Not Real Art

Unbelievably, it’s been a year and a half since federal arts funding and humanities grants across the U.S. were abruptly canceled. In the wake of this decision, arts organizations and cultural institutions have scaled back or even halted their work altogether. Despite a general atmosphere of uncertainty, many are fighting back, determined to persevere.

Since its inception, Crewest Studio—the production house behind NOT REAL ART and its sister organization, ArtsvilleUSA—has pursued one core mission: to help artists tell their stories and promote their work. Led by Scott “Sourdough” Power, Crewest has produced podcasts, launched television projects, and published books, all self-funded and free from paywalls, subscriptions, or advertising.

Now, Crewest Studio is entering a new era with the launch of Arterial, a nonprofit grantmaking arm designed to keep artists’ stories alive and accessible to everyone. Today, Scott sits down with Morgan Laurens, editor-in-chief for both NOT REAL ART and ArtsvilleUSA, to talk about fiscal sponsorship, grantmaking, and the future of arts funding.

Episode Credits

Hosts: Scott “Sourdough” Power

Guest: Morgan Laurens, editor-in-chief, NOT REAL ART, ArtsvilleUSA

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Fiscal Sponsorship: Arterial

Theme Music: Ricky Peugeot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Stay in the Loop: Subscribe to NOT REAL ART and follow on Instagram for coverage of the latest projects and exhibitions.

Joseph O’Connell launched Creative Machines from his garage over two decades ago with a mission: Create objects and environments that encourage creativity, support social interaction, and inspire confidence. Since then, the Tucson-based design and fabrication firm has ballooned in size and scope, creating and installing over 100 public artworks for clients on seven continents.

Today, Creative Machines is famed for its interactive exhibitions, kinetic sculptures, light installations, and a commitment to community engagement. They even test their projects by having everyone from schoolchildren to retired engineers “play with the art and call out the BS” before anything leaves the studio.

We sat down with Joseph O’Connell, founder and artistic director of Creative Machines, to talk about the economics of public art, his new nonprofit playground in Tucson, and his studio’s entry in our summer exhibition, 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.

Contacts & Socials

Website: https://www.creativemachines.com

Instagram: @creativemachines

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/creative-machines

Episode Credits

Host: Scott “Sourdough” Power

Guest: Joseph O’Connell, founder and artistic director of Creative Machines, featured artist in 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Theme Music: Ricky Peugeot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Stay in the Loop: Subscribe to NOT REAL ART, and follow us on Instagram for more coverage of the 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Marcus Brown crafts objects—sometimes monumental, sometimes intimate—that blend history, technology, and ritual. His work urges viewers to confront the unseen: memory, sound, and the stories buried beneath everyday footpaths.

Marcus’ “Human Universal Musical Sculpture (HUMS)” was selected to represent Louisiana in 250: A Celebration of Public Art in America, our summer exhibition with CODAworx, the leading platform for the public art industry. Inspired by the electric hum of the human body, this interactive sound sculpture invites the public to trigger harmonic resonances through touch, a testament to Marcus’ ability to fuse old-world craftsmanship with the bleeding edge of innovation.

But Marcus doesn’t make monuments that merely commemorate. With his ongoing project Slavery Trails, he maps America’s suppressed histories using augmented reality, turning street corners and parks into digital memorials that demand attention from passersby. In conversation, Marcus sifts through the spiritual mechanics of making, the ghosts of New Orleans, and the responsibility of placing memory in plain sight.

Contacts & Socials

Website: https://artistmarcus.com

Instagram: @paintwithmusic

Facebook: @artistmarcusbrown

Episode Credits

Host: Scott ‘Sourdough’ Power

Guest: Marcus Brown, sculptor and educator, featured artist in 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Theme Music: Ricky Peugeot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Stay in the Loop: Subscribe to NOT REAL ART, and follow us on Instagram for more coverage of the 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.

Twelve years in, Toni Sikes shows no signs of slowing down. As founder and CEO of CODAworx—the leading platform for the public art industry—she has shepherded the ecosystem from ‘90s print directories to a global digital network representing over $13 billion in projects. For Independence Day 2026, CODAworx teamed with NOT REAL ART and nonprofit Arterial to launch 250: A Celebration of Public Art in the U.S.—an ambitious online exhibition featuring one artwork from each state, plus Puerto Rico and DC. Curated by NOT REAL ART’s Kirsten Bengtson-Lykoudis and powered by CODAworx’s extensive artist network, 250 is already live online and will remain available for all to explore indefinitely.

How did this partnership come together? Toni and NOT REAL ART/Arterial founder Scott “Sourdough” Power unpack the vision behind 250, swap stories from the front lines of public art, and make the case for why murals, installations, festivals, and even giant flamingos belong at the heart of the American experience.

See the 250 exhibition: Explore all 52 works online.

Episode Credits

Host: Scott ‘Sourdough’ Power

Guest: Toni Sikes, CEO and founder of CODAworx, advocate for big art and public art’s economic power.

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Theme Music: Ricky Peugeot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Stay in the Loop: Subscribe to NOT REAL ART for future episodes, follow us on Instagram, and tag your favorite public art using #FirstFridays250.

Baltimore’s harbor is calm, but resident artist Joan Cox is gathering momentum. Since her last appearance with NOT REAL ART, she’s been named a finalist for the Baker Artist Award, recognized among London’s Top 100 International Artists, and seen her intimate portraits circulate through exhibitions and publications. A past NOT REAL ART grant winner (2022), Joan is known for capturing the “energy field” of love between women. Now, her work takes center stage in NOT REAL ART’s Modern Love exhibition, running online at notrealart.com this spring.

In conversation with host Scott “Sourdough” Power, Joan reflects on the work of recording contemporary queer intimacy. She describes her process, from asking strangers to sit for her, to searching for the subtle charge that passes between couples, all while managing the demands of a full-time career and raising a middle-schooler.

Her canvases are lush and unscripted, dense with narrative detail—bedroom Buddhas, floral wallpaper in the corner of a bar. Beneath the surface, each painting offers an act of correction, adding a page to art history where overlooked couples are seen, valued, and, at last, collected.

Where to Connect & Experience

See Joan Cox’s latest work in Modern Love.

Follow Joan on Instagram for in-progress shots and behind-the-scenes studio news.

Learn more about the NOT REAL ART Grant.

Episode Credits

Host: Scott ‘Sourdough’ Power

Guest: Joan Cox, Baltimore-based painter focused on queer intimacy, identity, and representation; NOT REAL ART grant winner.

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Theme Music: Ricky Peugeot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Subscribe to NOT REAL ART for future episodes, follow us on Instagram, and join the conversation.

Michael Moore was one of the first artists to hit the NOT REAL ART airwaves, and he’s just as unpredictable now as he was then. A mainstay of the Chicagoland art scene, Michael is best known for his madcap “Frankenstein” machines: kinetic assemblages built from scrap steel, blinking warning lights, and whatever vintage oddities he can scavenge, all pieced together in his garage.

These days, the self-taught tinkerer and lifelong musician has a new twist in his story: He’s a finalist for the People’s Artist competition, a wild card contest backed by Johnny Depp, Artforum, and the nonprofit Art of Elysium. The prize? Twenty-five grand, a spread in Artforum, and a moment in the LA spotlight at Elysium Salon, all decided by public vote. If you’re reading this, you can tip the scales by voting for Michael here.

On this episode, Michael and host Scott “Sourdough” Power talk about the evolving world of people-powered art, the highs and lows of chasing votes, and why Michael still can’t quite believe his “cremation station”—one of his signature contraptions in the running—might just be his ticket to the big time.

Los Angeles doesn’t do subtle, and neither does Carmen Zella. For over two decades, she’s been yanking art out of the gallery and into the city, mixing it with technology and letting it spill onto LA’s streets.

Carmen leads NOW Art, an agency that fuses art, architecture, technology, and community—sometimes all at once. She also co-founded NXT Art Foundation, the nonprofit arm of NOW Art, with a mission to shake up public spaces and reimagine how we experience the city together. The goal: break art out of the museum and let it breathe in LA’s neighborhoods.

She’s collaborated with artists like Refik Anadol and Nancy Baker Cahill, launched citywide experiments like Luminex and Attune, and found ways to connect artists, neighbors, and city officials who might never have crossed paths. If you’ve ever paused on a sidewalk in LA, caught off guard by a burst of color or light, chances are Carmen had a hand in it.

In our conversation, Carmen talks about what’s shifting in LA’s art scene, what makes public art both a thrill and a grind, and why cities need to stop micromanaging artists.

Houston might be known for its outsized personality, but every two years, during FotoFest, the city becomes a swirling epicenter of photographic art from around the globe. This year, to mark 40 years of pushing the boundaries of photography, FotoFest’s 2026 biennial, Global Visions, is bringing together a dizzying array of artists from over 58 countries. But what does it take to wrangle over 450 artists and hundreds of works into a two-month citywide celebration?

Enter Chris Wicker, the unflappable exhibitions manager at FotoFest, and, as it turns out, an obsessive media-sampler, self-diagnosed denim junkie, and master of absurdist art. In this episode, Chris unpacks the coordination behind “Houston’s global photo party” and how his own art practice peels back the layers of Southern culture, NASCAR rituals, and the unstoppable flood of American consumerism.

Episode Credits

Host: Scott 'Sourdough' Power

Guest: Chris Wicker

Production: Crewest Studio, Los Angeles

Theme Music: Ricky Pajot & Desi DeLauro of Parlor Social

Subscribe to NOT REAL ART for more creativity, culture, and chaos. Leave us a review, share the show, and remember: Make it weird, y’all!

What happens when you stare fear in the face and choose to laugh? Filmmaker Zinzi Gugu Johnson joins host Scott “Sourdough” Power to discuss “Fears,” her new short film that turns American anxieties into darkly humorous cinema. Don’t miss this surprisingly funny episode on embracing your fears as fuel.

On today's episode, we're diving into a wild and totally unexpected topic: the intersection of art and adult entertainment, sparked by a hilarious story about our own "Not Real Art" sticker showing up in a porno scene. Yep, you heard that right! We will explore the quirky synchronicity of how our little brand made its way into a billion-dollar industry and forces the question: is pornography not real art? So grab your favorite beverage, kick back, and let's talk porno!