Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well! Today I have the lovely Yara El-Sherbini, an interdisciplinary artist who uses humor and play to create socially and politically engaged work. Yara got her BA Fine Art in Context at the University of the West Of England, Bristol and her MA Fine Art Media at Slade, University College London. She has shown in venues such as the Tate, the Venice Biennale, ZKM, and so much more. I actually had a chance to play her piece at the Venice Biennale before I knew about Yara, which was a happy coincidence. Yara was so kind as to take time out of her day to chat with me and we got to discuss how bodies interact in public spaces, pub quizzes, what does it mean to be participatory and playful, and rethinking context within an artwork. As usual, take care, stay safe, and I hope you enjoy this.

Photo credit: Hugo Glendinning

Links Mentioned:

• Yara’s Website
• Mona Hatoum
• Emily Jacir
• Tehching Hsieh
• Sarah Lucas
• Naeem Mohaiemen

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Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well. Today I have a wonderful conversation to share with you. I talk with Rea Tajiri, a filmmaker and visual artist born in Chicago, Illinois. Rea got her BFA and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts before moving to New York. Her work has been shown in the Whitney Biennial, The New Museum, MoMA, The Guggenheim, and many more. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Theater, Film and Media Arts at Temple University where she teaches documentary production. I first learned about Rea through her film History and Memory, an experimental video essay that dealt with the mutable nature of one's remembrance of a place and community. We talk about that, the purpose of documentation, Forensic Architecture, and what does it mean for a place to exist as fiction with cultural resonance. As usual, take care, stay safe, and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

* Rea's Website

* History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige

* Forensic Architecture

* Tōyō Miyatake

* Dave Tatsuno

* Densho

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Hey everyone. Welcome to a new year and I am excited to share with you the first episode of 2022! I have with me today Maria Gaspar, an interdisciplinary artist whose work addresses issues of spatial justice to amplify, mobilize, or divert structures of power through individual and collective gestures. Maria got her BFA from Pratt Institute, an MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is currently an Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I became aware of Maria’s striking photographic pieces before realizing her large breadth of work that existed also in installation, sound, and performance. I enjoyed our conversation where we talked about going to art school as a first-generation immigrant, performance as practice, the invisibility of jails, guides that are generative as opposed to predictive, and re-imagining new and better worlds. As always, stay safe and healthy in this new year and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

* Maria’s Website
* Ernesto Pujol
* Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
* National Museum of Mexican Art
* Yvette Mayorga
* Holland Cotter’s El Museo Review
* Jackie Sumell
* Favianna Rodriguez
* El Sawyer

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Hello everyone. The winter holidays and New Year's are coming up and I just hope that wherever you are, you are able to spend some time with your friends and loved ones. It can be hard these days even to do that, so cherish those moments. I have only one last episode to share with you before the end of the year, which is also the last episode from the Rogers Art Loft series that I conducted this past summer. Don't worry, I will see you all in January. So without further ado, I want to present Dr. Erika Abad, a Queer Latina poet, born and raised in Chicago. Dr. Abad received her BA in Latin American and Latina/o Studies from DePaul University and her Ph.D. in American Studies from Washington State University. Prior to her move to Las Vegas, Dr. Abad was an oral historian for the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College. Beyond Puerto Rican, Latinx, and Gender Studies, she is a well-published essayist, poet, and fiction writer, most recently writing a poem and creative reflection on the Pulse-Orlando tragedy. She is also a regular writer for Women in Higher Education. Erika and I chat about writing during difficult times, giving feedback to students without minimizing their experiences, queer fandom, and being mindful. This was a live-recorded event that was hosted by the wonderful Lance Smith of the Rogers Art Loft. Until next year, stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful winter holiday.

Links Mentioned:

• Erika's Instagram
• Erika's Twitter
• Love, Victor
• Anna Castillo
• Tato Laviera
• In Other Words Feminist Community Center
• Sinister Wisdom 117: Lesbians in the City
• Dennis McBride - LGBTQ Las Vegas
• Lin-Manuel Miranda
• Pose
• Vida
• Visions of Us

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Hi everyone. Hope you are well. It is hard to imagine how time is flying…it has been just about over a year since I landed in China since the pandemic started. Now this past week I just had an exhibition opening which went okay. Felt kinda relieved after and was able to relaxed a bit. Now back to documenting and working on new projects. Gotta keep moving.

Anyway, for this week, I have the amazing Ashanti McGee, an artist and arts advocate who has been living in Las Vegas for over 25 years. Ashanti began working in with arts institutions through grant writing and has since been part of WESTAF’s Emerging Leaders of Color program and most recently served as a district representative for Nevada Congresswoman Susie Lee, focusing on outreach for Black, Native American, and LGBTQ+ communities around arts and culture, and environment and public lands. A proud parent of four, Ashanti has committed her work to updating arts education standards for the Nevada Department of Education; serving as a board member for Cultural Alliance of Nevada; co-founding the Las Vegas Womxn of Color Arts Festival, and acting as a core member of NUWU Cultural Arts + Activism complex. She also just curated "A Common Thread" at the Barrick Museum of Art at the University of Nevada, an exhibition celebrating womxn of color textile artists. I got to talk with Ashanti about many of these amazing activities, along with the importance of finding support in the arts while finding rest for yourself. Sit back, relax, and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

* Ashanti’s Instagram

* A Common Thread Exhibition

* WESTAF

* Emerging Leaders of Color

* Mesa Gallery

* African Diaspora of LV

* Giovanni Melton Foundation

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Hello everyone. How are you all doing? I am in the midst of installing my show in Zhuhai. It is mostly done and I can't wait to be able to get some rest after the opening, which by the way is this coming Saturday, November 13th at Xu Yu Huan Bian Gallery, which is near the Yangmi mall. I'll be there starting at 5pm so come by to say hi if you happen to be in the Zhuhai area. I am showing two new video installations, some lightboxes, and aluminum prints. It feels good to be able to make some work after such a long hiatus. Anyway....for this week, through the Rogers Art Loft Residency, I am speaking with Tiffany Lin, a visual artist, wordsmith, and dreamer. Tiffany got her BA in Gender & Women's Studies and Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Illustration Practice. Tiffany's work examines how power is expressed in the subtext of American vernacular. Utilizing both creative and sociological methods, she combines participatory action, interviews, and social theory to support her claim that desire and belonging are mediated by external politics. Tiffany and I discuss the evolution of her work, the use of words and language, finding inspiration in the US Census, and how we all self-identify our identities. Tiffany called in from her car on the side of the 10 in LA, which was a little noisy at times. I found Tiffany's energy and thoughts infectious and I hope you do as well. Until next time, stay safe and healthy wherever you are and enjoy!

Links Mentioned:

• Tiffany's Website
• Tiffany's Instagram
• 24 Views
• Bullfrog Biennial 2021

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Hi everyone. I hope you are doing well. I’ve been quite busy lately and don’t know where the time is going. Everything seems like a haze. The teaching and art are going well. Everything humming along as usual. For this week, I am releasing a live interview with Jennifer Kleven as part of the Rogers Art Loft Residency that I attended this past summer. The wonderful Lance Smith introduces both of us before our conversation and we end with a quick Q&A from the listeners. Jen is an arts administrator, artist, curator, and current grants manager for the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Jen holds a BA in Art History and BFA in Art from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has been exhibited in the Las Vegas City Hall gallery, Donna Beam Fine Art Gallery, Trifecta, and CounterSpace in Las Vegas. From 2010-2013 Jen founded and operated Kleven Contemporary, a gallery exhibiting emerging artists in downtown Las Vegas. Jen shares her experiences as a curator, working at Starbucks, being part of the Gulch Collective, and juggling work and studio time. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous doing the interview live and I think it turned out ok. In any case, stay safe and healthy and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

• Jennifer’s Instagram
• GULCH Collective
• Kleven Contemporary
• FUTURE RELICS: Artifacts for a New World
• The Neon Museum

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Hey y'all. Good morning and evening to all my listeners. Not much new with me. Just overall working a lot and juggling many different projects in life, as all of us are. But enough about me. Let's get to this week's guest, the wonderful Nathalie Sánchez, an interdisciplinary artist, social justice arts educator, and arts advocate raised and rooted in Los Angeles. She graduated with her B.A. in Art History and Studio Arts with an emphasis in education from Loyola Marymount University and received her M.F.A. in Public Practice from Otis College of Art and Design. Nathalie has developed and led visual arts and museum education programs at ArtworxLA, Avenue 50 Studio, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA), and P.S. ARTS. In 2016, Nathalie founded the Art Education + Social Justice Book Club as a direct response to the U.S. presidential election and in the hopes of cultivating a community of thought partners and change-makers in arts education. Currently, the Art Education + Social Justice Book Club has over 350 members worldwide and continues to grow. Nathalie and I talk about all these projects, along with how to marry art and community, having advocates, holding accountability, and making friends. Nathalie was a joy to talk to and I hope you can join her in the upcoming book club meetings. Until then, stay safe and healthy and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

• Nathalie Sánchez
• Art Education + Social Justice Book Club
• Barbara Carrasco
• United Farm Workers
• Patrick Martinez
• Macha Suzuki
• Vincent Price Art Museum

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Hey everyone. I hope you are all doing well as the fall comes full force. Things have been busy for me. I’ve been in the midst of completing three new video works and it is taking all my time. Mid-autumn Festival was a nice quick break and the upcoming national holiday will be some extra time for me to do my own work.

Otherwise, today I have the amazing Fawn Douglas, an Indigenous American artist and enrolled member of the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe. Fawn is dedicated to the intersections of art, activism, education, identity, place, and sovereignty. Within her art-making and activism, she tells stories in order to remember the past and also to ensure that the stories of Indigenous peoples are heard in the present. Fawn is currently working on her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and co-curates the Vegas Institute for Contemporary Engagement (V.I.C.E), an artist team that has been the catalyst for exhibitions, podcasts, interviews, performances, and experimentation that makes space for marginalized artists in the Las Vegas community. Fawn and I had a wonderful conversation about call-out culture, cultural accessibility, and giving each other grace. It was moving listening to Fawn discuss her work as a community organizer and her experiences as an activist. As always, take care and I hope you enjoy this.

Links Mentioned:

• Fawn’s Website / Nuwuart
• Fawn’s Instagram
• Las Vegas Paiute Tribe
• Indigenous Women Hike
• Krystal Ramírez
• Institute of American Indian Arts
• Red Rock
• Standing Rock
• Murdered & Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW)
• Ah’-Wah-Nee Exhibition
• Black Mountain Institute

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