In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art , Clara Kamunde is in conversation with interdisciplinary artist Mike Arcega. Working primarily in sculpture and installation, his works range from sculpture, drawing, and painting to installations, video and performance. Mike is also an associate professor at San Francisco State University, where he leads the sculpture and expanded practice area in the School of Art, and if anyone can demystify contemporary art for skeptics, it's Mike.

About Michael Arcega: 
Michael Arcega’s creative research is a poetic investigation around power dynamics and marginalized communities. He uses object-metaphors to make sculptures, installations, and activations that critique Historic and political narratives. This work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally and have been discussed in academic journals, art publications and a range of media platforms. He is an Associate Professor at San Francisco State University and heads the Sculpture and Expanded Practice area in the School of Art. He serves on the curatorial boards at Root Division Gallery and the Recology Artist in Residency Program. Arcega holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MFA from Stanford University and maintains a studio in San Francisco.
He is a recipient of a Rainin Arts Fellowship, Guggenheim fellowship, Artadia grant, SFAC Artist Grant, Joan Mitchell MFA Award, Murphy Cadogan Fine Arts Fellowship, among others. For more about Mike Arcega, visit the Lucas Artist's Residency Program webpage here and Michael’s website. Follow @Mike_Arcega 
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in urban parks, recreation areas, historic sites, and schools located in under-served communities throughout Greater Los Angeles. For her contribution in supporting access to quality arts programming with DCA, she was awarded an Honorary Citation by the City of Los Angeles. She was formerly a fellow at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University where she earned a master’s degree in Creativity Studies.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships. For more info about the residency, visit our website.  Follow the LAP @lucasartres
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Credits: 

• “Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats  
• Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza 
•  Montalvo Arts Center, 2025 
• Michael Arcega: Visual Art, Copyright 2006 KQED San Fran