Expressions

From cultural anthropologist to curatorial assistant, Malaika Newsome, now at the International Center of Photography, is no stranger to investigating and cultivating across arts and culture. 

In this week’s conversation, we talked about what it means to explore cultural spaces as a Black person and the outdated structures of traditional art history studies. For those of you thinking of a career in the gallery space, we also dove deep into what the day-to-day of that actually looks like. 

Take Expressions With You: At the end of each episode, we ask each guest, “If you had to recommend an aspiring culture creator engage with one piece of media, what would it be?”

MALAIKA’S ONE THING: Dahomey, a 2024 documentary following twenty-six royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey but exhibited in Paris as they are returned to their home, Benin.

Give it a watch and let me know what you think! https://www.documentary.org/screening/dahomey 

Y’all ever scroll through Substack and BOOM, there’s an article that rocks your world? That’s how I felt about Maria Ruiz’s Rants of Art Curator, and it’s why I’m so excited to have her on this episode.

Maria is a writer and curator based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Together we talk starting over across countries, balancing the worlds of curation and writing, and the contexts we create by doing both.

Read her Substack: https://substack.com/@mariercoles 

Take Expressions With You: At the end of each episode, we ask each guest, “If you had to recommend an aspiring culture creator engage with one piece of media, what would it be?”

MARIA’S ONE THING: Ways Of Seeing by John Berger

Read it and let me know what you think!

This week’s episode welcomes Kelsey Zalimeni, Deputy COO at blue-chip gallery Almine Rech and founder of ART.WORK, a mentorship initiative for emerging arts industry professionals.

In this episode, Kelsey charts her path from small-town North Carolina, across London and Paris, from the sports world to the art world, and everywhere in between. She outlines the importance of learning from the challenges we face to pave the way for the people coming behind us.

Connect with Kelsey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelsey-zalimeni-431aaa101/

Learn More about ART.WORK: https://www.artworkcollective.org/about 

Take Expressions With You: At the end of each episode, we ask each guest, “If you had to recommend an aspiring culture creator engage with one piece of media, what would it be?”

KELSEY’S ONE THING: RuPaul’s Drag Race ( this might be my favorite answer yet)

Watch the episode and find out why!

Couldn’t have an arts season without speaking to artists now, could we :)

Please welcome Stephane Calvin-Rosenberg, an incredible mixed-media artist and curator. In this episode, she speaks to the tension of tradition and rootedness that makes culture, what it is like to operate as both an opportunity creator and a seeker, as both a curator and an artist herself; and how an unexpected bout in Senegal led her to reignite a childhood passion for the arts and start her practice. 

Stephane also leads JAM Ayiti, a nonprofit raising funds for Marmalade Music School, an entirely free music school serving the kids of Haiti.  When it comes to changing kids' lives with music, every donation counts. Support JAM Ayiti: jam-ayiti.org

Learn about Stephane’s practice: https://www.instagram.com/stephanecalvin.art/ 

Take Expressions With You: At the end of each episode, we ask each guest, “If you had to recommend an aspiring culture creator engage with one piece of media, what would it be?”

STEPHANE’S ONE THING: Firelei Báez, “feet squelching on wet grass, nourished by uncertainty”

Learn about this exhibition: https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/firelei-baez/ 

Expressions is BACK and better than ever! Introducing Season 2: we’re still sitting down with the people at the heart of cultural expressions, except this season with a twist. We’re focusing all in on the thing that most people think of when you think of culture — the arts.

To kick us off is Tanisha Gandhi, curator and founder of Artha, showcasing South Asian art across the world. Our conversation ranges from the arts’ place in our daily lives (the little tidbits, if you will), the relationship between diaspora and culture, and Tanisha’s latest exhibition, Topographies by the Still Other Collective, coming up September 16-20 2026 where she’s teamed up with chef Prerana Dash to put food and art in conversation with culture.

Learn more and register for this incredible event at still-other.com (I know I’ll be there!!)

Follow Artha

Follow the Still Other Collective

Take Expressions With You: At the end of each episode, we ask each guest, “If you had to recommend an aspiring culture creator engage with one piece of media, what would it be?”

TANISHA’S ONE THING: Shilpa Gupta's For In Your Tongue, I Cannot Fit 

Read about this exhibition: https://www.tanyabonakdargallery.com/exhibitions/615-shilpa-gupta-for-in-your-tongue-i-cannot-dallas-contemporary/

See it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhZk1yo6pls 

When Ehis first arrived in the U.S., he stayed silent to belong. Now, he’s helping others speak up. An immigrant from Nigeria who is now crushing it at Google, his story is one of quiet strength and loud becoming. Weaving together the personal and the professional, together, we unpack his story of creating his identity in a new home across the world. We dive into how belonging shapes identity and what it means to carry culture forward.

Connect with Ehis

Listen to Unmuted Moments

Cultural expression is how we signal “I’m here” before we ever speak. In this special edition, I’m sitting down with Shaena Harrison, a professional wing woman based in Stockholm who designs rooms where people actually meet each other. We talk about her definition of cultural expression as “the human handshake before the handshake,” her LinkedIn Game that turns small talk into real talk, and how conferences can be designed for relationships instead of spam. Shaena shares how four layoffs became the push to launch her work, what Sweden taught her about networks and trust, and why more of us are choosing portfolio lives. We end with a simple challenge: adopt the wing-person mindset and open a door for someone this week.

Connect with Shaena!

From Medellín’s vibrant streets to quiet moments of self-discovery, vocalist and music consultant Laura shares her journey, from engineering student to her master's in composition, from performer to guide for others finding their voice. In this bilingual edition of Expressions, we talk confidence, culture, and the magic of keeping your inner child alive through creativity. Laura takes us inside Colombia’s creative pulse, where music is both art and industry, and why Medellín’s energy is impossible to ignore.

Check out Laura's work at @lauraplatamusic on Instagram

For English translation, follow along with this transcript

Startup grit, real talk, and a give-first spirit.
In this edition of Expressions, I sit down with Nomiki, founder of Theanna, who's building more than just a platform—she’s building culture.
She breaks down why closing the access gap means starting long before funding. But she also makes it clear that revenue matters, and that liking money isn’t something to apologize for.

In her words: “I gotta put food on the fucking table. I am not building a hobby.”
This episode traces how culture begins to shift when someone dares to lead with honesty and care. Give it a listen

Connect with Nomiki on LinkedIn or follow her on TikTok

Check out theanna

In this edition of Expressions, I sit down with Mya Shell—marketer, social media strategist, and Midwest-to-big-city storyteller—to explore the real meaning of cultural expression in the digital age. We talk about building personal brands with intention, translating online connection into offline community, and how to spot the gems in a sea of scroll-induced brain rot. Mya shares how social media helped her deepen her understanding of other cultures—and herself—and why showing up authentically (yes, even on LinkedIn) can be the most powerful kind of impact.

Ready to stop lurking and start expressing? Hit play.

Connect with Mya on LinkedIn