Art Practical Audio

In this episode, I am joined by baddie and recent California transplant, Jay Katelansky. We discuss the Bay Area as an incubator for black creatives, collectivizing networks online and IRL, and taking up & taking back space for oneself. We talk about everything from Jay’s solo exhibition at the Chasen Museum, to Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter, and to the enduring legacy of disco in black survival.

Jay is one of the newest members of CTRL+SHFT Collective in Oakland and her work is currently on view in CTRL+SHFT’s second-annual group exhibition “Double Dip.” You can follow Jay on Twitter and Instagram @shiftingself.

episode 13: Jaime Cortez & Genevieve Quick (Live!)

In this episode, recorded live at Montalvo Arts Center, we talk with artists & writers Jaime Cortez and Genevieve Quick about the ways their visual and writing practices inform one another and how they negotiate the other roles they play in supporting the local arts ecology. jaimecortez.org and genevievequick.com.

what are you looking at: Summer Break by Art Practical

what are you looking at?: Summer Break by Daily Serving | Art Practical

episode 12: Steven Wong

This episode we talk with artist and Chinese American Museum, Los Angeles curator Steven Wong about their current exhibition Roots: Asian American Movements in Los Angeles 1968-1980s curated by colleague Ryan Wong. We also talk about working at the museum as a political ideology, using an ethnic specific platform to build bridges with other communities, and lessons learned from having to serve as interim Executive Director of the organization.

You can follow Steven on Instagram and Twitter at @astrobuddha. CAM is on Instagram and Twitter at @camLAorg.

episode 11: Hank Willis Thomas

In this episode we talk with artist, community mobilizer, and political advocate Hank Willis Thomas. We discuss his plans to start an artist-led advertising agency, making work for the audiences of tomorrow, and building “the road to progress.”

You can follow Hank’s work at @hankwillisthomas on Instagram, @hankwthomas on Twitter, and hankwillisthomas.com. Question Bridge: Black Males is at @questionbridge on Instagram & Twitter and For Freedoms is at @forfreedomspac on Twitter and @forfreedoms on Instagram.

In this episode we sit down with curator Jackie Clay and artist Ayanna U’Dongo to discuss their recent show at Et al. 'brothers and sisters'. We discuss how Black Americans are portrayed in mainstream and homemade media, and giving oneself permission to make artwork that focuses solely on Black people. We also discuss Anita Hill, Vanessa Beecroft, Pam Grier, and soon-to-be-famous sci-fi protagonist Veyne SilverThigh.

episode 10: Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik & Lee Ann S. Wang

In this episode, we hold a cross disciplinary conversation between artist & cultural organizer Sita Kuratomi Bhaumik and legal scholar & academic Lee Ann S. Wang to discuss their shared interest in unraveling the destructive politics and rhetoric that shape public understanding of migration and immigration in the United States. Through their work in their respective fields and practices, Sita and Lee Ann open possibilities for new narratives beyond the bounds of the nation-state to create spaces to imagine collective liberation.

You can follow Sita’s work on Instagram at @sitabhaumik and at sitabhaumik.com. People’s Kitchen Collective is on Instagram at peopleskitchencollective and on the web at peopleskitchencollective.com. Lee Ann’s article, “Unsettling Innocence” can be found through the web journal Scholar & Feminist Online.

episode 9: Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo

In this episode, we talk with artist, curator, and activist Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo about reflecting the urgency of protest through text-based works, exploring the history of blue, self-organizing a creative research tour across the country with her mother, and creating Nook Gallery in her apartment kitchen. You can follow Lukaza’s work on Instagram and Twitter at @bluekaza and her website: lukazabranfman-verissimo.com. Nook Gallery is on Instagram at @nook_gallery and Facebook at @NookArtGallery.

what are you looking at Episode 01: Doing Your Laundry and Doing Your Work

In this episode, we talk with Amy Langer, the co-interim artist director of the San Francisco Neo-Futurists, a collective performance ensemble that produces "non-illusory" theater. We discuss feminist playwrighting, Yoko Ono, Bay Area home galleries, and everyone's least favorite topic: the artist genius myth. You can follow her on Instagram at @helloimalion and her work at @sfneofuturists.