Threads: The Art Exchange

In this special episode, artist Paul Verdell talks about his path from a kid who continuously drew to becoming an artist who now works almost entirely in abstraction. He started off working in figuration, drawn to capturing people as they sat for him, something close to holding a moment still, like a photograph made by hand, and that same instinct carries into his larger work, which he builds spontaneously, led by shape and material rather than a fixed plan. We get into the foundation his formal training gave him, how he’s built on it in his own direction, the influences that keep pulling at him, from Beauford Delaney to Joe Bradley, and the confidence that came with fully claiming abstraction as his own.

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In this special episode, Detroit-based art collector and juvenile court referee Leslie Graves invites us into a collecting practice that began as refuge and grew into something far more intentional. For Graves, surrounding herself with art has never been purely aesthetic, it serves as an act of preservation, a record of selfhood, and a quiet form of advocacy for the artists and communities institutions have overlooked. We explore what collecting unlocks beyond the walls of a courtroom, how the relationship between collector and artist carries its own kind of responsibility, and what a life’s worth of acquired work says about the person who chose it.

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In this special episode, Detroit-based abstract artist Noble Liverpool invites us into a practice where collage becomes more than composition, it becomes a language. For Liverpool, arranging and rearranging fragments is how they sort what won’t stay still, express what words cannot carry, and find sovereignty in a world that has often asked them to be quieter than they are. We explore the emotional life of repurposed materials, what we carry and what we choose to make beautiful, and what it means to create from a place that is finally, fully your own.

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In the accompanying episode to the digital exhibition Griot Genesis, this intimate conversation offers a deeper look into Miriam Uhura’s evolving creative practice. Reflecting on her early itch to create and the moment art became not just something she did, but something she was becoming, Uhura speaks candidly about influence, autonomy, and the inner workings of her practice. 

Together, we explore the themes grounding the exhibition: family as living influence, vulnerability rendered through the intimate gaze, and Black legacy and freedom. From ritual, music as research, and to reclaiming archetypes through a modern griot lens, Uhura shares the stories she carries and the ones still unfolding. 

Experience the full digital exhibition

Listen to the curated Spotify playlist

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In this soulful episode, artist Madhurima Ganguly invites us into a world where painting becomes more than practice but also a ritual. For Ganguly, art is both a private journal and a divine encounter as a space of healing, surrender, and profound self-discovery.  We explore how curiosity guides her, how identity shifts across continents, and how themes of body, ritual adornment, and beauty standards move through her work. Together, we question what it means to define art, how intimacy translates into public reception, and how her creative practice evolves alongside the chapters of life. 

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In this special episode, we are joined by Paloma Núñez-Regueiro to discuss printmaking as both a political act and a personal archive. Born in Peru and raised in Mexico, Núñez-Regueiro reflects on a life shaped by migration, multiplicity, and belonging. Her work, grounded in a rigorous process of research, reading, and intimate interviews, positions printmaking not just as a medium, but as a mode of resistance, repetition, and collective remembrance. Weaving together political memory, diasporic identity, and visual storytelling, the Ann Arbor-based artist speaks on visibility, medium hierarchy, and how theory shapes image. 

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

In this special episode, we are joined by Brazilian-born, New York–based collage artist Edgard Barbosa, whose art practice navigates the intersections of memory, media, and identity. Barbosa reflects on the role of visual language as both a form of personal reckoning and collective dialogue, revealing how his fragmented compositions serve as a response and reflection of his immediate surroundings. Through a nuanced conversation, he shares insights into his methodology, the intuitive construction of imagery, and the urgency of capturing the present moment through layered and textured form.

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

On our season 2 finale we interview Detroit-based artist Mario Moore. Examining social, political, and historical issues, Mario Moore explores black identity and black history through his paintings, drawings, and sculptures. Moore sits down with us to discuss the importance of capturing history through his research process, his artistic influences, and what he wants viewers to take away from his work. 

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

Working in the realm of lens-adjacent, interdisciplinary approaches, Rachel Elise Thomas' interests lies in older photography and images by critiquing the past and challenging people to think about changing their attitudes towards consumerism and colorism. Thomas sits down with us to discuss being vulnerable within her art practice and viewers walking away learning from her work and even feeling uncomfortable in order for growth. 

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!

Working in both traditional and digital art, artist Mark Sarmel’s practice centers around diverse people and cultures. Sarmel sits down with us to discuss providing a voice for the underrepresented and laying the foundation for his own universe for viewers to see themselves through his heroic characters and storylines. 

Discover more on our website and follow us on Instagram!