To prepare to interview a cultural figure, the most important task is to familiarise yourself with as much of their work as possible (and certainly the most recent), as well as the biographical details of their life. Other preparation might include reading past reviews and finding out more about the art that has influenced them. You should think about key themes and the development of their work, as well as the context of their life and art. You can also talk to other people who know them and their work.

An interview should be carefully structured - the most important questions usually asked early on - but you should be ready to listen carefully and change the structure depending on how the conversation develops. You can give them a chance to respond to criticisms that have been made of their work. When writing up the interview as a feature-article, add context and criticism in summarising their life and work. Be sure to include ‘colour’, meaning atmosphere and a description of the person or the location where you met them, and some description of the art itself, as well as plenty of quotation.

You can build an interview of a cultural figure into a fuller profile that can also be a portrait of an age or place; trace larger historical or political forces or the development of an art form; or map a field, such as jazz or magic realism, or an argument or debate.