Southcoast Artists Index

Dave Sterenchock is a songwriter and storyteller who turns personal experiences into honest, relatable music. His songs explore love, heartbreak, relationships, and the complicated emotions that come with trying to make sense of them.

With a candid and often humorous approach to songwriting, Dave isn't afraid to tackle the realities of love and loss. His song "She Doesn't Know Where My Heart Is" captures the frustration and disillusionment of a relationship that has lost its connection, blending vulnerability with a sharp sense of wit—including the memorable line, "but my cardiologist does."

Dave's music reflects the ups and downs of relationships through straightforward lyrics and genuine emotion. Whether he's writing about love, separation, or the feeling of being misunderstood, his songs offer an authentic look at life, relationships, and everything in between.

What happens when movement becomes a form of art, education, and community connection?

In this episode, we sit down with a movement educator, coach, and small business owner, Juliet Loranger, who has been teaching in downtown New Bedford since 2009. Through yoga, somatics, and sports, they explore the science, social impact, and creative possibilities of movement with both teens and adults.

Juliet Loranger is a movement educator, coach, and small business owner who has been teaching and cultivating movement practices in downtown New Bedford since 2009. Her work explores the science, social impact, and creative possibilities of yoga, somatics, and sports, while educating both local youth and adults. She also serves as the head field hockey coach at Fairhaven High School.

Juliet's passion for movement has recently expanded into Move Back Home, a collaborative performance art and somatic movement project created alongside local youth from the nonprofit she founded and elders in the community. Blending interpretive dance, movement education, and performance, the project explores the connections between movement, creativity, community, and different generations.

For Juliet, movement is about more than the final performance. It is about the process of learning, creating, connecting, and discovering what the body can communicate.

#MoveBackHome #MovementAsArt #SomaticMovement #Yoga #InterpretiveDance #PerformanceArt #MovementEducation #CommunityArt #NewBedford #NewBedfordMA #LocalArtists #ArtsAndCulture #CreativeMovement #YouthArts #CommunityConnection

JJ Richards is a photographer whose creative journey has been shaped by a lifetime of travel, service, and a desire to share positivity through images.

Originally from New Zealand, JJ took an unconventional path after completing school. Rather than immediately attending university, he joined the army, where he spent 12 years in service. Following his military career, JJ joined the United Nations as a telecommunications technician and went on to spend 30 years working in peacekeeping operations around the world before retiring in 2020.

His career gave him the opportunity to travel to more than 65 countries, experiencing different cultures, communities, and landscapes along the way. Those experiences have helped shape the way he sees the world—and, ultimately, the way he approaches photography.

JJ was first introduced to photography by an uncle who taught him film photography in the 1970s. Although he stepped away from photography for many years, he eventually returned to it and rediscovered the joy of being behind the camera.

Today, photography is less about business for JJ and more about connection, relaxation, and exploration. He enjoys getting outside for photo walks, combining creativity with the simple pleasure of discovering something worth capturing.

In a world where negativity can often dominate the online conversation, JJ uses photography as a way to spread something different: positivity. Through his work, he hopes to share moments, perspectives, and images that encourage people to pause, look around, and find something good in the world.

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Vault Sessions, the live music series from the Southcoast Artists Index, recorded at The Vault Center for the Performing Arts during Open Mic Night in downtown New Bedford, Massachusetts.

In this episode, we sit down with local musician Indy Blake to talk about music, creativity, influences, songwriting, and what it means to be part of the South Coast's growing creative community. Following the conversation, Indy takes the stage to perform a selection of original songs live at The Vault.

The Vault Sessions is about more than just the music. It's about creating a record of the artists, voices, and stories that make up the South Coast's creative scene—and giving local musicians a platform to share their work with a wider audience.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen to the audio version wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Southcoast Artists Index for more artist interviews, live performances, and stories from the people shaping the region's creative culture.

Welcome, Colin Williams, who was our guest on Podcast Episode 224. Colin's memories of his time at and association with SMU (Southeastern Massachusetts University) were enhanced by his delight in working in and around, as well as being surrounded by the University's Paul Rudolph architecture.

Colin Williams was the co-chairman of the SMU Concert Series, and included finding art majors to design handbills, posters, tickets, and backstage passes for his directed concerts in the auditorium, the big parties in the campus center, and the 3000-seat gymnasium. These events were an unforgettable 4-year experience.

He believes there was an intersection of SMTI, SMU, and the Swain School of Design, which has had a long-lasting effect. There is a culture of musicians and artists here, where "the embracing behaviour of many talents continued to be characterized by expressive and collaborative instincts." The South Coast is what it is due, in part to its historic and maritime presence and its cultural vibrancy.

Colin Williams spoke with The Artists Index Podcaster, Max Wickemeyer, and shared more of his love of the South Coast, his talents and memories of the halcyon days of SMU, and so much more.

Colin F. Williams

Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02748

Email | Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

NOTE: A selection of Colin's poems is in the image gallery. Colin will also introduce Scott Bishop's two podcast conversations with folk music legend Maggi Peirce, in our next two post-holiday episodes.

ALSO AVAILABLE ON: YouTube

We're not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy. Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists. If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Welcome, Grace Statwick, a professional artist raised in Springfield, Missouri. Grace grew up knowing she'd be an artist. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in film and experience in set construction working for the school's drama department.

She proceeded to work in prop and set construction for film, and then as a sculptor for Bass Pro Shops, building waterfalls and trees and traveling across the country. In 2016, she moved to South Korea to teach English, where she began to exhibit, in earnest, with a group of expat and Korean artists called The Exotic Beasts.

After a few more years of artist residencies and natural-building projects in the States, she spent the pandemic growing her painting business out of Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage in rural Missouri, and later moved to Virginia.

She has since landed in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where she now works as a muralist. Her work is high-chroma, high-contrast, theatrical, and magical. Her paintings energize a space.

Grace recently spoke with The Artists Index's podcast host, Max Wickemeyer, about her life, practice, and journey. This episode was recorded at the Spectrum Marketing Group studio at Howland Place in New Bedford.

Grace Statwick

Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02748

Email | Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Other

We're not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Welcome to the very first episode of The Vault Sessions, a new live music series from the Southcoast Artists Index, recorded at The Vault Center for the Performing Arts during Open Mic Night in downtown New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Each episode features an intimate conversation with a local musician, exploring their creative journey, musical influences, songwriting process, and connection to the South Coast's vibrant arts community. Following the interview, you'll experience live performances of original music recorded in the unique atmosphere of The Vault.

Our inaugural guest is Steve Goodman, a talented local singer-songwriter whose heartfelt songwriting and engaging performances have made him a familiar face throughout the region's music scene. Steve shares the stories behind his music, his artistic inspiration, and what it means to be part of the South Coast's thriving creative community before performing several of his original songs live.

Whether you're discovering a new favorite artist or celebrating the incredible musical talent found right here in our own backyard, The Vault Sessions offers a front-row seat to the voices shaping the South Coast's creative landscape.

The Vault Sessions is available in both video and audio formats. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to the Southcoast Artists Index for more conversations, performances, and stories celebrating the artists who make our region such an extraordinary place to create.

Learn more at https://theartistsindex.com/

Welcome, Max Wickemeyer, our volunteer Development Director and now an official podcast host for Southcoast Artists Index. Max was our guest on Podcast Episode 205. Music is his creative force. He plays six- and four-string instruments.

Max has been playing in a hobby rock group for 15 years and performing solo gigs at open-mic venues, including The Vault Performing Arts Center & Pub, where he has also been documenting performances and performers for The Artists Index as our man-in-the-field.

Max is a Staff Ranger at the Assawompsett Pond Complex. His hobbies include yoga, forest walks, biking, and roaming the South Coast. He was also a volunteer land steward for the Nature Conservancy.

The Artists Index co-founder, Ron Fortier, and Max Wickemeyer spoke a while back about him joining our podcast host lineup at The Artists Index. This episode was recorded at the Spectrum Marketing Group studio at Howland Place in New Bedford.

Max Wickemeyer

Contact him at [email protected] to discuss being his next podcast guest. At this writing, he's already had several conversations with members of the South Coast creative community.

We're not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Welcome, Trina Bigham, a published author and an aspiring artist. She is a Northeastern University graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering. According to Trina, she has "spent her life following the quiet tug of purpose wherever it led her.

Trina Bigham was born in Westwood, New Jersey. She moved to the South Coast of Massachusetts before she was a year old. She's lived in Wareham, Mattapoisett, and Marion before settling in Fairhaven, where she has lived for the past 30 years.

Her childhood was chaotic, but she found peace and grounding in nature—a refuge that would later shape her advocacy, creativity, and writing. Her book, Better Than Ordinary: Breaking Barriers on a Journey of Resistance and Hope, is the inspiring true story of a mother navigating love, loss, and resilience, and raising a child with disabilities.

Her journey as mother and author evolved alongside her son Brennan's. It trans­formed her emotionally and spiritually into a champion for his potential. Better Than Ordinary offers hope, insight, and inspiration to anyone facing life's challenges.

Trina recently spoke with The Artists Index's podcast host, Max Wickemeyer, about her life and journey. This episode was recorded at the Spectrum Marketing Group studio at Howland Place in New Bedford.

Trina Bigham

1 B Green Street Fairhaven, Massachusetts 02719

(774) 400-8361

Email | Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Other

We're not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!

Welcome, David Poyant, an embroidery artist who came to this work later in life, after decades spent as a cobbler and craftsman. Without formal training, Poyant developed his own approach—or, what he refers to as thread painting—using a needle and fine strands of thread to build images one stitch at a time.

His process begins with AI-generated compositions that he refines and prints onto canvas, but the true work happens slowly by hand, where time, patience, and touch shape the final piece.

David Poyant's work explores nature, memory, and the human experience, often focusing on quiet, reflective moments—a boy in a tree, a fisherman at rest, light moving across water. Each piece is entirely hand-stitched and can take dozens of hours to complete, emphasizing the value of time and lived experience in a fast-moving digital world.

Through his art, Poyant aims to bridge tradition and innovation, showing that even in an age of technology, the human hand remains essential.

David recently spoke with The Artists Index's podcast host, Max Wickemeyer, about his passion and journey. This episode was recorded at the Spectrum Marketing Group studio at Howland Place in New Bedford.

David Poyant

72 Park Drive Acushnet, Massachusetts 02743

(508) 985-3033

Email | Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Other

We're not asking for you to finance a nonprofit. Instead, we are asking for your support to fund a legacy.

Our mission is to preserve and document the lives and legacies of all South Coast Artists.

If you would like to be a guest on The Artists Index or have a suggestion, please let us know!