The Art World: What If...?!

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.

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.

What if we all name our dreams before following them? This episode we welcome Kemi Ilesanmi, the now-former Executive Director of The Laundromat Project, the non-profit focusing on the art of the everyday, amplifying community and artists as citizens and change agents. This show is all about what ifs, and Kemi operates from that place of abundant possibility. What if businesses invested in their staff, seeding future next generations? What if arts organizations functioned as community assets? Tune in for more.

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.”

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.