Seeing Color

On this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Tereneh Idia, a designer and writer currently based in Pittsburgh, PA. Tereneh attended Drexel University before moving around Washington D.C., Baltimore, and New York City. Tereneh describes these places as once having coffee shops that just sold coffee and donuts, where you could go to a Dominican Chinese restaurant and probably not find a piece of kale anywhere. After much traveling, Tereneh received her Masters in Fashion Design at Kenyatta University in Kenya. She is a 2016 Carol R. Brown Creative Achievement Emerging Artist, which is awarded by The Heinz Endowment and The Pittsburgh Foundation. Tereneh and I had a wonderfully long and meandering conversation and we get into a few podcasts, Tereneh’s thoughts on fashion, and the never-ending story of white supremacy. I thoroughly enjoyed relistening to my conversation with Tereneh as I edited the audio, and I hope you enjoy listening to it just as much as I did!

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On this episode, I speak with Adil Mansoor, a theatre director and educator who’s work centers around the stories of queer folk and people of color. Adil is a founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and a member of the Heinz Endowments’ Transformative Arts Process, a grantmaking initiative supporting justice based arts education within black communities in Pittsburgh. Adil also served as the Program Director and then Artistic Director at Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQA+ youth arts organization for over 5 years. Adil is currently a Point Scholar and pursuing his MFA as a John Wells Directing Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University.

I first learned about Adil through his Creative Mornings’s talk, which I have attached in the show notes. I then saw his production of Gloria by Branden Jacob-Jenkins over the summer and was very taken by the directing and the story. Adil was so kind as to find some time to sit with me and chat. Our conversation goes all over the place, from Adil’s early theater experiences, how to diversify hiring practices, and coping with the white cannon. The discussion runs on the long side, so I hope you enjoy it.

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Hey everyone and welcome back. For this episode, I meet up with Kilolo Luckett, an art historian, writer, cultural producer, and curator. She also works as the arts commissioner for the city of Pittsburgh and is the curator for the August Wilson Center. With over twenty years of experience in the arts, culture and community and economic development fields, she is committed to making art and culture more accessible. This past summer, I sat down with Kilolo to chat. Just before the recording, we were both caught in a sudden heavy rainstorm, but everything turned out okay as we discussed Adrian Piper, the pronunciation of non-white names, and the white lens. Kilolo’s most recent show, Familiar Boundaries. Infinite Possibilities., just opened at the August Wilson Center and runs through until March 24th, 2019. The exhibition is beautiful, so please go and check out the show. I had so much fun talking with Kilolo and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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On this episode, I met with Yujin Lee, an artist who works with video, drawing, and printmaking. Yujin is interested in microhistorical narratives that revisit themes such as war, globalization, and collective identity. I first met Yujin while we were both in college in a sculpture class. Yujin was born in Korea and received her BFA from Cornell University. She lived in Berlin for three years before moving to New York City to receiving her MFA at Columbia University. More recently, Yujin decided to move to Jeju, an island off the coast of Korea. I connected with Yujin before she left New York and we explore ideas about finding the right audience, repetition, and what it means to be intimate. For clarification purposes, I want to point out that Yujin refers to a person named Rirkrit, who's full name is Rirkrit Tiravanija, an artist and teacher at Columbia University. I've added a bunch of links for this particular episode on the website. I hope you enjoy this.

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On this episode, I have the privilege of speaking with Devan Shimoyama, a wonderful artist and close friend. Devan grew up in Philadelphia and went to Penn State for his BFA before completing his MFA from Yale University in Painting/Printmaking in 2014. Upon graduating, Devan began teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, which is where I first met him. As an artist, Devan seeks to depict the black queer male body as something that is both desirable and desirous. Devan has shown throughout the United States and is currently represented by De Buck Gallery in New York City. In this discussion, Devan talks about his experience at Yale, fan art, barbershops, and sci-fi and fantasy novels. His debut solo museum show at The Andy Warhol Museum entitled “Cry, Baby” just opened last week and runs through until March 17, 2019. If you are in Pittsburgh and have a chance, please go and see the show. I hope you enjoy this.

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On this episode, I visit Sarika Goulatia in her studio, which was filled up to the ceiling with materials for her sculptures. Born in India, Sarika often works with large objects that are labor intensive to construct. Originally specializing in textiles, Sarika slowly shifted over to the art world and eventually got a Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she continues to live and work. She has exhibited in spaces such as the Mattress Factory and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. More recently, Sarika received the Carol R. Brown Emerging Artist Award and a Creative Development Grant, both given out by the Pittsburgh and Heinz Foundation. Sarika and I end up talking for quite a long time, with topics ranging from being a minority, Westernizing one’s self, and who gets the privilege to be called an international artist.

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On this episode, I sit down with Alisha Wormsley, an artist based in Pittsburgh who creates photos, sculpture, sound, and time-based work based on collective memory and the synchronicity of time periods. I first came to know of Alisha through her Homewood Residency program, but more recently Alisha gained attention for one of her text-based work.

To give a bit of background, Alisha was invited to exhibit a text for The Last Billboard, a project founded by the artist Jon Rubin who offered a rotating cast of artists a chance to present text on a billboard. The billboard resides in East Liberty, a quickly gentrifying neighborhood with new neighbors that include Google and freshly constructed apartment complexes and condos. Alisha presented the text, “There Are Black People In The Future.” People from the neighborhood complained and the property’s landlord removed the text. I’ve attached a Hyperallergic link on the SeeingColor website with more information.

I caught up with Alisha right after she finished teaching a class and we get into the origins of the text, her decision to go to grad school, and future plans. The sound quality

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On this episode, I sit down with Justin Favela, a Las Vegas based artist who also co-hosts the Latinos Who Lunch Podcast. Justin and I first met in Miami at a residency, where we bonded over pupusas, empanadas, and the movie, Get Out. I caught up with Justin while he attended a residency in Maine. I thought this would be a great first episode to start out with since Justin and I discuss some of the themes that frame my original intent to start a podcast.

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Hey everyone and welcome to my podcast, Seeing Color Pod. I am your host, Zhiwan Cheung. I am a Chinese-American artist who is still learning how to navigate a very white cubed art world. Such a journey has prompted me to try and broaden the scope of art discussions and from a perspective that art cannot always be distinct from the race of the author. I am specifically looking for a critical analysis aware of and critical towards the white canon. I also made this podcast out of a wish that my younger self could have heard and learned from the conversations I am having now. So please join me as I interview all types of artists and creative people of color in hopes that such an exploration may lead to a path forward. You can head to www.seeingcolorpod.com to find out more! I hope you enjoy this.