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For the 10th episode (and the season finale!) of The Heart Gallery Podcast, I connect with my wonderful friend Taylor Freesolo Rees.

Taylor is a filmmaker, documentarian, storyteller and photographer. She has won numerous film festival awards for her work exploring environmental justice, natural resource issues, the outdoor adventure industry and its various players, nonhuman creatures and our relationships with them, and much much more. Taylor has the ability to deftly weave together myriad threads into complex story tapestries that not only manage to avoid being prescriptive but are undeniably alluring & approachable. As a storytelling mastermind, Taylor excels at showing nuance and presenting compelling questions that invite you into a deeper curiosity. Additionally, and so rarely in spaces of wicked problem-solving, through the way she lives and works, Taylor makes a case for play, whimsy, and silliness in the face of serious crises. May this episode with Taylor Freesolo Rees fortify your heart.

See here for an accompanying blog post (including photos, a film, Taylor's HW, and the podcast transcript).

Some of Taylor's favorite artists: Ayana Young & the For The Wild Podcast, Renan Ozturk, Baloo in the Wild, & cartoons in general:)

Mentioned:
- David Orr, What Is Education For
- The Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff & Mark Johnson
- Fatu & Najin
- Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut aka Tokitae

Connect:
 - Taylor on her website & @taylorfreesolo
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 9 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to climate story consultant Alisa Petrosova.

This episode explores how the film and TV industry is doing on climate messaging.
According to research from Good Energy and The Media Impact Project that analyzed 37, 453 scripted television episodes and films released from 2016 through 2020, less than 3% acknowledge climate change.Alisa works at Good Energy, which supports TV and film creators in telling stories that honestly reflect the world we live in now—a world that’s in a climate crisis. They have worked on the recent climate-focused Extrapolations, on Apple TV, and are focused on intersectional elements of climate stories, committed to showing how historically marginalized people are harmed “first and worst”. Alisa talks about how stories help us connect, process, and learn and how we need our stories to reflect the realities of the world and the future we want to move towards. 

See accompanying blog post here for annotated climate trailers, Alisa's HW, and the podcast transcript.

Mentioned:
- Climate poet & artist Cecilia Vicuña
 - Writer Rebecca Solnit.
- Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark
-  Rebecca Solnit's, A Paradise Built in Hell
-  David Wallace-Wells', Uninhabitable Earth

Connect:
- Alisa: @minipetro, LinkedIn
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer, w/ the drive-in photo sourced from Boston Globe archives.

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For Episode 8 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to artist and writer John Kazior.

Today’s guest on The Heart Gallery sparks imagination incredibly well. He is John Kazior, an American artist and writer based in Sweden. John's writing also reveals the depths of these dark arts and shares how we can come to see these efforts more clearly. He talks about how we can learn to go deeper below the surface with issues and ideas that matter the most, and how we can come to orient ourselves towards cultures of true care. I believe that John needs to create curriculum for schools everywhere, for people of all ages. 

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

HW: "One good thing to do is go out and find a nonhuman species, whether it's dead or alive, a plant or fungus or a moss or a fish or a fly. Find something and try to follow it for a little while, whether that means actually physically follow it and/or [tracing its life backwards]. Follow where it came from and try and see what you can find about it. If you really want to go the extra mile, then write or draw something about how you feel about it or the way you relate to it.  And that may be just reiterating like that, oh, I found this in a supermarket. It could be as simple as that. But this [activity] is something that's usually a pretty interesting thing to do in my experience.”

Mentioned:
- Artists: Petra Lilja, Nonhuman Nonsense, Brave New Alps, Climavore, Cooking Sections.
- Terminology: ecofeminism, ecocriticism, entanglement, & polyphonic assemblages.

Connect:
- John’s website
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 7 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to curators Lara Goodband & Gemma Lloyd.

Lara & Gemma are curators of Earth Spells: Witches of the Anthropocene, happening now at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. The exhibit features works from some incredible artists from around the globe: Caroline Achaintre, Emma Hart, Kris Lemsalu, Mercedes Mühleisen, Grace Ndiritu, Florence Peake, Kiki Smith, and Lucy Stein. Lara Goodband is the Contemporary Art Curator and Programmer at Royal Albert Memorial Museum, and Gemma Lloyd is an independent curator. Listen to Lara Goodband & Gemma Lloyd to be spellbound by the intrigue and relevance of witches throughout history and for our world today...

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

Mentioned:
- article: Britain's Royal Albert Memorial Museum returns artefacts to Siksika First Nation.

HW from Gemma: "This is a bit of a strange one. We got my 8-year-old son a moth trap for his birthday last year. I feel that it opens up a huge world, this nocturnal world that we never get to see, [even in the city] (I'm saying this from London). We put this moth trap out at night, and from early spring right through to autumn it's absolutely remarkable what is under your nose in your own environment, what you can see if you have the means to capture it. It is extraordinary and will give you a bigger appreciation of your position in the environment and in the world. If you can find out about another species that's within your own environment, I kind of feel like that gives you an understanding of your place within it."

HW from Lara: "I would like to suggest that everybody reads Amitav Ghosh's book The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable."

Connect:
-  LaraGoodband
- Gemma Lloyd
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 6 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to artist Lauren Shapiro. 

Lauren has spent her whole life in Southern Florida and her work explores the potential of art to cultivate awareness of the environment. She often works alongside ecologists to understand and narrate nature and she merges craft, science and technology to document disappearing ecosystems like coral reefs and mangroves with sculptural ceramic archives. Lauren talks about art as a tool for environmental stewardship in Miami and South Florida, how the enchanting and dangerously threatened Southern Florida ecosystems can be supported by art, science, and tech collaborations, and how the power of art can spark change on today's climate and environmental issues. Listen to learn from the captivating Lauren Shapiro.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

HW: "There is a book called "Draw It With Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Art Assignment", it's written by artists for artists, but it can also be for anybody. It's a hilarious book. I would recommend reading that book. Each artist gives you an assignment, which go from practical to ridiculous. It's great for anyone who wants to spark their creativity or feels stuck. Again, whether you're an artist or not. It's a great way to kind of think about the world and do something silly."

Mentioned:
- Anne Hamilton
 - Daniel Rozin
- Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

Connect:
- Lauren’s website
- Laurenshapiro instagram
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 5 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to Morel Doucet. Morel is a Miami-based multidisciplinary artist and arts educator from Haiti. He creates captivating ceramic, illustration, and print works that examine the realities of climate gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities. Listen and learn from the magical Morel Doucet.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available at this link).

HW from Morel: “Being an educator in the museum space I like inquiry. How inquiry works is that you make a visual observation of the work in front of you. Instead of coming to an immediate conclusion, you analyze a work based on its various aspects before you form a conclusion about the work. Another way of phrasing it is, “don’t judge a book by its cover”. Extend this beyond art too: give people grace, give them an opportunity. By being patient, you may uncover something new."

Mentioned:
- Didier William
- Cornelius Tulloch
- Chris Friday
- The Saan people mentioned in the question about ceramics

Connect:
 - Morel Doucet IG
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 4 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to "artivist" Vidushi Yadav. Vidushi’s work revolves around gender justice, South Asian identity, access & right-based content. She is a communication & design consultant for multiple women rights, humanitarian & development organizations world-wide. Through her work she attempts to investigate gaze, representation, able-ism, gender binary, privilege & colonialism via image making. Listen to hear critical lessons & perspectives from Vidushi Yadav.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

HW from Vidushi: "Ask questions. And do not accept what is given to you, or what is considered the default of life. Ask, “why do I have to be like this” if something doesn't feel right. Examine where answers are coming from & look beyond the answers which are readily available. For example, there are so many things that we are told as women, like, “this is how you should be, this is how you should behave, this is what you shouldn't do, that's what you should do”. If you start asking questions, like, “why is it important for me to do this", or "what is stopping me to do that”… you can get closer & closer to what feels authentic to you."

Mentioned:
- Frida Kahlo
- Marina Abramović
- How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell.
- Seeing Like A Feminist by Nivedita Menon

Connect:
- Vidushi IG
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 3 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer talks to artist Joyce Yu-Jean Lee. Joyce works with video, digital photography, and interactive installation that combine ​social ​practice with ​institutional ​critique. Curious about how the act of seeing is transformed by technology, her artwork examines how mass media and visual culture shape notions of truth and understanding of the “other.” Listen to hear from the incredible Joyce Yu-Jean Lee.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

HW from Joyce: “Next time you're in a debate with a friend or a family member about an issue,  really pause and think about the perspective of the other. Before you add your answer or your own perspective just pause and really reflect on what that other person is thinking or feeling. See if you might put yourself in their shoes. Try to empathize with their point of view before you speak.”

Mentioned:
 - James Turrell
- Pipilotti Rist
- Ai Weiwei.

Connect:
- Joyce IG
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.

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For Episode 2 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, I talk to nature's cartoonist, Rohan Chakravarty. Rohan's cartoons about animals, the natural world, and human-environment connections are published as comic strips, books, and educational materials all around the world. He is talented, hilarious, and a critical voice for the voiceless. Listen to be charmed and educated by the inimitable Rohan Chakravarty.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

Rohan's HW: "Just take a look at the nearest tree from your window and make a note of what happens on that tree over one or two hours. Whatever time you can devote. I think that would be the best gateway into nature. I don't think you are going to look back after that."

Mentioned:
- Genndy Tartakovsky
- Gary Larson
- Bill Watterson
- Rohan's piece on snake clitorises
- Rohan's Bird Business
- Rohan's Naturalist Ruddy

Connect:
- Green Humour website
- Green Humour IG
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.
 

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For Episode 1 of The Heart Gallery Podcast, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer introduces the podcast in conversation with writer & podcaster Alice Irene Whittaker.

Visit The Heart Gallery's visual accompaniment for this podcast episode here (podcast transcript also available here).

Mentioned:
- Poet & ornithologist Drew Lanham
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat
 - Tamara Lindeman of The Weather Station.
- Chris Jordan’s Midway project
- Tomás Saraceno’s spider works
- The Ghosts in Our Machine documentary

Connect:
- Reseed podcast here
- Alice Irene's website
- The Heart Gallery Instagram
- The Heart Gallery website
- Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer Instagram

Credits:
Samuel Cunningham for podcast editing, Cosmo Sheldrake for use of his song Pelicans We, podcast art by me, Rebeka Ryvola de Kremer.