Artblog Radio

Though still in her early-30s, local renaissance woman Lauren NeFesha has already lived many lives. Now this former fashion student (and nationally-ranked boxing champion) is making a name for herself as a songwriter and mosaic artist. She chats with Artblog’s Imani Roach about speaking up for the most marginalized among us and allowing curiosity to be her guide without judgement. What do a mosaic and a boxing match have in common? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Lauren at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on March 16th, 2018; the podcast is 33 minutes long.

Kara Springer works at the intersection of sculpture, photography and language to activate bodies in space. Born in Barbados and raised in Ontario, Canada, this former industrial designer grounds her minimalist aesthetic with careful attention to history and geography. Springer speaks with Artblog’s Imani Roach about diaspora, legibility and her current installation at The Galleries at Moore — Ten Days Before Freedom, a Hymnal. What can perilous landscapes teach us about the nature of built space? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Kara at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on February 26th, 2018; the podcast is 34 minutes long.

As a Chinese-born artist making a life for herself in Philadelphia, Yixuan Pan thinks a lot about translation and the limitations of language. In fact, since earning her MFA from the glass department at Tyler School of Art last year, she has built a rich and varied practice around the insights gained from living with confusion. Here she speaks with Matt Kalasky, ahead of her February 28th collaborative performance at Vox Populi Gallery, about starting with wonder and chasing art across media. Can a conversation where no questions are allowed qualify as studio time? Listen to find out. Matt interviewed Pan at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on February 13th, 2018; the podcast is 21 minutes long.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum, founded in 1977 by arts visionary Marion “Kippy” Boulton Stroud, is celebrating its 40th birthday with a major retrospective exhibit. Process and Practice: 40 Years of Experimentation hilights archived ephemera from the institution’s famed artist-in-residence program that has been preserved for decades in “artist boxes.” Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with Susan Lubowsky Talbott, the Museum’s Executive Director, about exhibiting “failures,” engaging the public, and her legacy. What was the most surprising thing she discovered in those artist boxes? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Susan at the Fabric Workshop and Museum on January 9th, 2018; the podcast is 30 minutes long.

You’ve probably seen Kelli Morgan around town, presenting her research, working with students, moderating conversations with artists, and generally staying busy as PAFA’s first Winston & Carolyn Lowe Curatorial Fellow for Diversity in the Fine Arts. Now she’s heading off on a new adventure as Associate Curator of American Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with the Detroit native on the eve of her departure about her unconventional path to museum work and her fresh vision for curating the American canon. Listen to hear her advice for aspiring young curators and much more. Imani interviewed Kelli at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on January 3rd, 2018; the podcast is 39 minutes long.

Wit Lopez is a fiber artist, performer and independent curator whose work encourages audiences to touch, manipulate and even wear it. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with this former theater kid about accessibility, performing for the camera and confronting their body as a spectacle. Can marginalized artists use humor to subvert their relationship to art institutions? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Wit at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on December 12th, 2017; the podcast is 34 minutes long.

Carolyn Lazard uses the experience of chronic illness to explore themes of intimacy, labor and living in relation to others. With a background in video art, Lazard develops her ideas across a range of media including photo, performance, sculpture and the written word. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with her about returning to her Southeastern PA roots and how disabled artists are changing the pace of institutions. Is there such a thing as JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out)? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Carolyn at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on October 12th, 2017; the podcast is 41 minutes long.

Artblog recently hosted a lively panel discussion on the Future of Art Writing in conjunction with our 3rd annual New Art Writing Challenge. Our dynamic panelists included artist and Bmore Art contributor, Alexandra Oehmke, performer organizer and writer, Catherine Rush and writer and theater-maker Carlos Roa. The panel was held on Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 at the Galleries at Moore and moderated by Matt Kalasky; the podcast is 76 minutes long.

Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with artist Lane Speidel about their experiences as an early childhood educator and curator of Make A Space For Me, a performance series for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists, makers, thinkers and audiences. In their own artistic practice, Lane uses performance to re-establishing control over their body in the face of personal trauma and the daily demands of life under capitalism. Across all platforms of their work, safety is a paramount concern— proper grammar, less so. Find out why! Imani interviewed Lane at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on Sept. 21st, 2017; the podcast is 50 minutes long.

Artblog's Imani Roach and Roberta Fallon talked with Taji Ra'oof Nahl about his complex art practice that includes collaboration at its core. Nahl ran his own gallery in Old City from the late 1980s to 2010, where he showed, among others, Terry Adkins' work. Taji was a friend of Adkins, and their practices both involve music, found objects, and researching under-known African American historical figures. In the interview Nahl tells Imani and Roberta about discovering the Colonial-era polymath, Benjamin Banneker, who became the subject of his installation in 'Unlisted,' the big multi-curator, multi-artist show at Icebox Project Space in 2016. We interviewed Taji Nahl at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on Sept. 14, 2017, and the podcast is 37 minutes long.