Artblog Radio

Founded in 2017, YallaPunk is an intersectional, trans-affirming performance festival and conference which celebrates the creative achievements of Middle Eastern and North African people in Philly and beyond. Here Imani Roach chats with YallaPunk’s founder, DJ and journalist Rana Fayez, about what to expect from this year’s festival (August 31 - September 2).

Matt Kalasky speaks with artist Li Sumpter and educators Charlie McGeehan and Sam Reed about “Survival Guide for the Future” — an emergency preparedness, Afrofuturist and post-apocalyptic inspired curriculum conducted this spring at the U School High School in collaboration with The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design. Culminating in both a student-created zine and an exhibition at The Galleries at Moore (opening tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018), this project gave students a platform to reflect on their current lives and imagine a vibrant teen-centric Philadelphia of the future.

This week on Artblog Radio we’re featuring audio from the Blue Note Salon, an April 21st panel curated by Black Quantum Futurism at the Icebox Project Space. This interactive discussion covers a wide range of topics from the role of jazz musicians and jazz culture in paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement to current efforts by local artists to connect their work to social change movements addressing gentrification, displacement and cultural heritage preservation.

Imani Roach visits local artist Frances Beaver at her Fishtown studio to chat about her recent video project, Sex of the Earth, and her evolving relationship to narrative and performance.

The Women’s Mobile Museum is a year-long project by the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center which brings renowned South African Photographer, Zanele Muholi to Philadelphia to engage with a group of ten local women who are interested in media arts and museum studies but have not had significant access to formal training in these areas. Imani sat down with Muholi and two of the program’s apprentices, Shasta Bady and “Muffy” Ashley Torres, to discuss their hopes for the project and their journey thus far.

"Activist Songbook," a collection of 53 contemporary protest songs derived from community interviews, launches Thursday May 3rd at Asian Arts. Composer Byron Au Yong and Lyricist Aaron Jafferis speak with Imani Roach about collective action and how Asian American narratives complicate the American racial landscape.

Sueyeun Juliette Lee speaks with Imani Roach about her site-specific installation and performance piece, Piece Light, which premieres on Thursday May 3rd as a part of the Asian Arts Initiative’s 25th anniversary celebration weekend. They talk collaboration, the future of the Korean peninsula, and the boundless imagination that peace requires.

For years, multidisciplinary performer Martha Stuckey has commanded stages in a brightly-colored wig and stilettos as the lead singer of Red 40 and the Last Groovement, Philadelphia’s premier clown-funk-cabaret band. Now she is preparing to strike a more personal note in her upcoming commissioned show, Due to Sensitive Nature, on view April 12th-14th at the Kimmel Center’s SEI Innovation Studio. She speaks with Imani Roach about taking risks, growing up singing in Lutheran church, and what it means to be a woman in charge. How did kettle corn and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit help to shape her performance trajectory? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Martha at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on April 3rd, 2018; the podcast is 51 minutes long.

When multi-media artists Lucia Alber and Katie Rauth first met as interns at Vox Populi Gallery, they recognized in each other a shared interest in the performance of gender and an attraction to similar forms and materials. Since their earliest collaborations in 2016, they have continued to build a powerful friendship both inside and outside of the studio — a friendship which served as an important source of support during Lucia’s recent experience being stalked by a man who serviced her car at a local Jiffy Lube. Here they speak with Matt Kalasky, about Leave Worry Behind, the body of work that emerged from that harrowing experience, on display at Practice Gallery beginning Friday, April 6th. This work, created by Alber and curated by Rauth, uses French boudoir aesthetics to examine the sexual politics of car culture. What is a “sulking room” and how much self-care is too much self care? Listen to find out. Matt interviewed Lucia and Katie at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on April 4th,

Though still in her early-30s, local renaissance woman Lauren NeFesha has already lived many lives. Now this former fashion student (and nationally-ranked boxing champion) is making a name for herself as a songwriter and mosaic artist. She chats with Artblog’s Imani Roach about speaking up for the most marginalized among us and allowing curiosity to be her guide without judgement. What do a mosaic and a boxing match have in common? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Lauren at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on March 16th, 2018; the podcast is 33 minutes long.

Kara Springer works at the intersection of sculpture, photography and language to activate bodies in space. Born in Barbados and raised in Ontario, Canada, this former industrial designer grounds her minimalist aesthetic with careful attention to history and geography. Springer speaks with Artblog’s Imani Roach about diaspora, legibility and her current installation at The Galleries at Moore — Ten Days Before Freedom, a Hymnal. What can perilous landscapes teach us about the nature of built space? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Kara at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on February 26th, 2018; the podcast is 34 minutes long.

As a Chinese-born artist making a life for herself in Philadelphia, Yixuan Pan thinks a lot about translation and the limitations of language. In fact, since earning her MFA from the glass department at Tyler School of Art last year, she has built a rich and varied practice around the insights gained from living with confusion. Here she speaks with Matt Kalasky, ahead of her February 28th collaborative performance at Vox Populi Gallery, about starting with wonder and chasing art across media. Can a conversation where no questions are allowed qualify as studio time? Listen to find out. Matt interviewed Pan at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on February 13th, 2018; the podcast is 21 minutes long.

The Fabric Workshop and Museum, founded in 1977 by arts visionary Marion “Kippy” Boulton Stroud, is celebrating its 40th birthday with a major retrospective exhibit. Process and Practice: 40 Years of Experimentation hilights archived ephemera from the institution’s famed artist-in-residence program that has been preserved for decades in “artist boxes.” Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with Susan Lubowsky Talbott, the Museum’s Executive Director, about exhibiting “failures,” engaging the public, and her legacy. What was the most surprising thing she discovered in those artist boxes? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Susan at the Fabric Workshop and Museum on January 9th, 2018; the podcast is 30 minutes long.

You’ve probably seen Kelli Morgan around town, presenting her research, working with students, moderating conversations with artists, and generally staying busy as PAFA’s first Winston & Carolyn Lowe Curatorial Fellow for Diversity in the Fine Arts. Now she’s heading off on a new adventure as Associate Curator of American Art at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with the Detroit native on the eve of her departure about her unconventional path to museum work and her fresh vision for curating the American canon. Listen to hear her advice for aspiring young curators and much more. Imani interviewed Kelli at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on January 3rd, 2018; the podcast is 39 minutes long.

Wit Lopez is a fiber artist, performer and independent curator whose work encourages audiences to touch, manipulate and even wear it. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with this former theater kid about accessibility, performing for the camera and confronting their body as a spectacle. Can marginalized artists use humor to subvert their relationship to art institutions? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Wit at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on December 12th, 2017; the podcast is 34 minutes long.

Carolyn Lazard uses the experience of chronic illness to explore themes of intimacy, labor and living in relation to others. With a background in video art, Lazard develops her ideas across a range of media including photo, performance, sculpture and the written word. Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with her about returning to her Southeastern PA roots and how disabled artists are changing the pace of institutions. Is there such a thing as JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out)? Listen to find out. Imani interviewed Carolyn at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on October 12th, 2017; the podcast is 41 minutes long.

Artblog recently hosted a lively panel discussion on the Future of Art Writing in conjunction with our 3rd annual New Art Writing Challenge. Our dynamic panelists included artist and Bmore Art contributor, Alexandra Oehmke, performer organizer and writer, Catherine Rush and writer and theater-maker Carlos Roa. The panel was held on Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 at the Galleries at Moore and moderated by Matt Kalasky; the podcast is 76 minutes long.

Artblog’s Imani Roach spoke with artist Lane Speidel about their experiences as an early childhood educator and curator of Make A Space For Me, a performance series for trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming artists, makers, thinkers and audiences. In their own artistic practice, Lane uses performance to re-establishing control over their body in the face of personal trauma and the daily demands of life under capitalism. Across all platforms of their work, safety is a paramount concern— proper grammar, less so. Find out why! Imani interviewed Lane at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on Sept. 21st, 2017; the podcast is 50 minutes long.

Artblog's Imani Roach and Roberta Fallon talked with Taji Ra'oof Nahl about his complex art practice that includes collaboration at its core. Nahl ran his own gallery in Old City from the late 1980s to 2010, where he showed, among others, Terry Adkins' work. Taji was a friend of Adkins, and their practices both involve music, found objects, and researching under-known African American historical figures. In the interview Nahl tells Imani and Roberta about discovering the Colonial-era polymath, Benjamin Banneker, who became the subject of his installation in 'Unlisted,' the big multi-curator, multi-artist show at Icebox Project Space in 2016. We interviewed Taji Nahl at Moore College of Art and Design's TGMR radio station on Sept. 14, 2017, and the podcast is 37 minutes long.

Carl(os) Roa is bringing Andean Mountains, his Fringe Festival solo performance, to Taller Puertorriqueño Sept. 7-15, 2017. Roa tells Roberta and Imani that Andean Mountains is about a generational displacement between Latin youth who love anime and manga and their elders' who love telenovelas. How can the children of immigrants reconcile the various streams of culture coming at them? By repurposing familial culture and making it your own, says Roa. Andean Mountains will have digital elements, movement, and storytelling, in English and Spanish. Get your tickets now, this is going to be great!