo Sejima who founded the architectural group SANAA in Japan which I was very excited about. I saw a fishermen’s shelter that they had done after the Tsunami in Japan and it moved me at the time, it was the most beautiful humble small structure so it was interesting to hear her talk about museum construction. As I am an artist I think constantly about museums and how they are designed.
4. What was the best question you were asked, and how did you answer it?
I was asked about how the humanities are relevant in an age when they are not seen as practical within education. I answered it by saying that art is about opening up the imagination and that this is highly relevant to all of us as we try to move into the future. Artists think about the world and how to respond to things and to invent languages to describe the present and future so they can provide useful insights into how negotiate all kinds issues of the present day.
5. What's your favourite book by a Spanish writer?
My favourite book is La Chanca by Juan Goytisolo. I live near to Almeria where La Chanca was situated. The book was published with photographs by Carlos Pérez Siquier and I treasure the book which I tend to read every Summer. It is about a writer travelling through Almeria sent to find a friend who goes house to house searching for the person and meeting people along the way. It is as much about language as a journey in itself as about the place. The photographs describe La Chanca which was an area of Almeria where gitanos lived where a way of life persisted that brought people close together in the face of adversity. There is both a blackness to it and the lightness of touch of the writing.
6. What was the last book you read and loved?
I have been reading Barracoon, a recently published account of Zora Hurston Neale’s conversations with the last living freed slave whose name was Cudjo Lewis who had been brought over on a slave ship from Africa. She went to spend time with him in 1931 when he was ninety and he recounts his journey and life that he had left behind as a child in Africa and what had happened to him since. The account is very much from the perspective of Hurston Neale and she tries to recount his unique vernacular. It is as major account of a past that we rarely access so directly.
7. What one piece of advice do you wish you could give your 16 year old self?
My 16 year old self - well I would say do whatever you want but make sure you respect the things you do and go on doing them to build up your own language and way to recount life. And that everything is going to go on changing throughout your life so make sure you enjoy the moment you are in right now as it will never be repeated.
Hannah Collins is a British contemporary artist and film-maker. Collins' works treat the collective experiences of memory, history and the everyday in the modern world. She is known for her photographic installations, but has also made films in Spain and Russia. She was nominated for the 1993 Turner Prize. Collins appeared at Hay Festival Segovia 2018 to talk about the role of art in promoting coexistence.