The Artfully Learning Audio Series is a supplemental media platform to the Artfully Learning blog posts.
Each episode focuses on a specific idea, concept and insightful analysis related to an art and education theme.
Most of the episodes also feature one-on-one conversations with artists, educators, curators and other arts professionals, whose work is in tandem with art-centered pedagogy.
Every episode will be available on the Artfully Learning YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe so you can automatically receive updates about when the latest program is uploaded. Or you can just bookmark this page, because you will find an archive of each episode below.
Episode 19: The Art of Time
My guest on this episode is philosopher and artist Kerry Langsdale. She is currently a PhD researcher at the University of Nottingham, with a focus on the metaphysics of time. Her research and love for art has inspired an ongoing project called The Art of Time, which is an art centered collaboration with both working artists and the public exploring the philosophy of time through the lens of contemporary fine art.
The intention is for The Art of Time series to be mutually beneficial for both philosophy and art. Langsdale supports artists to explore themes of time and temporality in their own practice. This process is tailored to the artists, and has included delving into time as an underpinning context of the work, and experimenting with time based media and materials.
Episode 18: The Artful Audacity of Hope
In this episode, I speak with artist Sally Curcio about how making artistic models using educational materials and found objects can be a blueprint for what is possible in a well balanced and functioning society. What stands out from Curcio’s sculpture and installations is the unbridled optimism and playful sense of possibility, expressed through a complimentary combination of form, color, balance and scale.
Overall, the structures that make up the tableaux have a very unified look. This arrangement is made even more familiar and comforting when you take the time to look closely and realize that Curcio has repurposed everyday materials like combs, ice trays and egg cartons, to represent the affordances of objects in urban spaces. By using ordinary materials in extraordinary ways, Sally’s art makes a statement that we can achieve great and beautiful things in our everyday lives, even when it seems as though the odds are stacked against us.
Episode 17: Social Sculpture
Artistic immersion offers us the agency and ability to become active learners, expressive communicators and determined problem solvers. This is why including art as a core subject in schools is an obvious choice. Not everyone will or should become professional artists, however they can employ elements of artfulness in their daily lives in order to succeed in many circumstances beyond art making. The phrase “everyone is an artist” is a great mantra to prompt us to become mindfully intuitive and responsive to the world around us.
My guest on this episode is Jeff Kasper who is a social practice artist, educator and cultural program director. Jeff creates pedagogical tools, text-based projects, social spaces, publications, exhibitions, community education, and workshops. Oftentimes, these artistic and educational initiatives are in direct and democratic partnership with community-based and non-profit organizations. As a skilled graphic designer, Jeff combines the tools and techniques of graphic design with participatory learning, and contemplative practices, to examine the dynamics of social support, proximity, and safety. His practice has consistently engaged questions around how people build community and practice care and collaboration, especially through trauma, conflict, and crisis.
Episode 16: Curating With Care and Speaking to the Curious Mind
My guest on this episode is Audra Lambert who wears many hats within the contemporary art world. She has experience as an arts administrator, arts writer, independent curator, and artist’s coach. Audra has organized exhibitions at the Yeshiva University Museum, Radiator Gallery, Arsenale Gallery and Fountain House Gallery, among other notable arts and cultural venues. Most importantly she’s a facilitator of arts projects within diverse communities and provides compassionate care in her work supporting artists at all stages of their careers.
Audra and I discuss her multifaceted interests, expertise, and experiences within the contemporary art scene. I hope that this episode will be informative and inspiring to anyone who wants to learn more about the intricacies of the visual arts field and get some valuable insight into the various types of extended art education and professional development outside of traditional art schools and institutions.
Episode 15: Open Books and Libraries of Liberation
Travis Prince’s paintings prompt viewers to learn about a multitude of Black experiences through depictions of diverse individuals reading books by Black authors.
Pairing art and literature was an “ah-ha” moment in Prince’s artistic and pedagogical journey. He notes he is an avid reader and scholar of literary works, but at one point it dawned on him that the books he was reading were mostly written by white authors, nor could he recall a significant list of Black authors. That realization inspired his ongoing “Reader” series.
These paintings are both sincere expressions of Black identity and educational references for viewers to learn more from a plurality of Black voices throughout the African diaspora. Each image in the series evokes feelings of intimacy and empowerment. Every work of art is profound through both the elegance of the sitter and the content within the books they are engrossed in. We are only treated to the covers, so our thirst for inquiry will only be quenched by actually reading the books for ourselves. This was the exact takeaway I had from viewing Travis’ art, and I am glad that we had the opportunity to discuss the inspiration and artistic journey behind his pedagogical paintings.
Episode 14: Child’s Play and Serious Art
In this episode, I talk about artist created playgrounds and play-inspired sculptures with contemporary artist Scott Hocking. Scott grew up in Detroit, Michigan where playing among mid-century modern artist Jim Miller-Melberg’s concrete playgrounds, as well as experiencing the decline of the auto industry and the proliferation of neglected materials and landfills, has left an impact on him and informed his artistic practice of using discarded and rundown materials to create new works of art. Oftentimes, his sculptures and installations evoke memories and feelings of childhood play due to the fact that the forms he assembles in his work is sourced from material that had been used in modern playgrounds. There’s also a very strong moral and ethical statement to the work he makes, because he is prompting us to consider the history of the land and our relationship to its massive transformation over time.
Episode 13: Trash Talk
In this episode, I speak with artist Sto Len about making artwork to address the effects of climate change that has been enhanced by plastic pollution, overconsumption and the general maltreatment of our natural resources.
Sto Len’s unique printmaking process, transports his practice from the studio environment into the heavily polluted waters of the Newtown Creek in New York City, as well as other local and global waterways. He improvises on traditional styles of suminagashi (which means floating ink) printmaking and gyotaku (meaning fish impression) to visualize the impact we have collectively had in polluting our water systems.
Sto was recently appointed as the artist in residence with the New York City Department of Sanitation, where he established the Office of In Visibility (OOIV). Through this public role, he is elaborating on how art can make a philosophical and tangible difference across society. For some, art provides an escape from reality, but for Sto Len, art is a “productive survival strategy in times of crisis.”
Episode 12: Renaissance Community
This episode centers on the educational and creative potential of collaboration. My guest is Victoria Manganiello who joins me in an inspiring conversation about her multidisciplinary art practice that combines technology, engineering, craft and intersectional feminism (among many other elements); as well as her embrace of collaboration in both her roles as an artist and educator.
Episode 11: Cetacean Creations and Whale Tales
In this episode, I am joined by artist, educator and naturalist Rich Dolan, for a discussion on the connections between visual art, education and marine biology.
Each of Dolan’s practices are complementary to one another and have led to an educational campaign that makes scientific learning about whales and the overall issue of ocean conservation accessible to diverse audiences. Dolan teaches with the interactive sculptures he makes, which are scale models of whales. He also provides his sculptures to other educators affiliated with museums and whale watching companies. Through the universal language of sculpture and visual art, Dolan’s work makes learning about whale physiology and behavior an intimate and hands-on experience.
Episode 10: Mad Manual
Research has shown the benefits art has on individual and collective well being. The arts are one of the foremost disciplines that prompt us to openly express and bolster our cognitive and emotional skills and intelligence. Based upon art’s ability to nurture the development of our sensitivity, it is an essential way of addressing mental health related issues in an accessible and universal manner (see: Xuguang and Ye, 2022 ; Mercin and Alaku, 2007).
This episode supports the aforementioned research via a conversation on mental health awareness and activism with artist, curator and mental health advocate, Lizz Brady.
Brady is the founder of Broken Grey Wires (BGW), an organization exploring ways to support mental health initiatives by developing a dialogue with leading contemporary artists, communities and audiences. Broken Grey Wires’ Mad Manual Toolkit is a valuable resource that can be used when visiting art spaces to help neurodivergent individuals experience art in relaxed, mindful, and empowered ways. The toolkit features distinctive activities to engage with, each grouped to a particular theme. Audiences are invited to choose as many, or little as they like. The Mad Manual Toolkit will be available both in actual art galleries and museums and online.
Episode 9: Glorious Wounds
My guest on this episode is artist and educator Gabo Camnitzer. Gabo and I spoke about his multidisciplinary art practice, which often analyzes pedagogical methodologies and systematic structures within contemporary classrooms and schools. One example is his 2021 installation, “Glorious Wound,” which examines the use of technology and traditional materials in the classroom and their past and present ramifications on teaching and learning. In doing so, the work prompts critical thinking around the future of the classroom as an architectural, political and social space. While the artwork scrutinizes materials created for educational purposes, it also highlights the flexibility of educators in light of myriad challenges within the classroom.
Episode 8: Junk Dump Magazine
When I first learned about Junk Dump Magazine, I knew that I would have to feature the incredible work the founders, Mia Schoolman, Grace Brouillet, and Dlisah Lapidus were doing on Artfully Learning. In this episode, I was delighted to speak with them about their vision for creating a print magazine for young and emerging artists.
Episode 7: Ecoart Education
My guest on this episode is environmental artist and educator, Susan Hoenig. Hoenig’s multidisciplinary artworks are intended to help us become attuned to ecology.
Episode 6: Froebel’s Gifts to Contemporary Art
In this episode I speak with Vivien Collens about her sculptures, which are informed by playful and materials-based explorations and Friedrich Froebel’s early childhood educational theories and methodologies.
Episode 5: Mishou
My guest on this episode is Milah Libin. She is an artist, as well as a magazine and art book publisher focused on bridging the gap between artists of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of artistic exposure. Her magazine, Mishou, highlights artists and readers ages fifteen and younger, but is also just as essential and engaging for emerging, mid-career, and established artists.
Episode 4: Intergenerational Museum Education
I speak with Seth Cameron, Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of the Arts, about the benefits of integenerational art experiences and the challenges and rewards of running a children’s art museum.
Episode 3: Museum Schools
Katherine Kelbaugh, the founding principal of The Museum School of Avondale Estates and the Executive Director of National Association of Museum Schools, defines what museum schools are and how their diverse curricula prompts students to become lifelong learners and supports their social and emotional well-being.
Episode 2: The Museum in the School
Alexandra Rutsch Brock discusses the educational and cultural benefits of having a museum and a visiting artist program within a public high school.
Episode 1: School(s)
Susan Leopold speaks about her intricate sculptures of school interiors, as well as her memories about learning art in school and later becoming an arts educator.
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