Dr. Giovanni Aloi, Dismantling the Artist Myth

Welcome back to Your World of Creativity—the podcast where we explore inspiration, insight, and imagination across every creative discipline.

Today we’re diving deep into the wild terrain where art, animals, plants, and posthuman philosophy meet. Our guest is Dr. Giovanni Aloi

Giovanni's Website

@dr.aloi on Instagram

Giovanni on YouTube

He is an acclaimed author, educator, curator, and Editor in Chief of Antennae: The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture. He’s also the author of many influential books, including Art & Animals, Speculative Taxidermy, Why Look at Plants?, and most recently, I’m Not an Artist: Reclaiming Creativity in the Age of Infinite Content.

1. "Reclaiming Creativity for Everyone"

Giovanni, your new book I’m Not an Artist opens with a bold statement: that the label “artist” may be holding us back. What inspired this reframe, and how did you come to the conclusion that we need to dismantle the myth of the artist? How do you see this redefining everyday creativity—whether someone is painting, gardening, or arranging a bookshelf?

2. "Do Animals Make Art?"

You’ve challenged the age-old question—“Do animals make art?”—not to answer it definitively, but to expose our biases about creativity. What do you believe animal behavior teaches us about intelligence, design, and expression? You write beautifully about leopard slugs, spiders, and birds. How do their acts of building, weaving, and mating performances reframe what we consider “artistic” or “creative”?

3. "Plant Thinking and Posthuman Aesthetics"

In books like Why Look at Plants? and Estado Vegetal, you explore what plants can teach us about attention, slowness, and presence. What is plant thinking, and how might it change the way we make or appreciate art? You’ve curated exhibitions on vegetal aesthetics—what kind of work emerges when artists engage plants not as symbols, but as collaborators?

4. "Creativity Beyond the Gallery"

You argue that art institutions and academia often perpetuate colonialist and elitist views of creativity. What are some ways we can decentralize this power and expand the definition of who gets to be creative? Can you give an example from your curatorial or academic work where you've seen this kind of creative equity in action?

5. "From Genius to Generosity"

You critique the idea of the “artist genius” as isolating and ego-driven. What happens when we replace genius with generosity, and art with acts of care? In this context, what role do educators, curators, and even podcasters play in cultivating shared creativity?

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