How do you encapsulate a 26-year career in the arts? For former Cape Cod Theater Company/Harwich Junior Theater Artistic Director Nina Schuessler it looks something like this – over 270 musicals and plays produced and/or directed.

But sheer numbers don’t tell the whole story of Nina’s impact on and passion for the arts which will never go away despite her recent retirement. In this episode of the Creative Exchange, we sit down with Nina, who has been a driving force in Cape Cod theater for over three decades and dive into her career and love of the arts.

In this conversation with visual artist Deborah Howard and writer Susan Blood, we discuss wiping the canvas clean and starting over, the impermanence of art, the path of least resistance, and adapting your practice.

Susan’s writing has appeared in the Petigru Review, Christian Science Monitor, the London-based BachTrack, Provincetown Arts, and the Provincetown Banner. Her first book “How Not to Do Things” was published in 2017. She has credited her 2018 Arts Foundation of Cape Fellowship for inspiring her to write a second novel, “Hermit”, which she recently completed.

Having grown up on Cape Cod, Deborah has always been inspired by the region’s ever-changing landscape. Drawn to the unpredictability of this environment, she attempts to convey its dynamic and ethereal nature in her work. Her paintings are about capturing moments she experiences and communicating the feeling of a certain time and place to the viewer.

For more information about Susan Blood - http://www.trouttowers.com/

For more information about Deborah Howard - https://deborahwhoward.com/

In this conversation with Tara Vargas Wallace and Maria Daluz Reid, we discuss inspiring students through arts, creating access, building confidence, and further representation of the BIPOC community in the arts on Cape Cod.

Tara Vargas Wallace is an artist and founder of Amplify POC.  She is a strong voice and advocate through her work with marginalized populations with severe socio-economic challenges.  Maria Daluz Reid is an artist and retired arts educator having taught in the Barnstable school system for over 35 years.  She aspired to build confidence in her students through art.

More information about Tara and Amplify POC - https://amplifypoccapecod.com/

In this episode "Being Content with the Unknown", we sit down with Paloma McLardy, the drummer and songwriter of the first all-girl punk band, The Slits.  Known as Palmolive in the punk scene, she now self-defines herself as a punk mystic.

We explore her experience growing up in Spain under a Franco dictatorship, family and togetherness, her defiance to living a prescribed life, and how just 2.5 years in London playing punk music helped define a time that continues to live on in myths, movies, and fashion. 

You can find more information about Paloma McLardy here:

- https://www.punkspalmolive.com/

- https://www.facebook.com/WeDoCapeCod/

In this conversation with Jo Hay and Jonatha Brooke, we talk about so many facets of being an artist such as building our confidence, what drives the passion for the work, being fearless, and creating to the “edge.”  We also discuss the impact of COVID, privilege, climate change, and even aging.

In this episode "Brazen Naked Ladies Everywhere", Aanjes joins us to discuss the art of the tease, how Brazen Belles came to be, and her own discovery of self-love and body positivity.

Aanjes is the founder and artistic director of Brazen Belles, a cape-based burlesque production. She is the daughter of a musician and NOAA fisheries marine biologist, Aanjes performed music and acted in high school and college, but she wanted an outlet that allowed more creativity and that combined music, acting, singing, and Comedy.

https://www.facebook.com/brazenbelles

Esteban del Valle is a Brooklyn based interdisciplinary artist whose work ranges from drawings to video animation and large-scale murals. In this episode, del Valle discusses how his art has taken on a distinct personal significance as a result of our newfound connectivity (or lack thereof), revealing a profound perspective on the importance of art as a self care practice. 

Provincetown-based musician and actor Anne Stott discusses the seesaw of structure and stability and the ways in which a global pandemic has asked us to to both rediscover and redefine a balance of the two in order to create.

Boston-based independent recording and performing artist Will Dailey shares a fresh take on the ways in which social isolation has affected the way we consume, interact with, and share art. In this thought-provoking discussion, Dailey explores an interplay between oversaturation and his personal movement towards genuine, irreplicable interactions with his art.

Provincetown-based visual artists Laura Shabbott and Marian Roth discuss shifts in their approaches to creating, teaching, and sharing art as a result of the pandemic. With two distinct and wise perspectives, this conversation is dynamic, warm, and a reminder that community and the freedom to create are at the center of it all.