On this episode I'm joined by Danny Baez. Originally from the Dominican republic,  Danny  moved to New York City when he was 18. His journey in the arts can be considered coincidental but I don't believe in coincidences. Everything in life happens for a reason and the places that we find ourselves are not by accident.  Danny has built a career over decades rooted in supporting his friends and extended community.  He is a co-founder of ARTNOIR, the majority women nonprofit organization that amplifies the work of BIPOC artists across the globe.  He is the founder of REGULARNORMAL gallery. Danny apprenticed with Gavin Brown for a time before carving out his own path. He’s worked with artists such as Aya Brown, Melissa Joseph, Na’ye Perez, Khari Turner, and more.

We're in New York City on the eve of MECA, the art fair Danny co-founded in 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico when we sit down to talk. This is the first year the fair places host to his native country of DR.

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On this episode I'm joined by Kent Kelley. I met Kent Kelley for the first time a couple years ago through Anwarii Musa who was on a recent episode. Kent comes from the financial world and has worked as a CFO for many years. He recently started collecting art and currently sits on the board of the High Museum in Atlanta. Kent was a big part of an article I wrote for Artnet highlighting the incredible things that are happening  on the Atlanta art scene. 

Kent shared with me some of the amazing things that have been happening in Atlanta and some of the key stakeholders who are a part of the vibrant art community there. The Spelman Symposium was in full swing when Kent and I sat down to talk about his interest in the arts, how he got started collecting and some of the things that he's most excited about in his art collecting journey.

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On this episode I'm joined by Reyna Noriega. I met Reyna in 2021 when I was working on an editorial for Bal Harbour shops and highlighting taste makers in Miami. Reyna invited me over to her place to do our interview in person and shoot a little content. Overlooking the bay in Miami we talked about her art - she’s an illustrator and has worked with some of the world's biggest brands creating products to empower women and girls of color to feel their very best. Reyna Noriega is a visual artist and author, born, raised and working in Miami, FL. Having seen the power of introspection, self reflection and healing, Reyna’s work centers that aspect of our journeys as we seek to rise and be our best, most authentic selves so that people may experience sustainable peace and happiness. 

 We are on the rooftop at Soho Beach House overlooking the ocean when I sit down to vibe with her and learn more about her journey as an artist and some of the core ideas behind her work. 

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On this episode I'm joined by Anwarii Musa. Over the last decade Musa has built an art advisory firm focused on the work of contemporary artists. He works with emerging as well as seasoned collectors who sit on the boards of some of the worlds most important institutions as well as works with several athletes and former athletes who are actively building legacy collections.

It’s  Frieze week in LA when we sit down to talk about his journey into the arts.

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On this episode I'm joined by Kimberly Drew. Kimberly Drew is a curator, critic & author of two books, This Is What I Know About Art and the anthology Black Futures with Jenna Wortham, both released in 2020. Drew received her B.A. from Smith College in Art History and African-American Studies.

The last time I caught up with Kimberly we were both in Ghana experiencing all the country has to offer spending time in the capital city of Accra, while also visiting important spots in Kumasi and Tamale. Drew and I witnessed the launch of Amoako Boafo's artist residency and foundation, partied at some of Accra's hottest spots and spent time with local artists in the capital city. Listen in as we reflect on this wildly rich experience. 

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On this episode I'm joined by Ambrose Murray. Murray received their BA in African American studies from Yale in 2018. They are a self-taught painter and seamstress from North Carolina with roots in Florida. Through their work, Ambrose seeks to bring physical form to the ideas and theories they have been struck by from Black feminist writers and visionaries. 

In an artist statement they reveal

My process is an exploration of our bodies and land as sites of historical memory and mystical/imaginative potential. The act of making through collage becomes a process to imagine and visualize the complex layers and depth of the story that live within our bodies. Through processes that deepen my relationship to my materials, texture, and color, my practice becomes a space to physically re-member and reconstruct the stories and relationships that have been pulled apart and dismembered across generations. 

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On this episode I'm joined by Jeffrey Meris, the New York-based artist whose paintings, sculptures, and conceptual work draw on his lived experiences.  

Meris was recently announced as one of this years winners of the prestigious and highly coveted Studio Museum of Harlem residency which has seen the likes of heavy hitters such as Chakaia Booker, David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Julie Mehretu, Mickalene Thomas and Kehinde Wiley partake in its program. 

Formally Jeffrey Meris is an artist who works across sculpture, installation, performance, and drawing to consider ecology, embodiment and various lived experiences while healing deeply personal and historical wounds. 

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On this episode I was joined by Larry Ossei-Mensah and this time he interviewed me! 

Sitting on the other side of the table was definitely a change of pace for me, but Larry asked all the right questions. 

We  reflected on Ghana and our experiences  as cultural workers and thought leaders within our industry. Larry's insightful questions helped me to open up and share some of the personal things that I experienced  while I was in Ghana.

Let's dive into the first episode of season 3 where I sit down with Larry Ossei Mensah and we chat about our experiences in Ghana, the launch of Amoako Boafo’s artist  residency program, and the ways in which being in Africa and spending time on the continent transforms our perspective of our work and our place in the world.

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This year, to start off 2023, we're back with season 3 of Light Work presents: Everything is connected, a podcast where we talk to artists, thought leaders and creatives across industries, mainly within the arts, about life, work and culture. 

This season we are taking a more global approach as we share episodes recorded in Ghana throughout the year. As always, our conversations are intended to inspire and impact our audiences in positive ways. Uncovering insights into the minds of our peers, professional colleagues, and the people around us whose work intends to foster positive change in our society. 

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On this episode we're joined by Bony Ramirez 

Bony Ramierz is a self taught artist who retains a connection to his Dominican heritage through his art, incorporating elements of the Caribbean with his own distinctive details. He left the island when he was a child and migrated to the US. Through painting and drawing, Ramirez creates life-sized paper figures onto painted wood panels. His subjects are bold yet strange, often appearing mysteriously oversized with contorted limbs. Ramírez paints his distorted figures on paper using acrylic wash, colored pencils, and oil pastels before cutting them out and pasting them to wood panels decorated with backgrounds painted in acrylics. 

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