In this episode, meet Annie Humphrey and Shanai Matteson of Fire in the Village, a collective of artists and cultural organizers that build and sustain spiritual fires of connection where they live in Anishinaabe territory, or rural northern Minnesota, and with arts and music communities around the region.

As we learn, Fire in the Village isn't what we might conventionally call an organization or a program. As Shanai shares in this conversation, Fire in the Village is better understood as a work of art in itself — one that is always evolving, always changing, and deeply tethered to the places and people from which it springs.

One of the most resonant images in this conversation is the one that gives this collective its name. Annie describes the circles that Fire in the Village builds as little fires — distinct, local, and belonging to their particular lands and community, but capable of connecting to other fires across the region and beyond, growing and growing until what once seemed isolated becomes a network of warmth and light.

Recorded in November 2025, this conversation raises many complex and multilayered questions with depth and honesty: What does it mean to stay? What does it cost, practically and personally, to choose to remain in and work from the communities where you were shaped, rather than accept the art world's logic of moving away? What futures are possible in terms of intercultural exchange and community resilience when artists and culture bearers are genuinely of a place and not just visitors to it?

This episode is presented in a format that we call the Long Conversation, an unmoderated space that allows for individuals to cultivate a depth of conversation that shares the textures of creativity and intercultural exchange that are often hard to express in conventional interviews.

Episode Resources

• Episode transcript
• Fire in the Village website & Instagram
• Shanai Matteson's website
• Annie Humphrey's website
• John Trudell archive

More Long Conversations

• Kentucky Rural-Urban Exchange & Kentucky Performing Arts, The Golden Thread (2025)
• Dyani White Hawk & Jovan C. Speller, High Visibility: On Location in Rural America & Indian Country (2021)

We are grateful to folks across the country who have made tax-deductible contributions to Art of the Rural to make this conversation possible, and to the Ford Foundation and Good Chaos Foundation for their support of Art of the Rural’s media programs.

This episode was produced in partnership with 5 Plain Questions and Eleven Warrior Arts. Hosted by Joe Williams, 5 Plain Questions is a podcast that proposes 5 general questions to Native American and Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.

Dr. Kate Beane is a public historian, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Vice Chair of Vision Maker Media. In 2020, she was appointed by Governor Walz to serve on the Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, which oversees Capitol complex preservation and development. Previously, Kate served on the leadership team at the Minnesota Historical Society, where she was the Director of Native American Initiatives, engaging in both Native American communities and tribes, and advocating for the implementation of indigenous interpretation & involvement at historical sites throughout the state. She holds a PhD in American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota.

In this episode, Kate shares her journey into the public art realm, including her work with Dakota name restoration at Bde Maka Ska. She reflects on the importance of public art as "more than just text on a plaque" - it plays a key role in sharing & shaping narratives, knowledge, and solidarity with Native communities. 

Episode Resources

• Episode webpage
• Episode transcript
• Vision Maker Media
  • Ohiyesa: The Soul of an Indian film
• Minnesota Museum of American Art
  • Queering Indigeneity exhibition
• Penny Kagigebi
• DJ Justis Brokenrope
• Buddy Red Bow
• University of Minnesota Dakota Language Program

Subscribe to 5 Plain Questions wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Art of the Rural is honored to support 5 Plain Questions. We are grateful to individual donors across the country, the Ford Foundation, and Good Chaos for making these conversations possible. Learn more about our work and show your support at artoftherural.org

On this episode of the Art of the Rural podcast, meet Autumn Cavender. She is a Wahpetunwan Dakota midwife, artist, and community leader focusing on the intersections of art, birth, and storytelling.

Raised amidst community historians, Autumn initially focused on Dakota language and cultural revitalization. This background brought a unique perspective to her birth work, first as a doula, and then as a student midwife. After establishing a private midwifery practice, she joined forces with Indigenous midwives nationally, culminating in the creation of the National Indigenous Midwifery Alliance, geared towards addressing reproductive care barriers and perinatal health disparities in Indian country.

Autumn’s artistic journey began as a porcupine quillwork apprentice under Elder Master artists rooted in her oral history training. She focused on Dakota artistic methodology, resulting in globally recognized digital art. Her work has graced prestigious exhibitions like Miami Art Basel and earned her the National Indigenous Media Arts Experimental Moving Image Award.

She is a 2024 Bush Foundation Fellow and also currently an Art of the Rural Spillway Fellow. We are honored to present her exhibition Hinapapi — Emerging this fall at the Winona County History Center, and we are grateful for the support of the Jerome Foundation in this work.

Autumn lives near her home reservation of Upper Sioux with her partner, two kids, a German Shepherd, and the occasional chicken.

During this podcast, Autumn shares her personal journey and artistic practice as one animated by a commitment towards care and cultural revitalization. In this wide-ranging conversation, she discusses how blockchain, decolonization, storytelling, and childbirth are connected points in her practice and the futures it brings into being.

We move in this space from talking about NFTs to Native sovereignty to the legacy of Oscar Howe in a way that feels both truly unique, but also deeply grounded in cultural tradition and contemporary experience. Our conversation concludes with Autumn’s thoughts on how the phases of childbirth might offer us teachings on how to navigate and to be with the overwhelming complexity of this current moment in the world.

Episode Resources

• Episode transcript
• Autumn Cavender’s website & Instagram
• Autumn Cavender: Hinapapi — Emerging exhibition
• Juleana Enright, “Glitching the Glass Wall: A Conversation with Autumn Cavender-Wilson” (Mn Artists)
• “The Howe Legacy Across Four Generations Exhibition” (University of South Dakota University Art Galleries)

On this episode, meet Brian Harnetty, an interdisciplinary sound artist, composer, and author.

Brian is known for his archival recording projects, socially-engaged works, sound & video installations, live performances, and writings, including his book, Noisy Memory: Recording Sound, Performing Archives (University of North Carolina Press, 2025).

Brian works with sound archives and the communities connected to them, creating projects that are centered on place and listening. This conversation dwells on many of these projects, including his recent recording Words and Silences, which is a musical portrait of Kentucky monk and writer Thomas Merton that combines archival recordings of Merton's voice with newly composed music.

Since 2010, many of Harnetty’s projects have brought together myth, history, ecology, and economy in Appalachian Ohio, informed by his family's roots there. Brian has released 10 albums and EPs, and his installations have been exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally. He is a recipient of the Creative Capital Award, two Map Fund awards, and the Blade of Grass Fellowship for Socially-Engaged Art, among many other honors.

Resources

• Episode transcript
• Episode webpage
• From Brian:
  • Brian's website
  • Sound is Magic Substack & podcast
  • Noisy Memory: Recording Sound, Performing Archives (University of North Carolina Press, 2025)
  • Shawnee, Ohio (2021)
  • Words and Silences (2022)
    • “Who Is This I?”
  • The Workbench (2024)
• Lewis Hyde, The Gift (1983)
• Robin Wall Kimmerer, The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance (2024)
• Mallory Catlett & Aaron Landsman, The City We Make Together (2022)

We are grateful to folks across the country who have made tax-deductible contributions to Art of the Rural to make this conversation possible, and to the Ford Foundation and Good Chaos Foundation for their support of Art of the Rural’s media programs.

This episode was produced in partnership with 5 Plain Questions and Eleven Warrior Arts.

Hosted by Joe Williams, 5 Plain Questions is a podcast that proposes 5 general questions to Native American and Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.

Episode Summary

In this episode, meet Marina Cristina “Tina” Tavera, a Minneapolis-based Latinx artist whose work explores the intricate constructions of identity and culture through various artistic mediums.

Throughout her work, Tina examines the complexities of Latinidad within the United States resonates throughout her work, as she utilizes various mediums to challenge conventional narratives around race and culture, while also highlighting how her experiences as a mother have prompted her to reflect on the cultural legacies she wishes to impart to her children.

Tina is also deeply dedicated to her community, particularly through her role at Serpentina Arts, where she advocates for the advancement of Latinx artists.

Resources

• Episode webpage
• Episode transcript
• Maria Cristina Tavera's website, Instagram, and US Latinx Art Forum member page
• Maria Cristina Tavera's "Casta" series
• Bestario exhibition at Metro State University
• Serpentina Arts

Subscribe to 5 Plain Questions wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Art of the Rural is honored to support 5 Plain Questions. We are grateful to individual donors across the country, the Ford Foundation, and Good Chaos for making these conversations possible. Learn more about our work and show your support at artoftherural.org

On this episode, meet Mary Welcome, a multidisciplinary cultural worker and rural avant-garde artist. 

For close to 20 years, Mary's life and creative practice have radiated out from her hometown of Palouse, Washington, toward an immense web of rural communities and partners across the continent. Few artists in our field articulate both a sense of deep respect for local community and a belief in the generative detours of life on the road as well as Mary does.

Along this journey, Mary has created some of the things we expect on an artist's CV, like national and international exhibitions, installations, and publications, but has also followed her own unique path. Serving as an artist in residence with the Washington State Department of Transportation, and as a post office portrait photographer for the United States Postal Service.

In the last decade, the urban-normative arts & cultural field has slowly turned its attention towards what we at Art of the Rural call “the rural condition.” These efforts by institutions, philanthropies, and the media often either reaffirm a preconceived set of assumptions or are extractive spectacles that further mystify what it's like to actually live beyond the city.

Mary's work provides a powerful antidote to this compulsion through long-term attention and care for land, culture, and history, and ultimately the tethers of belonging that hold our communities together.

Resources

• Episode transcript
• Mary Welcome’s website, Instagram, BlueSky, LinkedIn
• God Bless the USPS
• Places & Events Mentioned: Woodpecker Archives, Slippery Gulch 2025, Palouse Newspaper & Printing Museum
• Publications & Authors Mentioned: Ray Bradbury, “The Happiness Machine”; Swift Lathers, Mears Newz; Terry Tempest Williams; Loren Eisley; Mary Oliver; Jorge Luis Borges; William Least Heat-Moon; Roger Tory Peterson; adrienne marie brown
• Shows Mentioned: Pee-wee as Himself (2025)

We are grateful to folks across the country who have made tax-deductible contributions to Art of the Rural to make this conversation possible, and to the Ford Foundation and Good Chaos Foundation for their support of Art of the Rural’s media programs.

This episode was produced in partnership with 5 Plain Questions and Eleven Warrior Arts. Hosted by Joe Williams, 5 Plain Questions is a podcast that proposes 5 general questions to Native American and Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.

Mali Obomsawin stands at the forefront of contemporary Indigenous music, embodying a diverse range of genres that include jazz, roots music, and experimental sound. 

As a bassist, composer, and vocalist hailing from the Odanak First Nation, her artistic journey has led her to collaborate with esteemed musicians while forging her own path through innovative compositions that challenge the status quo. In this dialogue, we explore the nuanced influences that have shaped Mali’s musical identity, spanning her rich upbringing in rural western Maine, where folk traditions intermingle with political activism. We explore her recent endeavors, including her eponymous free jazz ensemble and the rock band Deerlady, emphasizing her commitment to authenticity and artistic evolution. Join us as we engage with Mali’s insights on the vital interplay between creative practice and personal well-being, illuminating the profound impact of Indigenous culture on her work.

Episode Resources

• Episode transcript
• Episode webpage
• Mali Obomsawin’s website & Instagram
• Mali Obomsawin on Bandcamp
• Deerlady website & Instagram
• Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band website
• 5 Plain Questions website

Subscribe to 5 Plain Questions wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Art of the Rural is honored to support 5 Plain Questions. We are grateful to individual donors across the country, the Ford Foundation, and Good Chaos for making these conversations possible. Learn more about our work and show your support at artoftherural.org

Independent artist & educator Erika Nelson discusses her two-year journey living in a vehicle and exploring Outsider Art across the United States - and creating her own.

In this episode, independent artist and educator Erika Nelson discusses the communities, places, and artworks that tell the story of her two-year journey living in a vehicle and meeting people who built Outsider Art Environments and Roadside Vernacular Architecture across the United States. 

She also discusses the development of her own traveling roadside attraction and museum, The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things, and the inspirations behind her “Gremlin Cache” installation included the exhibition High Visibility: On Location in Rural America and Indian Country, which was created in partnership between Art of the Rural and the Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota.

Through her travels, Erika has written a graduate thesis titled Driving Around Looking at Big Things While Thinking About Spam, prepared a full meal utilizing foil and her automobile's radiator and heat manifold, stood on a sideshow performer lying on a bed of nails with a genuine Kansas Cowboy at the last functioning 10-in-1 sideshow in Coney Island, found out what The Thing is in southern Arizona, drunk free ice water at Wall Drug, eaten Rocky Mountain Oysters, bought a Genuine Walnut Bowl from somewhere along I-70, seen Rock City, and been stuck in a traffic jam in Branson in front of Yakov Smirnof.

The conversation dwells on the communities, places, and artworks that tell the story of this journey. Along the way, Erika shares a ton of wisdom on what life in a small town in Kansas can teach us about how we live, work, and create across difference.

Episode Resources

• Episode webpage
• Episode transcript
• Erika Nelson’s website, Instagram, and Facebook
• “The World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things” (1999-present)
• “Gremlin Cache” (1973-2020)

This episode was originally published in 2021 as part of the High Visibility podcast, which accompanied the exhibition of the same name. High Visibility is a partnership with Plains Art Museum and Art of the Rural. We are grateful for the support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts for their support of this work.

This episode was produced in partnership with5 Plain Questions and Eleven Warrior Arts. Hosted by Joe Williams, 5 Plain Questions is a podcast that proposes 5 general questions to Native American and Indigenous artists, creators, musicians, writers, movers and shakers, and culture bearers.

Joseph J. Allen, a Minnesota-based photographer, Art of the Rural Fellow, and returning guest to 5 Plain Questions, shares insights from his artistic journey and community work in this engaging conversation. He discusses his evolution from photojournalism to a more artistic photographic approach, emphasizing the importance of subjective storytelling in photography. 

As Director of the Gizhiigin Arts Incubator in Mahnomen, MN, Joseph highlights the significance of collaboration within Indigenous communities and the impact of community-driven initiatives like the Manoomin Arts Initiative. Throughout the episode, he reflects on the challenges artists face, including funding and audience engagement, while also celebrating the role of organizations like Art of the Rural in supporting artists

Joseph's commitment to giving back to his community and fostering connections among artists is evident as he outlines his future endeavors, including launching a capital campaign for Manoomin Arts Initiative.

Resources:

• Episode Transcript
• Episode Webpage
• Joseph J. Allen on Instagram
• Joseph J. Allen’s Hakikta exhibition (2024)
• In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now exhibition (2023)
• High Visibility exhibition (2020-2021)
• 5 Plain Questions website

Subscribe to 5 Plain Questions wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Art of the Rural is honored to support 5 Plain Questions. We are grateful to individual donors across the country, the Ford Foundation, and Good Chaos for making these conversations possible. Learn more about our work and show your support at artoftherural.org

In this episode, Matthew Fluharty visits writer, curator, & activist Lucy Lippard in Galisteo, New Mexico. Lucy discusses the publication of her local newsletter El Puente de Galisteo, which she began editing & distributing in January 1997, in collaboration with local residents & community organizations.

She reflects on her involvement in the Galisteo community & how the village has changed over the past few decades, which she has also chronicled in Pueblo Chico: Land and Lives in Galisteo since 1814 (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2020). Lucy also discusses the inspirations behind her book The Lure of the Local (The New Press, 1997) and its relationship to the trajectory of non-urban art practice.

Additional Resources

• Episode webpage
• El Puente de Galisteo (1997-present)
• The Lure of the Local (The New Press, 1997)
• Pueblo Chico: Land and Lives in Galisteo since 1814 (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2020)

We are grateful to folks across the country who have made tax-deductible contributions to Art of the Rural to make this conversation possible, and to the Ford Foundation and Good Chaos Foundation for their support of Art of the Rural’s media programs.