Scene City: Róisín Tapponi in conversation with Jennifer Higgie - Islington

Join us with Róisín Tapponi in conversation with Jennifer Higgie to discuss her debut novel: Scene City. Join us with Róisín Tapponi in conversation with Jennifer Higgie to discuss her debut novel: Scene City - An infectious, irreverent debut novel set amidst the cold glitz of the commercial art world. Scene City - Romy, an art history student, glibly accepts a writing gig that tips her headlong into hollow glamour and strange air of London’s art world. As she begins to document the scene, in all its decadence and debauchery, her sense of self is lost to the buzz. Soon, Romy, and her merry band of gays, find themselves in (of all things) the maelstrom of an unfolding novel. Tapping into Lawrence Sterne as much as it does Eve Babitz and Truman Capote, this infectious, irreverent debut explores authorship and identity, and whether the pursuit of meaning can (or should) get in the way of a good time. Róisín Tapponi (b. 1999) is a novelist and film programmer. She founded Shasha Movies, the independent streaming platform for artist film and video from South-West Asia and North Africa. In 2024, Tapponi graduated with a PhD from University of St. Andrews. Jennifer Higgie is an Australian writer who lives in London. She has a BA in Fine Art from the Canberra School of Art, and a MA from Victoria College of the Arts, Melbourne; her paintings are in various public and private collections in Australia. Previously the editor of frieze magazine, she is now frieze editor-at-large and the presenter of Bow Down, a podcast about women in art history. She is also a screenwriter, the editor of a collection of writings on art and humour The Artist's Joke, a novel, Bedlam, and a children's book, There's Not One.