Will Jennings

Will Jennings

@willjennings.bsky.social

Writer, artist, editor, curator Editor: recessed.space Teaching: UCL Bartlett Obviously, everything here is my opinion & not that of my employers, except when I am my employer Probs won't chat to faceless/anon/troll profiles

3.9K followers1.7K following4.3K posts

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Over the next five days I have five deadlines to deliver. Of different kinds. One may need this ladder.

Will Jennings@willjennings.bsky.social

I might need to borrow an old school wooden ladder like this for a thing in London. Anybody know where I may find one? Battered and abused is fine.

Will Jennings reposted

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

I might need to borrow an old school wooden ladder like this for a thing in London. Anybody know where I may find one? Battered and abused is fine.

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

I had dinner tonight in Tunis with two Brazilians who were so existentially worried. They didn't want to come to the party, instead choosing to go to hotels & watch news. They'll be very happy now. But as they said to me, this will roll on and there will be all kind of legal opposition that follows

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

I've just visited Tilal Utique, a suite of buildings spread across a hill in Utica, Tunisia, all offered up for free to artists and cultural organisations for residencies and research, from the Kamel Lazaar Foundation. This is the Guest House at the centre of the complex.

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

As someone who spent many years in conservation architecture and not teaches about the history of buildings and landscape, I should find this awful. But actually it's fine and is just part of the narrative of an awful place. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

theguardian.comSuspect arrested over fire at Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’ retreat in BavariaAbout 200 firefighters deployed to tackle blaze at former Nazi mountain retreat in remote part of southern Germany
Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Nobody in my family remembered I had a birthday, but the people that make my water filter, sell me a VPN, and supply my contact lenses all took the time out to wish me well.

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

So in a few weeks, the BBC have edited out a "Protect the dolls" trans rights t-shirt and now also some simple rainbow badges. I like the BBC, I used to like it more when it did actual journalism and arts coverage, but it's really making itself hard for me to like it right now.

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *
Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

I'm not in the US I don't and never have lived in the US I'm currently in Africa I don't own a horse I don't need a horse to look like two people in a horse costume Meta thinks I need this

Will Jennings@willjennings.bsky.social

Will Jennings reposted

recessed.space
@recessedspace.bsky.social

BARCELONA GALLERY WEEKEND & THE FIGHT AGAINST HYPERTOURISM The rapid rise of tourism in Barcelona has affected all living conditions in the Catalan capital & this has an impact across the cultural sector from small experimental spaces to international institutions. recessed.space/00337-Barcel...

recessed.space00337 - Barcelona Gallery Weekend — recessed.spaceBarcelona Gallery Weekend & the fight against hypertourism For a city known for famous...
Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Tomorrow I start teaching my new Masters students the seminar series on "horror and landscape". I asked them to send in five images of landscapes (or films, places, whatever) that they find to be horror, anxious, or fearful. One has sent this and I already know we are going to get on!

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Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Tomorrow I start teaching my new Masters students the seminar series on "horror and landscape". I asked them to send in five images of landscapes (or films, places, whatever) that they find to be horror, anxious, or fearful. One has sent this and I already know we are going to get on!

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Oh god, she's entering architecture history & theory. I thought I could largely ignore her, until now.

Henry Mance@henrymance.ft.com

There's obviously a serious point here, but it's quite funny optics for the Conservative party to complain that it used to be so much quicker to build a stately home.

Will Jennings
@willjennings.bsky.social

Laying out some slides for a talk I am giving to students tomorrow, I found & remembered I made this gif for socials when helping stop the Garden Bridge get built over a year ago.

Will Jennings reposted

George Monbiot
@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Call me a masochist, but I'm returning to this issue, as I feel it has been poorly understood. Please read the whole thread before responding. First, I hope we can agree that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza and horrific crimes in the West Bank and the wider region.

Will Jennings reposted

recessed.space
@recessedspace.bsky.social

RECESSED.SPEAKS 002: A CONVERSATION WITH ASAD RAZA For our 2nd episode of recessed.speaks, we travel to Luckenwalde, south of Berlin, to E-WERK, a disused power station reborn as a radical place of culture to experience a project by artist Asad Raza. recessed.space/00335-recess...

recessed.space00335 - recessed.speaks 002: Asad Raza — recessed.spacerecessed.speaks 002: an conversation with Asad Raza The second episode of our podcast, recessed.speaks, is a...