May 18, 2025 • 20 mins
"What would creativity do?" The question that transformed my retirement anxiety into the ArtStorming podcast. Now 30+ episodes in, I'm just getting started. Season 2 will explore art, legacy & death—because the most meaningful conversations often begin at the edges.
Music for ArtStorming the City Different was written and performed by John Cruikshank.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ever wonder what makes really creative people
tick?
Where do their ideas come from?
What keeps them energized?
What kinds of things get intheir way?
Is their life really as muchfun as it looks from the outside
?
Hello, I'm your host, liliPierpont, and this is
ArtStorming, a podcast about hownew ideas come to life and
become paintings, sculptures,plays or poems, performances or
(00:25):
collections.
Each episode, I'll chat with aguest from the arts community
and explore how the mostcreative among us stare down a
blank canvas or reach into thevoid and create something new.
So my next guest is me, yourhost, lili Pierpont.
Almost a full season and we'rejust over a year in.
(00:50):
I decided it might be a goodidea for me to give you some
context how we got here, wherewe're going.
Heartfelt thank you to all myguests and listeners for
supporting this project so far.
(01:10):
I had no idea when I startedthis project that it would
become such a labor of love andcourage and, as you'll hear, it
took quite a leap of faith.
I also want to lead with sayingthat doing this episode is
really outside my comfort zone,even though I've published 30
conversations to date.
It's a whole other thing to behere alone with the mic.
But one of the reasons I tookon this project was to test the
(01:33):
theory that by providinglisteners with insights into the
creative process, they could beinspired and encouraged to
embark on journeys of their own.
So it's only fair that I sharesome of what my journey has been
, because it hasn't been astraight line and certainly not
always comfortable, but I haveto say it has been magic.
(01:54):
I attribute some of that magicto Santa Fe, the city different
here in the land of enchantment.
There's a saying here in SantaFe that, or there's a saying
here that Santa Fe either drawsyou in or spits you out.
When I decided to pause hereeight years ago, I didn't know
(02:14):
what plans Santa Fe had for me,but I guess Santa Fe did.
And I say pause because at thattime in my life I was on this
walkabout Well, sort of adriveabout really A five-month
cross-country solo road trip.
I called it my Art AcrossAmerica tour and there's a
backstory that I won't go intohere.
(02:34):
But that road trip was thebeginning of that great streak
of magic which, in retrospect,was leading me unwittingly and
meanderingly to Santa Fe.
Had I known, I would have beendead set against it.
I had history with Santa Fe.
My mother had moved here in thelate 80s and lived here until
(02:55):
her untimely death in 1994.
I'd come out from time to time,mostly for the picturesque,
snowy Christmases, and I musthave also come out for spring at
some point, because I can stillsee and smell the lilacs and
wisteria draping all over theadobe walls and the turquoise
blue skies, and it wasenchanting for sure.
(03:16):
But the tragedy of my mother'sfatal skydiving accident kind of
turned me off of everythingthat had initially attracted me.
That last time I came back toSanta Fe for her memorial
service, I never imagined I'dstep foot in this town again,
and I didn't until 22 yearslater.
So people who know me know thatI've moved around a lot and I've
(03:38):
had many different chapters,and I guess I've gotten pretty
good at reinventing myself.
The only thing the chaptershaven't had in common is that I
never know what's coming next,and my Art Across America tour
in 2016 was no exception.
It was essentially a researchtrip, part exploring art, part
(03:59):
exploring myself, with a dash oftrying to put some distance
between myself and a recentpainful experience.
I was raw and wide open, with aglimmer of a plan, and the plan
was that, wherever I ultimatelylanded, I was preparing to
launch an art travel businesscalled Urban Art Tripping.
So this trip was partiallyscouting possible art locations
(04:23):
to take future clients.
But I had no particularitinerary, I just followed my
nose and I found some greatdestinations.
I mean, I could do a wholeepisode just on the road trip,
and maybe someday I will.
Anyway, about halfway throughthe trip, I met up with some old
pals in Marfa, texas, and wedid the art thing in Marfa.
And then we headed up to SantaFe and it was my first time back
(04:46):
since mom's accident, but I waswith good friends and we had a
fantastic time.
And then the girls headed backto the east coast and I decided
to hang out in Santa Fe for afew more days before continuing
on my journey.
It was strange to be back, andthere's a lot more to this story
but, among other things, Iended up running into some old
(05:06):
friends of my mother's and well,I kind of can't explain it,
something just shifted.
Long story short, I continuedmy trip for another couple of
months and then I ended upcoming back through Santa Fe for
Christmas of 2016.
By that time I'd been on theroad for about five months and I
was road-weary.
I found a rental and decided togive myself a year to figure
(05:28):
things out.
But before that year came to aclose, I had purchased a house
and had established the globalheadquarters for urban
art-tripping, santa Fe.
But instead of urbanart-tripping across America, I
decided to offer immersive,art-based excursions to
off-the-beaten-pathinternational destinations like
(05:48):
Tbilisi, japan and South Africa.
The plan was that I would takea small group of mostly
empty-nester women to tour artstudios and private collections
by day, with special eventsplanned for the evening.
By day, with special eventsplanned for the evening.
I wanted to provide my clientswith the same kind of thrill of
(06:09):
the unknown that I hadexperienced on my road trip, to
ignite all of their senses,encourage courageous
explorations and provideunforgettable experiences that
would unite the group in a veryintimate way.
And because of all the magicthat I discovered here in Santa
Fe, I also designed a similarfive-day offering here, and it
featured morning rituals toprepare the client for a shift
(06:30):
of sensory perceptions that we'd, you know, experience later in
the day.
And then we'd spend the dayconversing with various
hand-selected artists in theirstudios and then finish the day
with a special dining event ineither a gallery or the home of
a private collector.
So it was a really deep diveinto the creative process and
community and I lovedintroducing visitors to all the
(06:53):
amazing people that I'd metsince moving here and I loved
exposing them to the passion andcreativity of the arts in this
immersive way and I was solooking forward to the
conversations that would ensueand the adventures we have and
all the communities we wouldbuild.
And then, literally the month Iwas to formally launch poof
COVID, suddenly we were allholed up in our little bubbles
(07:16):
of safety and just trying not toget sick alone, isolated, and
trying not to go mad alone,isolated, and trying not to go
mad.
And we all have our versions ofhow that went right.
Anyway, as the world started tocome back online, it seemed a
different place.
Suddenly, the idea of takinggroups of people to faraway
(07:37):
places or even hosting them herein Santa Fe no longer felt like
a prudent idea.
I was crushed.
I mean, I still firmly believedin the values of those
immersive experiences.
I had spent many months, evenyears, cultivating relationships
and formulating the mostexciting and evocative
experiences I could imagine.
(07:58):
And now what?
Well?
That question lingered with mefor a long time I kept asking
myself what was at the veryheart of urban art tripping and
what was I really trying toaccomplish?
What might be another way ofaccomplishing that sense of
community and explorationwithout all the worrisome
(08:19):
downsides?
I mean, should I just retire?
And what did that even mean?
Now I was in the exactsituation with the same dilemma
as the women for whom I'dcreated Urban Art Tripping, and
then I thought what wouldcreativity do?
I sat with that question formonths.
Then one day I was walking downthe beach on the East Coast
(08:42):
listening to a podcast hosted byJulia Louis Dreyfus called
Wiser Than Me, and I waslistening with the hope of
gleaning some morsels of wisdomabout how to either retire
gracefully or enter into mythird act, as Jane Fonda called
it in her episode.
It was so inspiring to hear allthese fabulous Wiser Than Me
women share their insights, andthey reminded me of so many of
(09:05):
my I call them octogenarianwomen friends here in Santa Fe,
and I started thinking I need togo back to Santa Fe and record
some of those conversations withmy fabulous older women friends
.
And then it hit me how aboutconversations with all my artist
friends?
Wouldn't that be fun, and notjust from the Santa Fe community
, but all the artists I've metalong the way and that I've
(09:26):
wanted to introduce to others.
And what if I could take thoseinspiring exchanges and
broadcast them to a largeraudience?
Well, maybe this was an evenbetter idea.
I had already personallyexperienced the positive impact
that conversations withcreatives had had on my own life
.
I knew firsthand how powerfulit is to have access to one's
(09:47):
creativity for everything fromsolving simple life problems to
solving the question of what todo next on one's personal
journey.
If at the heart of urban arttripping was the desire to
connect people to their owncreative reserves by exposing
them to the people whoseday-to-day lives are all about
(10:07):
that, then a podcast mightaccomplish that and keep me
engaged in that conversation aswell.
Hmm, win-win.
I decided to explore what wasalready out there, assuming that
I would find a ton, andactually, to my surprise, I
didn't find a whole lot.
There were podcasts about artand artists, but none that I
could find that had that inquiryinto the creative process that
(10:30):
I was searching for.
So that's where the concept ofart storming was born, and that
was the summer of 2023.
Up to that point, my onlyexperience of podcasts besides
that Julia Louis-Dreyfus series,which had inspired me was the
occasional serial thriller on aroad trip.
I knew exactly nothing abouthow to structure a podcast, how
(10:53):
to record a podcast, how tomarket a podcast nothing.
And so this whole thing beganas a lark, sprinkled with some,
you know, hope that maybe I'dfind a way to recover from the
curveball that COVID had thrownme.
And you know continue my deepcuriosity about the creative
process.
I was not sure whether I'd bean effective interviewer or even
(11:13):
find an audience, but I knewhow to have conversations and I
had a ton of people I wanted totalk to.
I even figured I had thebeginnings of an audience
because I, during COVID, I hadstarted an online arts club on
social media which had grown toabout 3,000 members, so surely
at least some of these peoplewould be interested in these
(11:33):
conversations.
So I figured I had content andan audience and I could learn
how to use a mic, and I waspretty sure that I could learn
everything else I needed to knowfrom watching a YouTube video.
And so I got enthusiastic aboutthe project and felt optimistic
because, unlike urban arttripping, it wasn't gonna, you
know, have, I wasn't gonna haveto go out on a huge financial
(11:54):
limb to explore it further andat this point my ignorance was
still bliss.
So I shared the idea with myfamily and, to my surprise, they
thought it was a really goodidea and suggested that I set it
up as a 501c3.
They knew that I had sunkeverything into urban art
tripping and thought it would beprudent for me to structure it
(12:15):
as a nonprofit so that if it didwork I could get support from
foundations, grants and privatefunding et cetera.
But I wasn't all that gung-hoon the nonprofit idea.
It felt like more of acommitment that I was willing to
make at that point and I knewthat the learning curve on
(12:35):
producing the podcast was goingto be steep enough.
Plus, I'd been on the inside ofnonprofits enough to know how
challenging it can be to build afunctional organization with a
cooperative working board andall that.
But I thought, what the hell?
Okay, I'll set it up and justsee what would happen.
And if the podcast didn't workout, maybe the next harebrained
idea would.
And you know, remember I toldyou about those gal pals that I
(12:58):
met up with in Marfa.
Well, I recruited them to be myexecutive board and the
nonprofit Art Bridge was born.
I spent the next few monthsresearching everything from
setting up a non-profit to whatmic to use, to what platform to
use to host it and basicallyeverything that it was going to
take to make a go of it, and Istill had not taped a single
(13:20):
conversation.
I did my first interview usingmy iPhone as a mic, but then I
realized I needed to get therecording from my phone into a
format that could be heard byothers.
Long story short, there was alot to learn.
I did my first interview in thefall and, as I suspected, that
was the easiest part of theprocess.
Once I learned the equipment, Iapproached other artist friends
(13:43):
and asked them if they'd be myguinea pigs and, to my surprise,
all agreed, and before I knewit, I had recorded 12 interviews
.
I then had to figure out how Iwas going to edit, package,
distribute, market my firstbatch of episodes, and at that
time I also decided that, sincethe first batch were all in
Santa Fe, it might be fun tohave a companion group
(14:03):
exhibition of the artwork tokick off the series.
Now, my beau at the time had agallery that was in between
programs, and so when Isuggested the idea, he was
enthusiastic.
Incidentally, he was also oneof the people I'd interviewed,
so he was already on board withthe whole thing and really
supportive.
By the end of April 2024, Istarted dropping episodes and by
(14:27):
the kickoff party in June I'dpublished 16 episodes and hung
an exhibition representing all16 guests.
I considered the whole thing ahuge success at close to a
thousand downloads at that pointand I was having a blast.
The feedback I was getting wasreally positive and, as far as I
was concerned, the experimenthad worked.
(14:48):
Feedback I was getting wasreally positive and, as far as I
was concerned, the experimenthad worked.
I was ready to call season one awrap and move on to second
season.
I actually have seven distinctideas for seasons based on
various topics, but at this timeI was no longer in the
ignorance is bliss phase.
Getting these first 16 episodeshad been a Herculean task and a
huge learning curve had been aHerculean task and a huge
(15:10):
learning curve.
I knew that if I wanted to domore, I'd need to dial in more
of a structure and I'd need toget some help and resources
beyond my own savings.
I started to really appreciatemy family's logic of creating a
non-profit business structure tosupport the project, and so,
after the launch partyexhibition came down, I turned
my focus to building aninfrastructure to carry it all.
(15:30):
It was clear that my strengthwas actually producing the
podcasts, but the other aspectsof making the series successful
were equally important andscreaming for attention.
It was then that I decided togive myself a little break and,
rather than go into a new season, I'd continue with City
Different while I worked out theinternal support structures and
(15:52):
there were certainly severalmore people to talk to.
I mean, I barely scratched thesurface, and I can tell you that
30 plus episodes in at a rateof two per month, I still
haven't scratched the surface.
So I could probably keep thefocus to Santa Fe, but I do have
more than I want to do.
So we still have severalepisodes planned for the
remainder of the season, forseason one, and then we have a
(16:13):
really exciting grand finaleepisode, which I'm going to tell
you about.
So, as I mentioned earlier, oneof the key purposes of hosting
and posting these conversationswith creatives is to help all of
us activate our ownimaginations for problem solving
and enhancing our own qualityof life on an individual level.
But how might we use theseconversations or conversations
(16:38):
like this to solve problems andenhance our quality of life at
the community level?
In pondering that question, Ithought it would be interesting
to open the lens and have thelast few conversations be with
leaders from the variouscommunity arts organizations
here in Santa Fe to explore howwe can use our collective
creativity to solve our greatercommunity challenges.
(17:01):
I mean especially now with allthe changes happening that are
directly impacting our artscommunities and communities
everywhere.
Really Well, the result of thatpondering is that my nonprofit,
artbridge, and I, in my role ashost of ArtStorming, are
partnering with the Center forContemporary Arts here in Santa
(17:22):
Fe for an event we're callingthe Collaboration Lab, and
Collaboration Lab will be afour-part series of panel
discussions on the state of thearts in Santa Fe and New Mexico.
The idea is to address thecritical need for community
mobilization, partnerships andcollaboration in these extremely
challenging and tumultuoustimes.
(17:43):
These art-storming talks willhappen on Wednesday evenings in
July, culminating in a finalevent where all the ideas are
brought together and woven intoworking partnerships and
actionable ideas for futurecollaborations.
So all the sessions will berecorded and then I'll create an
abbreviated version for thefinal episode of season one, and
(18:05):
if you're local, I hope you'lljoin us for the live event.
And if you're local, I hopeyou'll join us for the live
event.
And if you're not local, I'msure there'll be plenty of
relevant and exportable ideasthat you can get from the
podcast for your own communities.
Now, after that event,artstorming will start to roll
out season two.
We'll be broadening thegeographical scope and talking
to artists from all over thecountry about art and legacy and
(18:30):
death.
As muse Funds permitting,season two will also have a
companion exhibition of memorialarts.
Objects, which will be titled,remains to be Seen.
My hope for this is to be atraveling exhibition, so if you
know of any fabulous creativesthat you think would fit into
the category or spaces thatmight like to host the
(18:50):
exhibitions, I'd love to hearfrom you.
And, as with season one, I havea feeling I could extend this
season to a full year or more,since there are so many
interesting and inspiring waysto talk about death and legacy,
and it's a topic which has depthafter death, so stay tuned for
lots more about that.
Season three just a sneakpreview will focus on art, the
(19:11):
arts and neurodiversity, and I'mcalling that one Mind at Large.
And there are more than seasonsafter that.
So no shortage of conversationsto be had and already many,
many ideas emerging about how wecan turn these conversations
into actionable initiatives.
And yes, it's ambitious, butthese are important and
(19:33):
necessary conversations, all ofthem.
So that's my story so far.
I hope you will tune in andlisten to more episodes, share
these conversations with peoplewho you think will enjoy them.
And here's the big ask Engage,explore, discover what makes
your heart sing, talk tostrangers and, if you feel so
(19:53):
moved, please do join us in ourmission to cultivate curiosity
and imagination in our world.
You can go to our Artbridgewebsite, join our sub stack,
subscribe and support us in anyway that feels right to you.
You could even become a memberof what we're calling our Arts
Corps Think Peace Corps for thearts boots on the ground.
The details are on our website.
(20:14):
Thank you and art on.
Well, thanks for joining ustoday.
Please like and follow us onartstormingorg, where you'll
find a list of our shows, atranscript of this episode with
links to the guest page, as wellas our other projects.
Art Storming is brought to youand supported by Artbridge and
(20:34):
listeners like you Look for uson your favorite podcast
platforms.
Ever wonder what makes really creative people
tick?
Where do their ideas come from?
What keeps them energized?
What kinds of things get intheir way?
Is their life really as muchfun as it looks from the outside
?
Hello, I'm your host, liliPierpont, and this is
ArtStorming, a podcast about hownew ideas come to life and
become paintings, sculptures,plays or poems, performances or
(00:25):
collections.
Each episode, I'll chat with aguest from the arts community
and explore how the mostcreative among us stare down a
blank canvas or reach into thevoid and create something new.
So my next guest is me, yourhost, lili Pierpont.
Almost a full season and we'rejust over a year in.
(00:50):
I decided it might be a goodidea for me to give you some
context how we got here, wherewe're going.
Heartfelt thank you to all myguests and listeners for
supporting this project so far.
(01:10):
I had no idea when I startedthis project that it would
become such a labor of love andcourage and, as you'll hear, it
took quite a leap of faith.
I also want to lead with sayingthat doing this episode is
really outside my comfort zone,even though I've published 30
conversations to date.
It's a whole other thing to behere alone with the mic.
But one of the reasons I tookon this project was to test the
(01:33):
theory that by providinglisteners with insights into the
creative process, they could beinspired and encouraged to
embark on journeys of their own.
So it's only fair that I sharesome of what my journey has been
, because it hasn't been astraight line and certainly not
always comfortable, but I haveto say it has been magic.
(01:54):
I attribute some of that magicto Santa Fe, the city different
here in the land of enchantment.
There's a saying here in SantaFe that, or there's a saying
here that Santa Fe either drawsyou in or spits you out.
When I decided to pause hereeight years ago, I didn't know
(02:14):
what plans Santa Fe had for me,but I guess Santa Fe did.
And I say pause because at thattime in my life I was on this
walkabout Well, sort of adriveabout really A five-month
cross-country solo road trip.
I called it my Art AcrossAmerica tour and there's a
backstory that I won't go intohere.
(02:34):
But that road trip was thebeginning of that great streak
of magic which, in retrospect,was leading me unwittingly and
meanderingly to Santa Fe.
Had I known, I would have beendead set against it.
I had history with Santa Fe.
My mother had moved here in thelate 80s and lived here until
(02:55):
her untimely death in 1994.
I'd come out from time to time,mostly for the picturesque,
snowy Christmases, and I musthave also come out for spring at
some point, because I can stillsee and smell the lilacs and
wisteria draping all over theadobe walls and the turquoise
blue skies, and it wasenchanting for sure.
(03:16):
But the tragedy of my mother'sfatal skydiving accident kind of
turned me off of everythingthat had initially attracted me.
That last time I came back toSanta Fe for her memorial
service, I never imagined I'dstep foot in this town again,
and I didn't until 22 yearslater.
So people who know me know thatI've moved around a lot and I've
(03:38):
had many different chapters,and I guess I've gotten pretty
good at reinventing myself.
The only thing the chaptershaven't had in common is that I
never know what's coming next,and my Art Across America tour
in 2016 was no exception.
It was essentially a researchtrip, part exploring art, part
(03:59):
exploring myself, with a dash oftrying to put some distance
between myself and a recentpainful experience.
I was raw and wide open, with aglimmer of a plan, and the plan
was that, wherever I ultimatelylanded, I was preparing to
launch an art travel businesscalled Urban Art Tripping.
So this trip was partiallyscouting possible art locations
(04:23):
to take future clients.
But I had no particularitinerary, I just followed my
nose and I found some greatdestinations.
I mean, I could do a wholeepisode just on the road trip,
and maybe someday I will.
Anyway, about halfway throughthe trip, I met up with some old
pals in Marfa, texas, and wedid the art thing in Marfa.
And then we headed up to SantaFe and it was my first time back
(04:46):
since mom's accident, but I waswith good friends and we had a
fantastic time.
And then the girls headed backto the east coast and I decided
to hang out in Santa Fe for afew more days before continuing
on my journey.
It was strange to be back, andthere's a lot more to this story
but, among other things, Iended up running into some old
(05:06):
friends of my mother's and well,I kind of can't explain it,
something just shifted.
Long story short, I continuedmy trip for another couple of
months and then I ended upcoming back through Santa Fe for
Christmas of 2016.
By that time I'd been on theroad for about five months and I
was road-weary.
I found a rental and decided togive myself a year to figure
(05:28):
things out.
But before that year came to aclose, I had purchased a house
and had established the globalheadquarters for urban
art-tripping, santa Fe.
But instead of urbanart-tripping across America, I
decided to offer immersive,art-based excursions to
off-the-beaten-pathinternational destinations like
(05:48):
Tbilisi, japan and South Africa.
The plan was that I would takea small group of mostly
empty-nester women to tour artstudios and private collections
by day, with special eventsplanned for the evening.
By day, with special eventsplanned for the evening.
I wanted to provide my clientswith the same kind of thrill of
(06:09):
the unknown that I hadexperienced on my road trip, to
ignite all of their senses,encourage courageous
explorations and provideunforgettable experiences that
would unite the group in a veryintimate way.
And because of all the magicthat I discovered here in Santa
Fe, I also designed a similarfive-day offering here, and it
featured morning rituals toprepare the client for a shift
(06:30):
of sensory perceptions that we'd, you know, experience later in
the day.
And then we'd spend the dayconversing with various
hand-selected artists in theirstudios and then finish the day
with a special dining event ineither a gallery or the home of
a private collector.
So it was a really deep diveinto the creative process and
community and I lovedintroducing visitors to all the
(06:53):
amazing people that I'd metsince moving here and I loved
exposing them to the passion andcreativity of the arts in this
immersive way and I was solooking forward to the
conversations that would ensueand the adventures we have and
all the communities we wouldbuild.
And then, literally the month Iwas to formally launch poof
COVID, suddenly we were allholed up in our little bubbles
(07:16):
of safety and just trying not toget sick alone, isolated, and
trying not to go mad alone,isolated, and trying not to go
mad.
And we all have our versions ofhow that went right.
Anyway, as the world started tocome back online, it seemed a
different place.
Suddenly, the idea of takinggroups of people to faraway
(07:37):
places or even hosting them herein Santa Fe no longer felt like
a prudent idea.
I was crushed.
I mean, I still firmly believedin the values of those
immersive experiences.
I had spent many months, evenyears, cultivating relationships
and formulating the mostexciting and evocative
experiences I could imagine.
(07:58):
And now what?
Well?
That question lingered with mefor a long time I kept asking
myself what was at the veryheart of urban art tripping and
what was I really trying toaccomplish?
What might be another way ofaccomplishing that sense of
community and explorationwithout all the worrisome
(08:19):
downsides?
I mean, should I just retire?
And what did that even mean?
Now I was in the exactsituation with the same dilemma
as the women for whom I'dcreated Urban Art Tripping, and
then I thought what wouldcreativity do?
I sat with that question formonths.
Then one day I was walking downthe beach on the East Coast
(08:42):
listening to a podcast hosted byJulia Louis Dreyfus called
Wiser Than Me, and I waslistening with the hope of
gleaning some morsels of wisdomabout how to either retire
gracefully or enter into mythird act, as Jane Fonda called
it in her episode.
It was so inspiring to hear allthese fabulous Wiser Than Me
women share their insights, andthey reminded me of so many of
(09:05):
my I call them octogenarianwomen friends here in Santa Fe,
and I started thinking I need togo back to Santa Fe and record
some of those conversations withmy fabulous older women friends
.
And then it hit me how aboutconversations with all my artist
friends?
Wouldn't that be fun, and notjust from the Santa Fe community
, but all the artists I've metalong the way and that I've
(09:26):
wanted to introduce to others.
And what if I could take thoseinspiring exchanges and
broadcast them to a largeraudience?
Well, maybe this was an evenbetter idea.
I had already personallyexperienced the positive impact
that conversations withcreatives had had on my own life
.
I knew firsthand how powerfulit is to have access to one's
(09:47):
creativity for everything fromsolving simple life problems to
solving the question of what todo next on one's personal
journey.
If at the heart of urban arttripping was the desire to
connect people to their owncreative reserves by exposing
them to the people whoseday-to-day lives are all about
(10:07):
that, then a podcast mightaccomplish that and keep me
engaged in that conversation aswell.
Hmm, win-win.
I decided to explore what wasalready out there, assuming that
I would find a ton, andactually, to my surprise, I
didn't find a whole lot.
There were podcasts about artand artists, but none that I
could find that had that inquiryinto the creative process that
(10:30):
I was searching for.
So that's where the concept ofart storming was born, and that
was the summer of 2023.
Up to that point, my onlyexperience of podcasts besides
that Julia Louis-Dreyfus series,which had inspired me was the
occasional serial thriller on aroad trip.
I knew exactly nothing abouthow to structure a podcast, how
(10:53):
to record a podcast, how tomarket a podcast nothing.
And so this whole thing beganas a lark, sprinkled with some,
you know, hope that maybe I'dfind a way to recover from the
curveball that COVID had thrownme.
And you know continue my deepcuriosity about the creative
process.
I was not sure whether I'd bean effective interviewer or even
(11:13):
find an audience, but I knewhow to have conversations and I
had a ton of people I wanted totalk to.
I even figured I had thebeginnings of an audience
because I, during COVID, I hadstarted an online arts club on
social media which had grown toabout 3,000 members, so surely
at least some of these peoplewould be interested in these
(11:33):
conversations.
So I figured I had content andan audience and I could learn
how to use a mic, and I waspretty sure that I could learn
everything else I needed to knowfrom watching a YouTube video.
And so I got enthusiastic aboutthe project and felt optimistic
because, unlike urban arttripping, it wasn't gonna, you
know, have, I wasn't gonna haveto go out on a huge financial
(11:54):
limb to explore it further andat this point my ignorance was
still bliss.
So I shared the idea with myfamily and, to my surprise, they
thought it was a really goodidea and suggested that I set it
up as a 501c3.
They knew that I had sunkeverything into urban art
tripping and thought it would beprudent for me to structure it
(12:15):
as a nonprofit so that if it didwork I could get support from
foundations, grants and privatefunding et cetera.
But I wasn't all that gung-hoon the nonprofit idea.
It felt like more of acommitment that I was willing to
make at that point and I knewthat the learning curve on
(12:35):
producing the podcast was goingto be steep enough.
Plus, I'd been on the inside ofnonprofits enough to know how
challenging it can be to build afunctional organization with a
cooperative working board andall that.
But I thought, what the hell?
Okay, I'll set it up and justsee what would happen.
And if the podcast didn't workout, maybe the next harebrained
idea would.
And you know, remember I toldyou about those gal pals that I
(12:58):
met up with in Marfa.
Well, I recruited them to be myexecutive board and the
nonprofit Art Bridge was born.
I spent the next few monthsresearching everything from
setting up a non-profit to whatmic to use, to what platform to
use to host it and basicallyeverything that it was going to
take to make a go of it, and Istill had not taped a single
(13:20):
conversation.
I did my first interview usingmy iPhone as a mic, but then I
realized I needed to get therecording from my phone into a
format that could be heard byothers.
Long story short, there was alot to learn.
I did my first interview in thefall and, as I suspected, that
was the easiest part of theprocess.
Once I learned the equipment, Iapproached other artist friends
(13:43):
and asked them if they'd be myguinea pigs and, to my surprise,
all agreed, and before I knewit, I had recorded 12 interviews
.
I then had to figure out how Iwas going to edit, package,
distribute, market my firstbatch of episodes, and at that
time I also decided that, sincethe first batch were all in
Santa Fe, it might be fun tohave a companion group
(14:03):
exhibition of the artwork tokick off the series.
Now, my beau at the time had agallery that was in between
programs, and so when Isuggested the idea, he was
enthusiastic.
Incidentally, he was also oneof the people I'd interviewed,
so he was already on board withthe whole thing and really
supportive.
By the end of April 2024, Istarted dropping episodes and by
(14:27):
the kickoff party in June I'dpublished 16 episodes and hung
an exhibition representing all16 guests.
I considered the whole thing ahuge success at close to a
thousand downloads at that pointand I was having a blast.
The feedback I was getting wasreally positive and, as far as I
was concerned, the experimenthad worked.
(14:48):
Feedback I was getting wasreally positive and, as far as I
was concerned, the experimenthad worked.
I was ready to call season one awrap and move on to second
season.
I actually have seven distinctideas for seasons based on
various topics, but at this timeI was no longer in the
ignorance is bliss phase.
Getting these first 16 episodeshad been a Herculean task and a
huge learning curve had been aHerculean task and a huge
(15:10):
learning curve.
I knew that if I wanted to domore, I'd need to dial in more
of a structure and I'd need toget some help and resources
beyond my own savings.
I started to really appreciatemy family's logic of creating a
non-profit business structure tosupport the project, and so,
after the launch partyexhibition came down, I turned
my focus to building aninfrastructure to carry it all.
(15:30):
It was clear that my strengthwas actually producing the
podcasts, but the other aspectsof making the series successful
were equally important andscreaming for attention.
It was then that I decided togive myself a little break and,
rather than go into a new season, I'd continue with City
Different while I worked out theinternal support structures and
(15:52):
there were certainly severalmore people to talk to.
I mean, I barely scratched thesurface, and I can tell you that
30 plus episodes in at a rateof two per month, I still
haven't scratched the surface.
So I could probably keep thefocus to Santa Fe, but I do have
more than I want to do.
So we still have severalepisodes planned for the
remainder of the season, forseason one, and then we have a
(16:13):
really exciting grand finaleepisode, which I'm going to tell
you about.
So, as I mentioned earlier, oneof the key purposes of hosting
and posting these conversationswith creatives is to help all of
us activate our ownimaginations for problem solving
and enhancing our own qualityof life on an individual level.
But how might we use theseconversations or conversations
(16:38):
like this to solve problems andenhance our quality of life at
the community level?
In pondering that question, Ithought it would be interesting
to open the lens and have thelast few conversations be with
leaders from the variouscommunity arts organizations
here in Santa Fe to explore howwe can use our collective
creativity to solve our greatercommunity challenges.
(17:01):
I mean especially now with allthe changes happening that are
directly impacting our artscommunities and communities
everywhere.
Really Well, the result of thatpondering is that my nonprofit,
artbridge, and I, in my role ashost of ArtStorming, are
partnering with the Center forContemporary Arts here in Santa
(17:22):
Fe for an event we're callingthe Collaboration Lab, and
Collaboration Lab will be afour-part series of panel
discussions on the state of thearts in Santa Fe and New Mexico.
The idea is to address thecritical need for community
mobilization, partnerships andcollaboration in these extremely
challenging and tumultuoustimes.
(17:43):
These art-storming talks willhappen on Wednesday evenings in
July, culminating in a finalevent where all the ideas are
brought together and woven intoworking partnerships and
actionable ideas for futurecollaborations.
So all the sessions will berecorded and then I'll create an
abbreviated version for thefinal episode of season one, and
(18:05):
if you're local, I hope you'lljoin us for the live event.
And if you're local, I hopeyou'll join us for the live
event.
And if you're not local, I'msure there'll be plenty of
relevant and exportable ideasthat you can get from the
podcast for your own communities.
Now, after that event,artstorming will start to roll
out season two.
We'll be broadening thegeographical scope and talking
to artists from all over thecountry about art and legacy and
(18:30):
death.
As muse Funds permitting,season two will also have a
companion exhibition of memorialarts.
Objects, which will be titled,remains to be Seen.
My hope for this is to be atraveling exhibition, so if you
know of any fabulous creativesthat you think would fit into
the category or spaces thatmight like to host the
(18:50):
exhibitions, I'd love to hearfrom you.
And, as with season one, I havea feeling I could extend this
season to a full year or more,since there are so many
interesting and inspiring waysto talk about death and legacy,
and it's a topic which has depthafter death, so stay tuned for
lots more about that.
Season three just a sneakpreview will focus on art, the
(19:11):
arts and neurodiversity, and I'mcalling that one Mind at Large.
And there are more than seasonsafter that.
So no shortage of conversationsto be had and already many,
many ideas emerging about how wecan turn these conversations
into actionable initiatives.
And yes, it's ambitious, butthese are important and
(19:33):
necessary conversations, all ofthem.
So that's my story so far.
I hope you will tune in andlisten to more episodes, share
these conversations with peoplewho you think will enjoy them.
And here's the big ask Engage,explore, discover what makes
your heart sing, talk tostrangers and, if you feel so
(19:53):
moved, please do join us in ourmission to cultivate curiosity
and imagination in our world.
You can go to our Artbridgewebsite, join our sub stack,
subscribe and support us in anyway that feels right to you.
You could even become a memberof what we're calling our Arts
Corps Think Peace Corps for thearts boots on the ground.
The details are on our website.
(20:14):
Thank you and art on.
Well, thanks for joining ustoday.
Please like and follow us onartstormingorg, where you'll
find a list of our shows, atranscript of this episode with
links to the guest page, as wellas our other projects.
Art Storming is brought to youand supported by Artbridge and
(20:34):
listeners like you Look for uson your favorite podcast
platforms.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.