The shots that eventually led to World War One, fired by Gavrilo Princip and aimed at Franz Ferdinand, shook Europe up a whole century ago. The legacy left behind however is still prime material for historical and political (re)consideration: this after all was the conflict that shaped the entire 20^th century.

Enter 14-18 NOW, the UK-wide cultural programme which sees an abundance of invited artists negotiating the echoes of WW1 today. The list of participating artists is impressive and so are the outcomes: from a participatory project inviting the public to voice their reflections on WW1 to a dance piece exploring the bond between war-confined men.

The woman at the helm of the project is Jenny Waldman – even if you don’t know her name you’ve most certainly seen her work in action: she was behind the London 2012 Festival and shaped the courtyard programme of Somerset House. With 14-18 NOW already underway, Run Riot managed to snatch some of her time; we used it to discuss the political resonance of WW1 today, talk accessibility of art, and (of course) get some first hand insight into the programme.

Run Riot: What are your biggest considerations when tackling and devising such major public events? Where do you get your inspiration from?

Jenny Waldman: My inspiration varies according to the challenge - sometimes it is enabling artists to realise bold and ambitious projects, sometimes it is responding to a particular place - like the beautiful courtyard at Somerset House - and creating events that play to its strengths. Audiences are inspiring too - finding new audiences, taking existing audiences on a new journey. I suppose it always comes back to the ability of artists to make us think, feel and see things differently through their eyes and imaginations, and ensuring that everyone has access to these experiences.

Run Riot: The first phase of 14-18 NOW has already kicked off - what has the reaction been so far?

Jenny Waldman: There's been a great reaction so far, a real interest from artists, arts organisations and audiences. As Billy Bragg said in his intro at Glastonbury, a great deal of what's happening in the world today can be traced back to the First World War and its aftermath. I think people are genuinely interested in finding out more - especially about aspects we don’t learn about in school.

Run Riot: Quite a lot in 14-18 NOW’s programme is free to the public. How important is accessibility - for cultural events in general and for this one in particular?

Jenny Waldman: It’s really important to reach new audiences, and to give people an opportunity to check something out without them having to pay for a ticket or book in advance. Something like the Dazzle Ships in London and Liverpool are big public art works right in the heart of the city, for people to enjoy and also to think about the 2000 ships that were painted by artists in WW1. It is extraordinary to think that artists were employed to paint ships in dazzling shapes and patterns in order to confuse the enemy and save lives.

Run Riot: Some of the events in the programme, like the Billy Bragg curated Opening Act, reflect on the echoes of WW1 they recognise today. Where do you see the political legacy of the Great War? How does 14-18 NOW consider the impacts of a century ago on the present?

Jenny Waldman: WW1 shaped a great deal of the world we live in today - alliances were made and empires fell as a result of the war and the political map was redrawn. 14-18 NOW invites artists from all round the world to explore the resonance of WW1 today - we believe that artists have a way of looking at things from a different perspective and opening up new stories. Billy Bragg and his fellow singer-songwriters at Glastonbury are a good example of this - you can hear the songs at 1418NOW.org.uk. For Does It Matter?, five disabled artists have made new films offering their own takes on the legacy of war and disability - these can be seen from 28 July on Channel 4oD.

Run Riot: The tectonic shifts brought on by WW1 resonated through art - with many poets, writers, painters, and other artists taking their experiences from the trenches into a changed post-war practice. How does the programme of 14-18 NOW engage with their legacy and work?

Jenny Waldman: We took an early decision to commission new work from today's artists, inviting them to reflect on the art of the 1914-18 period as well as on the war, politics, society, science and technology. The art of the period had a profound impact, shaping many of our perceptions of WW1, so it seemed fitting, 100 years later, to invite today's artists from the UK and around the world to look afresh at the war and the art it inspired.

Some of our projects engage directly with the work produced 100 years ago - composer Torsten Rasch sets the Dymock poets to music (Rupert Brooke, Sassoon and others). Lavinia Greenlaw's project takes the title of Robert Graves famous book, Goodbye To All That, as a starting point for writers from 10 countries that engaged in the First World War to reflect on the aftermath of war as well as the continuing struggle for artistic freedom in the face of war and conflict in all its forms

Run Riot: Can you tell us about the international collaborations within 14-18 NOW? Was there an impetus to seek out artists from other countries and consider their national WW1 narratives?

Jenny Waldman: Yes, very much so, and this will grow over our next two seasons in 2016 and 2018. This year we have artists from 25 of the countries that participated in WW1, and of course their narratives are very different. Some live in countries that were created after the war as a result of the fall of the Ottoman and Austria-Hungarian Empire. As its name suggests, WW1 was the first truly global war, with over 100 countries involved and arenas of war in Africa and Asia that we don’t learn much about at school. Artists can explore those narratives and give us new perspectives on a war that had repercussions all round the world.

Run Riot: Neil Bartlett and Kate Pullinger are inviting passers-by to stop, think and write a letter to the Paddington Station’s unknown soldier. In light of the subject, what’s the importance of curating events that encourage participation or rest on it?

Jenny Waldman: LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER is a brilliant project inviting us all to set down our thoughts about the war. Thousands of people are writing letters, which can all be read at www.1418now.org.uk/letter and all the letters will go to the British Library archive - Neil and Kate are calling it 'a new kind of war memorial - one made entirely of words'. Our second participative project, LIGHTS OUT, invites everyone in the UK to switch out their lights on August 4th between 10pm-11pm, leaving on just one light or candle - marking the moment 100 years ago when Britain entered WW1 and echoing Sir Edward Grey's famous phrase 'The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.’ I think at a time when there are so many history books and television programmes telling us what to think. It's also important that people have an opportunity to think for themselves and contribute their own thoughts and ideas to the centenary commemorations. 

Run Riot: What kind of a relationship do you hope the programme will form with the younger generations - those learning about the WW1 perhaps for the first time?

Jenny Waldman: I hope that it will make people want to find out more about the war and the way it shaped the world we live in today. There were so many changes that WW1 precipitated. Some were devastating, such as the 16 million deaths, the destruction of families and communities and the precipitation of a century of wars around the world. Others were remarkably positive, such as the change in the position of women (having worked in traditional men’s jobs including the London Underground during the war, women got the vote in 1918), and in fashion (war work lead to women having shorter haircuts and wearing trousers, black became a fashionable colour, partly because so many women were in mourning).

Run Riot: What’s your approach to the creative producer-artist relationship? What’s the key to successful collaboration?

Jenny Waldman: Artists tend to look at things in a different way, to get to the emotional heart of the matter. The creative producer is there to help the artist realise their vision and to ensure it reaches the widest audience.

14-18 NOW

UK-wide

see website for details