Our Shared Field

PART TWO: SONYA BLESOFSKY

Site-responsive artist Sonya Blesofsky and South Philadelphia carpenter Mariel Herring come together to address the ways they think about and use their bodies in their different types of work. We talk about what it feels like to pick up plywood from the hardware store as a woman, about the satisfaction of precise craftspersonship, and finding notes in the walls (or leaving them!) from past carpenters.

In today's episode, I interview artist Sonya Blesofsky. We talk about how she views her work as a collaboration between herself and a building, why she’s drawn to materials like plaster, and how she’s thinking through the complicated history of classical architecture.

Music for this episode was created by Karen Smith, a Philadelphia percussionist and poet who often takes their drums on the road.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART ONE: MARIEL HERRING

As a female carpenter myself, this conversation hits very close to home.

Site-responsive artist Sonya Blesofsky and South Philadelphia carpenter Mariel Herring come together to address the ways they think about and use their bodies in their different types of work. We talk about what it feels like to pick up plywood from the hardware store as a woman, about the satisfaction of precise craftspersonship, and finding notes in the walls (or leaving them!) from past carpenters.

In today's episode, I first interview carpenter Mariel Herring. We talk about the ingenious ways she’s learned to use her body as a tool on the jobsite, how she has to dress in order to mitigate sexism, and her plans to bring more female-identifying construction workers into the field.

Music for this episode was created by Sophie White, a percussionist and professional drywaller. One of her pieces featured here mimics the sound of construction sites.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART THREE: AVIVA RAHMANI + MARCUS FERREIRA

What does it mean to maintain something? How do we practice long-term care for the natural world?

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part three of the conversation, Aviva and Marcus come together to define their terms, discuss the power of a single tree, and to brainstorm potential project ideas.

Music for this episode was created specifically for this conversation, with Marcus' and Aviva's work in mind, by Philly improv musician Matt Engle.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART TWO: MARCUS FERREIRA

What does it mean to maintain something? How do we practice long-term care for the natural world?

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part two of the conversation, Marcus speaks with me about his experiences as a volunteer tree tender, how he fell in love with caring for trees, and exactly what kinds of trees we should be planting and tending to.

Music for this episode is by local guitarist and composer Nick Millevoi, from the album Streets of Philadelphia.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART ONE: AVIVA RAHMANI

What does it mean to maintain something? How do we practice long-term care for the natural world?

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part one of the conversation, Aviva and I talk about how she became an ecological artist, the broader role of art in the battle against climate change, and the development of her idea, “Trigger Point Theory”.

Music for this episode is composed by Hannah Selin, and featuring cellist Alexandra Jones. The piece featured here, Hirondelle, reimagines the vast intercontinental migration of the graceful barn swallow.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART THREE: TERRILL HAIGLER + AMZE EMMONS

What does it mean to be a part of a community? How can small acts lead to bigger change?

We start the pilot season of Our Shared Field on a subject near and not-so-dear to the city of Philadelphia: the trash on our “dirtiest city in America” streets. Terrill Haigler, sanitation worker and activist, and Amze Emmons, printmaker and teacher, join me to talk about the ways in which this city’s trash has inspired them to create and build community, and how tackling a city’s overwhelming issues can begin with cleaning up the block.

In part three of the conversation, Amze and Terrill sit down together to talk about their love of the local, and the early stages of the project they're working on together!

The music for this episode was created by Arthur Thomas and the Funkitorium, a funk-meets-hip hop 6-piece band from Philadelphia.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

PART ONE: TERRILL HAIGLER

What does it mean to be a part of a community? How can small acts lead to bigger change?

We start the pilot season of Our Shared Field on a subject near and not-so-dear to the city of Philadelphia: the trash on our “dirtiest city in America” streets. Terrill Haigler, sanitation worker and activist, and Amze Emmons, printmaker and teacher, join me to talk about the ways in which this city’s trash has inspired them to create and build community, and how tackling a city’s overwhelming issues can begin with cleaning up the block.

In part one of the conversation, I begin by talking to Terrill about his activism on behalf of the sanitation department during the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside the things he finds in people’s trash cans and his plan to clean up Philadelphia. 

Music for this episode is by Jim Strong, a Philadelphia-local whose pieces featured here have been created using invented and found instruments from trash and other objects. 

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

What does it mean to truly collaborate? How do we find shared meaning? How can we create, together?

Our Shared Field is a podcast project that seeks to answer these questions by bringing together artists with people from other fields to talk about the overlaps of their respective work. A printmaker and a sanitation worker. A carpenter and an installation artist. A tree tender and ecological sculptor. An organic garden supplier and a socially-engaged artist. In each episode, we meet two guests, interviewing them individually about their work, then sitting down for a conversation that explores their varied approaches to similar subjects. Provocative connections are made between disparate worlds, and listeners can hear how these connections lead to new creative possibilities.

Interviewees also have the opportunity to participate in a micro-residency, hosted digitally, where the public can experience and witness their processes of collaboration.

In the gaps between fields — in the space of actually listening to another person — new things can emerge, questions and creative projects that take into account differences of perspective.

About the host:

Our Shared Field is created and hosted by Austen Camille (she/her), an artist, writer, carpenter and arts organizer. Camille's practice investigates her itinerant state as it is informed by and intertwined with her work as a carpenter and land steward. The intersection between construction, land(scape), utility, and people’s desire to both care for and control their spaces is the result of growing up in her family’s hardware store and garden center. She received her MFA in Painting from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in 2020. While in graduate school, she received multiple grants to organize a university-wide conversation series that brought different disciplines together to discuss common issues. This podcast series is an extension of her work, continuing to create spaces for dialogue and advocating for public arts accessibility. Learn more about her work here.

Credit:

Thank you to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for their support, and to Eric Carbonara of NadaSoundStudio for audio editing of this trailer. Thank you to the band Glitter Vomit for the music featured in the trailer.