Alan Yentob: BBC Arts Broadcaster Dies at 78

Yentob was likewise dealing with a Visualize program dedicated to the artist Jenny Saville whose exhibition results from open at the National Portrait Gallery in London following month. She tells The Art Newspaper: “The payment Alan made to British culture was enormous. A variety of global imagination ended up being accessible to throughout these documentaries.”

Tributes to Alan Yentob

Artists consisting of Tracey Emin and Ai Weiwei have led tributes to the long-serving BBC arts broadcaster Alan Yentob who has actually died, aged 78. Both artists featured in Yentob’s docudrama arts collection Envision, which ran mostly on BBC One from 2003 to 2023. In the Imagine episode Without Worry or Favour (2010 ), Yentob introduced Ai Weiwei, who is known for his advocacy, as “introducing in his art and courageous in his national politics”. In 2015, Yentob was appointed CBE in the 2024 King’s birthday celebration honours checklist for services to the arts and media.

In the Envision episode Without Anxiety or Favour (2010 ), Yentob presented Ai Weiwei, who is understood for his activism, as “pioneering in his art and fearless in his politics”. Ai Weiwei includes: “I have directly really felt the social effect of the episode. It supplied a strong voice of support and elevated recognition regarding my scenario across the society.”

Yentob’s Impact on Artists

The artist Anish Kapoor tells The Art Paper: “Alan Yentob was warm, charitable and comprehended the significance of the arts in public life. We shall miss his presence, particularly currently when the arts and the public institutions that advertise them are under such significant stress from ideology-biased governments worldwide.”

Early Career at the BBC

Yentob joined the BBC in 1968 as a student– the only non-Oxbridge grad after graduating from Leeds with a law degree– rising the rankings to come to be editor of the well established arts show Arena in 1978. “The program handled to consider both low and high culture with the exact same blend of severity and dedication, recommending that punk rock and Orson Welles alike deserved intellectual evaluation,” Alexander Larman creates in The Telegraph.

In an episode, dedicated to Marina Abramović in 2020, entitled The Ugly Duckling, the performance artist discussed her family and maturing in communist Yugoslavia. “His selections were initial, essential and developed a genuine bridge between the societies of art and television. For us artists, he was our voice: a platform to communicate our ideas with an audience to which we wouldn’t usually have any type of accessibility,” she says.

Musicians including Tracey Emin and Ai Weiwei have led homages to the long-serving BBC arts broadcaster Alan Yentob who has actually died, aged 78. Both artists featured in Yentob’s documentary arts series Envision, which ran primarily on BBC One from 2003 to 2023. It will be challenging to fill the space after his death.”

He was likewise chairman from 2002 to 2010 of the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), the London cultural centre. His departure accompanied the resignation of Ekow Eshun that stepped down as executive director adhering to economic problems at the ICA. In 2015, Yentob was selected CBE in the 2024 King’s birthday honours listing for services to the arts and media.

Leadership Roles at BBC

Yentob came to be both controller of BBC2 (1987-1993) and controller of BBC One (1993-97), commissioning programmes such as the funny Definitely Fabulous and the panel program Have I Got Information For You? His various other BBC duties included supervisor of drama, home entertainment and children’s programs; in his final post, he was imaginative supervisor from 2004 till 2015 when he resigned following a debate over his duty as chair of Kids Company, a charity founded in 1996 by Camila Batmanghelidjh to support deprived central city children.