In the first part of of a two-episode conversation about art and race in the Quad Cities, Claire and Melissa speak with Chicago-based artist Jefferson Pinder.

Claire and Melissa honor the mothers in their lives by considering the perennial question of balance, and in this case, balance between being both an artist and a mother.

In this episode, Melissa and Claire discuss a couple of recent films that grapple with the aftermath of WWII and the Holocaust, and pick up where they left off in their conversation with Dr. Jonathan Petropoulos.

In observance of Yom HaShoah, Claire and Melissa discuss the importance of remembering the Holocaust, and begin a conversation with Dr. Jonathan Petropoulos, professor of European History at Claremont McKenna College, about how Nazi looting of artwork was a way for the Nazis to dehumanize people.

Melissa and Claire talk about the intersections of art, Earth Day , and the March for Science through a closer examination of artists Katja Loher and Maria Sybilla Merian .

Claire and Melissa discuss federal funding for agencies that support arts, culture and education, such as the National Endowment for the Arts , the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Institute of Library and Museum Services.

This week, Claire and Melissa sit down with Chicago-based artist Kiam Marcelo Junio to talk about their work, their recent exhibition and performance at the Augustana Teaching Museum of Art, and the obligation of institutions to create space and community for and around marginalized voices.

The Gallery Gap launched in March in recognition of National Women’s History Month. Women artists are not the sole focus of this podcast, but they have certainly been the primary focus of this month’s episodes. To wrap up Women's History Month, Claire and Melissa play a game called #5WomenArtists.

What would you do with pieces of wood and rope, a pair of antlers, and tar? Artist Alison Saar transforms all of these, and much more, to create dynamic sculptures and installations that examine the positioning of women and African-Americans, both throughout history and in contemporary culture.

This week, Claire Kovacs and Melissa Mohr pick up where they left off by talking about the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of feminist artists.