Stephen Mangan Talks Artist of the Year Formats

Landscape Artist of the Year and Portrait Artist of the Year are two of Sky Arts’ most successful factual formats. Created by Storyvault Films, both showcase fresh talent in the art world. Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of Portrait Artist of the Year, presenter Stephen Mangan spoke with TV Formats Weekly about the global appeal of these two shows.

TV FORMATS: What appealed to you about presenting Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year?
MANGAN: I was trained as an actor. I went to drama school. I’ve spent a lot of my time on stage or in front of a camera, so the idea of being a presenter didn’t really appeal, to start with. But the show had been running for a couple of seasons, and I initially said I didn’t think I was interested. But then, when I watched some of the old episodes, I just thought, Wow, this is a really beautifully put-together show. It’s a fascinating area and not an area that I particularly know a huge amount about. I’m not an art expert in any way, but it just works so well as a format. Art is a visual medium, and it marries perfectly with television. The tone of the show is warm, encouraging and celebratory of the artists who are on, and that’s not always the case in shows that are competitions. I love the fact that the artists are chosen purely and only because of their art. There is no casting because of personality, sad backstories, wacky personalities or anything like that. It is purely about the art. So, the idea of talking as a presenter and interviewing artists, watching paintings come to life in front of our eyes and talking to a whole variety of people—some very comfortable in front of the camera, some more reticent and a little bit shier—really appeals. I thought it was a lovely program, and I wanted to be a part of it.

TV FORMATS: What are some of the biggest lessons learned throughout your time hosting?
MANGAN: Art can feel intimidating for some people. You feel that you need extensive knowledge of art history or current art trends, and I’ve learned that that just isn’t the case. Art can be enjoyed on so many different levels. We have three expert judges who pick artists and paintings that they think are worthy of winning. I don’t always agree with them or see immediately what it is that they are seeing in the art. So, it’s interesting to talk to them and find out their reasons. A main part of my job is to get them to explain why they chose it in plain English, not art jargon, not in complex terms that the rest of us don’t understand—and they’re very good at it. After that, I can sometimes see where they’re coming from, and I don’t necessarily agree. I’ve learned that that’s okay; it’s all right to have an opinion. You don’t have to agree with experts. Art can be a very personal thing you enjoy in a personal way.

TV FORMATS: What advice do you have for those casting presenters for local iterations of the format?
MANGAN: The three judges need to be knowledgeable about art, but they also need to have great communication skills and be able to put across some quite complex ideas in very simple language. As far as the host job, it’s actually quite handy to have someone who’s not an expert. I’m the bridge between the experts and the general public. Somebody who’s not afraid to ask what might seem like dumb questions. Somebody who is interested in people. I see my job partly as an interrogator of the judges but also as somebody to try to relax the artists and put them at ease, to try to draw out the best in them. Someone with curiosity and an ability to ask the questions that people at home on their sofas would ask. Why have you picked that portrait when it doesn’t look anything like the sitter? Why does that painting look like someone fell on a pot of paint and knocked it on the canvas? And be prepared to be humble enough to listen to the answers and grow and learn a bit themselves.

TV FORMATS: What, in your view, makes a perfect participant for these two competitions?
MANGAN: Somebody who has a bit of courage. All artists have a safe zone and things that they can do well. What they can’t control is what they’re asked to paint on the day. The ones who do well are the ones who take a little bit of a leap and try something, take a gamble. No one wants to fail so publicly or to look daft, but people’s hearts go out to people who try something out of their comfort zone and risk a little bit. So, you need people who are prepared to have a go.

TV FORMATS: What makes these shows easy to adapt and localize for audiences in any country around the world?
MANGAN: It’s such a simple format that works so well: watching a painting come together before your eyes. The experience of the viewer at home is almost identical to our experience in the studio. You’re not relying on somebody telling you that a cake tastes good or that a special sauce for fish is just the right consistency or flavor. You see what we see. Every country has a huge untapped reserve of talent, of amateur artists and professional artists out there dying to get on a show like this. It’s very hard for artists to get their work seen. It’s very hard to get their work out there. Even if an artist doesn’t win, we are showcasing eight or nine artists a week, so you’ll quickly find a huge well of talent on which to draw. Human beings are fascinated by art, fascinated by portraits, fascinated by depictions of other human beings and landscapes. In our landscape show, we visit some of the most beautiful parts of the country. It’s like a love letter to that country. Who wouldn’t want that for their country?

TV FORMATS: Portrait Artist of the Year is turning ten! What gives this show its longevity?
MANGAN: What a testament to the show and how popular it is. The figures have gone up and up every year exponentially. We’ve been watched by a huge number of people. We’re getting to the point now where celebrities who I come across are begging me to come on the show. It’s not just artists queuing up, but celebrities queuing up to appear.

Watching the show is an active process. There are nine portraits being created. You have three celebrities coming on from all walks of life—actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, literary figures, personalities; there’s a huge range of people that it’s interesting to meet in this situation, out of the place where you would normally see them. They’re interviewed in a very relaxed, informal setting. You learn something new about them. You also have nine portraits to chat about at home. You can throw things at the telly when the one that you love is not chosen or the one you don’t think works is declared the winner. People say they were so engaged in it at home—in a way that you don’t often become when watching television.

TV FORMATS: Do you have a most memorable moment from your time hosting these shows?
MANGAN: There’s an electric moment when the portrait easels are turned around. You get to see the response of the sitter, who’s been sat there for four hours with no clue what’s on the other side of the canvases when the three portraits of themselves are revealed. As a writer and as an actor, I know how hard it is to present your work to people, to go on for a first night in the theater or to send a manuscript to an editor to have a book published. So I know that, for the artists, it’s a very vulnerable, special moment.

Portrait Artist of the Year airs weekly on Sky Arts, Freeview and NOW from October 11. Landscape Artist of the Year returns in early 2024. Both Portrait Artist of the Year and Landscape Artist of the Year are represented internationally by Banijay.