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Frame of Mind

Are you looking for ways to calm your mind and find inspiration? Frame of Mind , an uplifting podcast from The Metropolitan Museum of Art , can help. Hear practical tips and all kinds of personal stories from artists and activists, a barber and a nurse, museum staff, and others about how art supports their well-being. At a time when well-being is more important than ever, learn how art has the power to connect, inspire, and restore us wherever we are.
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Episodes

Immaterial: Stone

Today, Frame of Mind is featuring an episode from another podcast from The Met, Immaterial. Each episode tells the stories of artists' materials to explore how and why people make art. In this episode, we cover stone. Throughout art museums around the world, you’ll find ancient stone statues of rulers and marble monuments immortalizing noblemen. These objects were made to survive decay and destruction, to remain intact and whole. But from the moment that stone is extracted from the earth, it is ...

Jul 18, 202444 minSeason 1Ep. 12

Art and Medicine

Have you heard people say visiting a museum is good for you? Why is that? Grace Calame-Mars, a Nursing Professional Development Specialist, and Carolyn Halpin-Healy, an Art Educator at The Met, know the first-hand benefit of art in museums as a tool to help our well-being. Hear about the art therapy program they helped organize for medical professionals at NYU Langone Hospital, where close-looking exercises improved clinical observation skills and strengthened empathy, which became especially va...

May 11, 202216 minSeason 1Ep. 11

Art Rooted in the Earth

Can art save your life? According to Virgil Ortiz, an artist from the Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico, it can. For Virgil, making pottery with traditional materials and methods is a kind of therapy, a fundamental expression of his culture across generations. Virgil describes how the process itself brings him a sense of purpose and connection to his family, including the prayers he recites before he and his nephews dig clay from their ancestral lands. Given this living legacy, it was a significant m...

May 04, 202214 minSeason 1Ep. 10

Composing New Harmonies

Can the art of music bridge differences that separate us? For Reena Esmail, working as a composer is about more than music: It’s about building what she calls “equitable musical spaces” for the performers and the audience. Born to Indian immigrants, she feels passionately that cultural difference can be a source of richness in both life and music. She remembers one memorable sitar concert at The Met that particularly inspired her to work between the worlds of Western and Indian classical music, ...

Apr 27, 202214 minSeason 1Ep. 9

Seeing Art Through a Pandemic Lens

How does the pandemic change our interpretation of art? Since lockdown, staff members at The Met have discovered that familiar artworks now appear different in profound and personal ways. For Alison Hokanson, assistant curator in the Department of European Paintings, a painting by Edvard Munch speaks to her need for quiet introspection after so much time isolated indoors with her husband and three children. For Abraham Thomas, Daniel Brodsky Curator of Modern Architecture, Design, and Decorative...

Apr 20, 202222 minSeason 1Ep. 8

Art, Haircuts, and Community

How can a physical space be designed to support well-being? While museum galleries might seem a world away from barbershops, to Josh Livingston, both are places for people to gather and connect. Josh is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the American Studies Department at Bard College, and he’s spent many happy hours exploring The Met with his wife and young daughter, Jude. He also hails from a long line of barbers, and in 2020, he opened Friend of a Barber with his business partners. Built for m...

Apr 13, 202215 minSeason 1Ep. 7

Art Closer to Home

Does it make any difference where we see art? For one multidisciplinary artist and feminist, it’s crucial—not just because of who sees it, but what stories get told. Meet Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya. Born to Thai and Indonesian immigrants, she studied neuroscience at Columbia and worked at an Alzheimer’s research lab before becoming a full-time artist, educator, and activist. Today, she chooses to display her work in reclaimed urban spaces and to champion the experience and stories of underrepresen...

Apr 06, 202214 minSeason 1Ep. 6

Access to Inspiration

When spaces are inaccessible, they aren’t inclusive, literally and figuratively, which affects us all. Meet Lakshmee Lachhman-Persad, a digital marketer, and her sister Annie Lachhman, an artist born with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair. Originally from Guyana, they often seek out New York City’s cultural offerings with their multi-generational family. When Lakshmee found there wasn’t much practical information available for planning visits for people with disabilities, she founded Accessib...

Mar 30, 202217 minSeason 1Ep. 5

Seeding Change

Does your life ever feel out of control? For Yvette Weaver, a horticulturist, gardens offer respite, and working in them continues a family legacy of connection to nature. She previously worked in the gardens at The Met Cloisters, where the design and plantings are directly inspired by the collection of medieval art on display. Discover the morning stillness with her—before visitors arrive—when the garden feeds her senses and helps her take stock of the world. Tune in to hear how gardens sustain...

Mar 23, 202213 minSeason 1Ep. 4

Mending Hope

Can working with your hands improve your mood? For Kisook Suh, a textile conservator at The Met, there’s deep satisfaction and purpose in caring for tapestries that are hundreds of years old. But her artistry doesn’t stop there: once home, she relaxes by mending holes in her young son’s blue jeans and rescuing clothes that otherwise might be discarded. Kisook describes the solace found in repairing things—stitch by stitch—and how the process itself fosters hope for other kinds of healing, whethe...

Mar 09, 202215 minSeason 1Ep. 3

Healing Through Color

How can art help us heal? Imagine an elderly mother and daughter resting on a museum bench, taking in the vivid colors of a stained glass window. When artist and poet Annie Lanzillotto recalls this experience with her mother, it was a moment of peace that helped her make sense of her family and life. Hear how, ever since her childhood in the Bronx, art has remained a powerful tool for inspiration and healing through domestic violence, financial hardship, and multiple cancers. Guest: Annie Lanzil...

Mar 02, 202214 minSeason 1Ep. 2

100 Postcards, With Love

Can art reconnect us with those we love, even from far away? Siblings Samy Gálvez and Melina Anderson Gálvez immigrated to the United States from Guatemala many years ago and have spent much of their adult lives apart from each other and their family. Knowing Melina was struggling with isolation thousands of miles away during a Mormon mission, Samy wanted to lend support. He wasn’t sure how to do it until one life-changing visit to The Met. Hear how—over the course of a year—sending 100 postcard...

Feb 23, 202221 minSeason 1Ep. 1

Introducing: Frame of Mind

Are you looking for ways to calm your mind and find inspiration? Frame of Mind , an uplifting podcast from The Met, presents all kinds of personal stories about how art supports well-being. Discover how art has the power to connect, inspire, and restore us wherever we are. Frame of Mind launches Wednesday, February 23, 2022. www.metmuseum.org/frameofmind #FrameofMind See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Feb 09, 20221 min
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