The Art World: What If...?!

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The Art World: What If...?! Glenstone special, with Emily Rales Apr 06, 2023

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What if we supported artists in taking moonshots? This week we're taking a tour around Glenstone museum in Potomac, Maryland - one of the largest and most ambitious private institutions in America, fusing art, architecture and nature. This wide-ranging conversation between Glenstone's co-founder and director, Emily Rales and host Charlotte Burns covers the art inside the museum and how to create more meaningful visitor experiences, to the Glenstone foundation and future philanthropic plans. "Our values are immutable," Emily says. "Art is essential to life. And sometimes when I say that to people, they're like, what does that even mean? But I really believe that art is essential to our civilization and to humanity." She adds: "Long-term defines the way we think. We're not intending to go out guns a-blazing and then sun-setting the foundation within 20 years. We want this to continue to be sustained in perpetuity—and we really mean that."

The Art World: What If...?! with Pope.L Mar 30, 2023

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What if we made more mess? What if we could sit with discomfort? This time Charlotte Burns talks to one of her heroes, the artist Pope.L. Probably best known for his public performance art including his legendary crawls, Pope.L has risked his own safety for his work — and he isn't finished yet. An artist whose practice is as varied as it is profound, Pope.L makes art across media, time and space. He talks to Charlotte about his new work for a major exhibition involving confederacy monuments, about working with institutions and about his goal to make more mess. "Oh man, you know, like removing every wall in a space and just having no differentiated areas," he says. "That would be one way. The other one would probably be the use of outside and inside. Don't make that a differentiation and then have them agree that we'll do the show in winter. That would be fun!"

The Art World: What If...?! with Kathy Halbreich Mar 23, 2023

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What if we trusted artists more? This episode Charlotte Burns is joined by Kathy Halbreich, the outgoing director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, who's led some of the most dynamic institutions in the art world. They discuss freedom, finances and what the future holds for museums and those who work in them. "You could not pay me enough money to be a museum director at this point in my life," says Kathy. "Maybe that's just because I really know what the job is and I think it is one of the most misunderstood and genuinely taxing jobs."

The Art World: What If...?! with Allan Schwartzman Mar 16, 2023

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Time to take stock this episode with hosts Charlotte Burns and Allan Schwartzman. We look back at some of the big ideas that have emerged throughout the series so far. From change and creativity, to finance and futures, we discuss what's amazed, delighted—and even filled us with hope. "I think a lot more about excess than abundance," says Allan. "There is a generosity with which the word abundance has been used by a number of the people we've interviewed. I think that that sense of generosity and of abundance comes from an awareness of what the opposite is. And each of these people, in their own way, is either being given power or seizing power — and doing so to create a better world." Tune in for this very special episode.

The Art World: What If...?! LA Special with Cauleen Smith and Kibum Kim Mar 09, 2023

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We're still in the city of angels for our second special episode asking 'What if LA is the future?' Join host, Charlotte Burns, as she drives from the East Side to Korea Town and out to Santa Monica. We visit the studio of artist and filmmaker, Cauleen Smith, whose life and work centers around building a better world. We also drop in on Kibum Kim, partner and co-founder at Commonwealth and Council - a gallery building a supportive community of artists - who wants to challenge the high-speed efficiency of the current art world model. Both embody what it means to live in the realm of possibility. "I guess what I'm doing is always looking to the relatively recent past of models where people really did do things differently quite successfully," says Cauleen. Tune in, and subscribe, for more.

The Art World: What If...?! LA Special with Connie Butler and Sue Bell Yank Mar 02, 2023

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What if Los Angeles is the future? This episode Charlotte Burns visits the city for the first of two extra special episodes. We're at the Hammer museum with its Chief curator, Connie Butler, before heading over to meet Sue Bell Yank who's Executive director at Clockshop. Both are experimenting with how to do things differently and how to make LA a sustainable place to be and to create art. Nowhere encapsulates the need to imagine radical new possibilities more than Los Angeles. "LA is an amazing place to think about what our possible futures could look like," says Sue Bell Yank. "It's a place that's at the bleeding edge of a lot of crises, from wildfires to floods. How cultural organizations fit into that is really interesting." Join us for more.

The Art World: What If...?! with American Artist Feb 23, 2023

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What if it were possible to dream up entirely new things? Join host Charlotte Burns as she interviews one of the most interesting artists working today. American Artist — who changed their name in 2013 — produces deeply thoughtful work that is as enmeshed in digitization and technology as it is history and alternate realities. American talks about how their art tackles police violence in the US. They also discuss a newer body of work centering on the life and writings of sci-fi novelist, Octavia E. Butler. American says their work is ultimately hopeful: "If I didn't feel strongly that things could change I wouldn't even bother. But I want everyone else to try as hard as I do."

The Art World: What If...?! with Rashida Bumbray Feb 16, 2023

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This episode, Charlotte Burns is joined by Rashida Bumbray whose career straddles different realms within culture. A choreographer and curator, Rashida aims to create new spaces of imagination, empowerment, and connection. While the data and the daily realities of the art world can reflect a scarcity, Rashida's work—notably the recent organization of artist Simone Leigh's Loophole of Retreat Summit in Venice—reflects an abundance that is intergenerational, interdisciplinary, and inspirational. This summit represented new possibilities, showing the way to new futures through history, excellence, and potential. A giant 'What If' made real. Subscribe for more.

The Art World: What If...?! with Paul Chan Feb 09, 2023

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In this episode, we get into some of the biggest What Ifs —about virtue and value, about life and loss. Host Charlotte Burns is joined by one of the most thoughtfully provocative (or cunning, as he'd say), artists of our time, Paul Chan. He made his name in the early 2000s with film and media works, and by 2008 had found significant success. Then, he stopped making art. Now he's back with a show called Paul Chan: Breathers, where, influenced by sky-dancers, he literally shapes air. He says "Maybe one way to talk about pleasure is a capacity to control our own time. Time may be the only non-human thing I really care about losing. I can lose everything. I think I've lost everything. I'm willing to lose it all, but I'm not willing to lose time, and that to me is more precious than anything else."

The Art World: What If...?! with Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels Feb 02, 2023

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What if the art market had more faith in its own future? What if we could improve the health of the swamp? This episode, we consider the state of the market and who better to join Charlotte Burns than co-host, the art advisor Allan Schwartzman, along with Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels, director at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York and founder of We Buy Gold. Together they discuss the boom and bust, aspiration and desperation - and much more besides.

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