The Art Equation: A Now Be Here Podcast

We’re back in New York! Kim sits down with Dia Art Foundation curator Matilde Guidelli Guidi. The two unpack the central question of what a curator truly is and the work that they do to take an artist’s ideas into reality. Covering Dia’s programming (encompassing both changing and permanent sites and the work of a focused group of artists across the 1960s and 70s), Kim and Matilde chat about the process of realizing works sited in ...

In this episode, Kim and Patricia revisit our ongoing Art & Tech series with transdisciplinary artist Nancy Baker Cahill! Nancy walks us through the origins and inflection points within her artistic practice, spanning paper drawings, virtual reality projects, and monumental augmented reality exhibitions. Our trio discusses some of Nancy’s key literary influences, the animal experience of motherhood, and an artist’s cannibalizat...

Join us for a conversation with the founding director of Creative Capital and longtime arts advocate Ruby Lerner! In this solo episode, Kim sits down with Ruby as she shares invaluable advice about how artists can build a stronger network of long-term support. Ruby draws on her long history as an arts worker and supporter, and shares resources that people in the arts might already have that can move their career to the next level.

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In this episode, reference specialist Elizabeth Botten brings us behind the scenes at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. The conversation dives into Elizabeth’s path to working at the Archives, how deep archival research really works, and everything that goes into documenting, preserving, and accessing original materials from artists and art world figures throughout American history. Kim and Patricia speak to...

Today, our hosts are sitting down with arts writer and cultural storyteller Sala Elise Patterson! The trio discusses the dynamic breadth of Sala’s practice, from experimental documentary projects and her work as a trustee of The Phillips Collection, to her path writing for outlets such as The Atlantic, Kinfolk, Harvard Design Magazine, Vogue, British Journal of Photography and The New York Times. Covering topics such as Black visib...

We're back at the Getty! Today, Kim is solo and chatting with Julie Wolfe, sculpture conservator at The Getty Museum. The pair discuss Julie's path to museum conservation, her book on Roy Lichtenstein's outdoor painted sculptures, and the realities of art couriering. Diving deep into the significance and evolving science of sculpture conservation, Julie offers insights into what it means to steward art for future generations. Bonus...

Welcome to the conservation lab! Kim and Patricia bring on two art conservators from the Getty Research Institute, Melissa Huddleston and Elyse Driscoll, to discuss their paths to becoming conservators, the excitements and challenges of conservation work, and some of their favorite objects in the Getty's collection. Melissa and Elyse offer fascinating insight into the intricacies of the art conservation field and the exiting projec...

We're off to New York! Patricia takes us inside the 2025 College Art Association conference in New York City. Patricia and guest interviewees bring listeners through the experience of being at a conference centered around scholarship and teaching in the visual arts. Providing history, a summary of some of this year's speakers, and artist interviews, this episode brings us back to the central theme of netweaving in the current momen...

Welcome to LA Art Week 2025! Kim gives Patricia a rundown of her experience attending Frieze LA and Felix Art Fair. Including interview clips from surprise guests, our hosts break down the emotional landscape of this year's fairs. Offering thoughts on the relevance of the art fair model and where people from different art world backgrounds fit into the fair ecosystem, Kim, Patricia, and guests talk about approaching the 2025 LA art...

The Art Equation is a podcast from Now Be Here, where art historian and curator Patricia Ortega-Miranda and contemporary artist Kim Schoenstadt talk with artists, writers, curators, registrars, archivists, and more, about everything that goes into pulling off an exhibition and being part of the art world. Now Be Here is a fiscally sponsored nonprofit, hosting a visual directory of women and nonbinary artists to develop opportunitie...