In the Frame: Vick Hope on growing up with art and culture
The Radio 1 DJ reveals her love of painting landscapes and how she'd rather spend her time in museums than scrolling on her phone.
Radio 1 DJ Vick Hope answers five questions about the lasting influence that art and culture has had on her – from an unforgettable school trip to discovering Turner’s landscapes during her art GCSE. And hear how she thinks that museums make a perfect day out, whether you’re exploring with loved ones or solo.
Join Vick at Handel Hendrix House, where two of the biggest names in music history once lived. She reflects on her obsession with Jimi Hendrix, sparked by memories of her parents playing the rock legend’s music, and that special feeling of walking in the footsteps of someone you admire.
Let Vick inspire your next trip with your National Art Pass – and if you’re looking for even more ideas, search for museums, galleries and exhibitions near you and use the filters to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Vick Hope discusses the art that inspires her
Explore Handel Hendrix House with Vick Hope
Ready to plan your trip to Handel Hendrix House? Get free entry when you visit with a National Art Pass.
Q&A: In the Frame with Vick Hope
Art Fund: Do you remember the first time you visited a museum or gallery?
Vick Hope: I think the first memory I have of visiting a museum was the Discovery Museum in Newcastle. Maybe when I was four or five, probably like Reception or Year 1 of school. And I remember it had this massive skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the foyer as you were walking in, and we just found it so incredible, so exciting.
The Discovery Museum had lots of natural history, lots of science as well. There was this room where there was one of those globes with the static electricity, where if you put your hand on it, the electricity would go to your hand and we were all mesmerised by it.
I remember we could make our hair stand on end and I do have a memory of – because I've got Afro hair – it didn't stand on end like everyone else's and really, really wanting it to. But it really sparked a fascination, an interest, passions in, I guess, me and all my little friends at the time.
It was so great that at that age we got to go and experience art, culture, history, science. Have our minds and our eyes opened to the world. And I mean, it’s the best education, isn't it?
Is there a piece of art that inspires you?
I'd say the art that's inspired me most in those formative years – which was when I was maybe 16, 17 and I was doing my art GCSE at school – was Turner.
So I remember we had a module as part of art GCSE, which was to paint landscapes, and that's where I found my love of painting landscapes, which is something I still do now. Every holiday I go on, I take my watercolours and I paint landscapes.
And I discovered Turner's art about that age and just loved how evocative his use of colour was, his use of shape and form and those landscapes were so utterly transporting. They were so consuming, and I wanted to paint like that.
Obviously, I can't – I'm no Turner. But I was inspired. Yeah, I now have a couple of prints around my house, and I always look at them and remember that time where I realised that I loved to paint.
And I often find that when you are painting a landscape, you look at it differently and it just makes me happy to be able to sit. It's therapeutic.
Do you prefer to go to galleries alone or with someone?
So, this year, I was a judge on Museum of the Year. And the reason that all came about, or the reason I said yes to it, was literally the night before myself and my husband had been having a chat about how we live in this city where there is so much art and culture. There are so many museums and galleries, and we're not visiting them enough.
And we made a pact that this year – this was at the beginning of 2024 – we said, you know what? This year we're going to go to more museums and galleries. And then the next day, I got this email asking if I wanted to judge this prize. So, it seemed like someone had been watching over us. It seemed like a no brainer. And that was kind of an introduction to going to galleries and museums in a group, which I wouldn't usually do.
I love going with my husband. We love, you know, looking at the art and making jokes about it, discussing it, telling stories about how it's made us feel when we get home.
I love going on my own because there's something really lovely about not having to vocalise awe. So, when you see something amazing, you don't even have to say 'wow' because you feel it on your own. And that's OK. There's something really affirming about that.
But this year I was introduced to going as a group with the other judges, and it was fab because I learned so much from them that I don't necessarily have the capacity or the history or the experience to notice a lot of these things.
And yeah, I felt like it was a real education and really interesting. So, both!
How will you make the most of your National Art Pass?
I will be making the most of my National Art Pass this year because I would rather be in a museum or an art gallery than, like, on my phone or watching telly.
I think we all could do with a bit of an escape from the screen time, from the world around us, and how crazy busy it can all be, and actually taking a moment to immerse ourselves in these stories and these pieces, in this beauty, in our history, our culture, the science of the world around us – it’s so important.
It's an education. It's a beautiful day out. It's a nice way to spend time with your friends, your family, your loved ones.
It's great to be able to recommend something that you've seen, that you think someone else might get something from. And what a joy to have it all kind of set out for you!
I don't want to have to search so much, again, on my phone because you can find the screen time becomes quite cyclical, and you just end up in the cycle of it, whereas it's, you know, there's information there.
Let's go. Takes a little bit of the stress out of working out what to do. And it's just a great day out.
The more you see, the more we do.
The National Art Pass lets you enjoy free entry to hundreds of museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, while raising money to support them.