Displacement: Visual Artist Veit Stratmann Paris-based artist Veit Stratmann, who presented the work title L'Aquila at The Project Room in 2012, has made a practice of researching and writing about places of massive upheaval and its impact on the people who have lived there. After the recent terrorist attacks in Paris which took place near his home, we had a conversation about the connections between this event and his work, and what motivates him to be an artist, especially during difficult tim...
Jan 11, 2016•30 min
Learning Outside The Classroom: Electronic Artist Michna Adrian Michna learned the trombone as a child, which led to experiments with electronic sounds (for example, gently squeezing a friend's cat to generate a squeak) and now to an established career as a DJ and electronic musician. Here, he shares his perspective on what makes a good song, how college transformed his musical style, and advice for young musicians. Have a listen! Michna live at work during a 2013 tour in which he built a portab...
Dec 02, 2015•34 min
The New Art Marketplace: Digital Artist Kevin McCoy Artist and Monegraph Founder and CEO Kevin McCoy In 2011, New York-based digital artists Kevin and Jennifer McCoy created Northwest Passing for TPR; but instead of presenting what one might expect, they offered visitors to the space a live improvisational theater experiment featuring professional actors giving fake lectures about traditional artworks by Northwest Masters. The experience revealed all kinds of questions about the assumptions we m...
Nov 05, 2015•35 min
A Symbol of Pride: Rainbow Flag Designer Gilbert Baker In 1978, Gilbert Baker, a drag queen and community activist in San Francisco, responded to his friend Harvey Milk's assertion that the gay rights movement needed a new symbol. The pink triangle had been in use but was connected to the atrocities of the Holocaust, and the movement needed something uplifting to replace it. Using his creativity, his sewing skills, many many volunteers and even more fabric dye, Baker designed and produced the Ra...
Oct 06, 2015•33 min
Was Here: Visual Artist Ellie Dicola This month's podcast is a conversation with Seattle-based artist Ellie Dicola. As part of Seattle Storefronts, a program that places artist projects in vacant storefront spaces, Ellie created the installation Was Here. As a corporeal monument to places that are gone, Was Here is a documentation of local businesses and organizations that have disappeared over the last handful of years. Ellie refers to her project as a map of experiences, and in our discussion ...
Sep 03, 2015•31 min
Episode 16: Building the Impossible City: Non-Profit Arts Collective Sawhorse Revolution For this month's podcast, TPR Editor Tessa Hulls sat down with Sarah Smith and Micah Stanovsky of Sawhorse Revolution , a Seattle nonprofit that teaches carpentry skills to high school youth. With an emphasis on projects that serve their local communities, Sawhorse has constructed everything from tree houses to garden beds. Recently, they've been garnering national attention for their project The Impossible ...
Aug 05, 2015•48 min
Talking with Underscore : Sound Artist Daniel Neumann The Project Room is pleased to present the work of sound artist Daniel Neumann , who joined us for an interview in his Brooklyn studio and generously created a new piece in response to that conversation. Have a listen to this conversation as it plays alongside its "underscore"- and enjoy!...
Jul 01, 2015•31 min
Getting Good: Interdisciplinary Artist Tameka Norris Tameka Norris. Still from her newest video, Recovery . Interdisciplinary Artist Tameka Norris visited Seattle from New Orleans to talk with TPR Director Tia Kramer about the challenging experiences she faced while making her recent film, Meka Jean: How She Got Good , for Prospect 3 New Orleans. Diving into issues of intellectual property, authorship, appropriation, and her relationship to art history, Tameka reveals the vulnerabilities encount...
Jun 03, 2015•38 min
From Masquerades to Motherhood : Artist Natasha Marin Natasha Marin is a Seattle based poet and interdisciplinary artist whose immersive and interactive performances, writing, and experience as the co-founder of SPoCS (Seattle People of Color Salon) explore themes of legacy, connection, community, and play. This month Natasha and TPR Director Tia Kramer enjoy a lively evening discussion at The Project Room touching on how Trinidadian masquerades, Canadian friendliness, and motherhood all influen...
May 13, 2015•46 min
Monuments, Durian, & Portable Toilets : Artist Jenifer Wofford This month, Project Room Editor Tessa Hulls sat down with visual artist and educator Jenifer Wofford in her San Francisco home. Their sprawling conversation traced the themes of monument and memory and their presence in Jenifer's diverse body of work. Join us as they discuss durians, portable toilets, and growing up as a mixed-race American. Jenifer K Wofford is a San Francisco-based artist and educator whose work plays with noti...
Apr 01, 2015
Paradox and Choice: Visual Artist Jen Dalton Jen in her Williamsburg studio. Photo credit: Emily Colucci Visual artist Jennifer Dalton hosted TPR at her Brooklyn studio recently, where she makes thought-provoking work about her (and our) surroundings. Gentrification, the art market, the askew representations of artists in The New Yorker Magazine: Jen notices it all. As she says herself, "It comes from a place of, 'Is it just me, or...?'" See more of Jen's work at www.jenniferdalton.com Monuments...
Mar 03, 2015•30 min
Dance Came From The People: Alvin Ailey Dancer and Choreographer Matthew Rushing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Rehearsal Director and Artist Matthew Rushing. Photo by Andrew Eccle. The legacy of Alvin Ailey has a powerful presence for those who appreciate the history of American dance, and American culture in general. This month in our podcast series, Alvin Ailey dancer and choreographer Matthew Rushing talks with Jess Van Nostrand about his memorable introduction to dance as a young man,...
Feb 03, 2015•33 min
Inside the Dream Palace: Author Sherill Tippins (Author photograph by Deborah Lopez) Author Sherill Tippins (Photograph by Deborah Lopez) This month we feature author Sherill Tippins, who recently published a wonderfully-researched history of the famous NY art hub, The Chelsea Hotel. The conversation took place in another New York art hub, MoMA. Inside the Dream Palace uncovers incredible stories about the creative people who lived and visited this historic gathering place, and Sherill shares so...
Jan 07, 2015•26 min
Collecting & Making : Hrafnhildur Arnardottir aka Shoplifter Shoppy in her Brooklyn studio Icelandic visual artist Hrafnhildur Arnardottir aka Shoplifter invited TPR Founder Jess to her studio in New York for a conversation about collecting, making, and our current Big Question, "How Are We Remembered?" Much was discussed beyond these topics as well, including playing between art and fashion (see image below)--have a listen! A design by Shoppy with Edda Gudmundsdottir and Victoria Bartlett f...
Nov 06, 2014•26 min
Archivist/Activist: Visual Artist Juan Pablo Macías Juan Pablo in the library at Villa Romana during our interview During this past summer, I spent a few days visiting an artist residency in Florence, Italy called Villa Romana. Since opening in 1905, Villa Romana has hosted and exhibited many international artists. I met with one such artist, Juan Pablo Macías, who is preparing for an exhibition of his work to open in October, 2014. Juan Pablo has been researching and responding to a particular ...
Oct 01, 2014•29 min
Tradition & Innovation: Munenori Takeda and Garrett Fisher Japanese Noh Master Munenori Takeda was in Seattle recently, preparing for an opera collaboration with Composer Garrett Fisher and the Fisher Ensemble. I invited them to The Project Room to talk about our current topic, “Transformation,” and how it relates to the rich tradition of opera and Japanese Noh Theatre. Composer’s update : "As Munenori’s and my collaboration deepened, a few things have shifted. As I began to shape the music ...
Sep 03, 2014•36 min
Empathy, Equity, Change: Paul Rucker Musician and visual artist Paul Rucker began making work in 2009 that responded to the history of slavery and its relationship to current American issues about race and equality. This initial effort developed into a large and on-going body of work, " Recapitulation," which The Project Room is following throughout 2014. We recently sat down with Paul to see how his progress was coming along and to see what he has learned so far in this ambitious and large-scal...
Aug 06, 2014•42 min
Heroes and Hometowns : Author Jesmyn Ward Author and National Book Award Winner Jesmyn Ward visited The Project Room for a conversation about our current theme, “How Are We Remembered?” Ward’s memoir, MEN WE REAPED (2013), is a heartbreaking story that pays tribute to four young men in her life who died too young. More than that, however, the book shines a light on current problems we still face regarding race, class, wealth, and geography. Because the book is goes far and deep into a lot of ter...
Jul 01, 2014•48 min
Bound: Africans versus African Americans : Director and Actor Peres Owino Writer, director and actor Peres Owino recently visited us at The Project Room to discuss her new film and directorial debut, Bound: Africans versus African Americans premiering at the Seattle International Film Festival. Peres has great stories to share about what went into making the film, her younger years secretly study theater, and where she learned to use her imagination to create things. Bound: Africans versus Afric...
Jun 02, 2014•33 min
Adé: A Love Story : Author Rebecca Walker Author Rebecca Walker visits The Project Room to talk with TPR Founder Jess Van Nostrand and Off Paper Editor Tessa Hulls about her latest book, Adé: A Love Story, the fiction-like memoir about the man she fell in love with during her travels as a young woman. As usual, we wanted to know lots of other things beyond the book, like who her early heroes were, how her writing process changed after becoming a mother, and how she so deftly balances her persona...
May 07, 2014•38 min
Furious Cool: Authors Joe & David Henry Authors and brothers Joe and David Henry visited The Project Room to chat about their new book FURIOUS COOL: RICHARD PRYOR AND THE WORLD THAT MADE HIM. As young kids who fell under Pryor’s comedic spell, and as adults (and brothers) who collaborate, there was much to discuss in light of our current theme How Are We Remembered? Subscribe to our podcast series on iTunes!...
Apr 01, 2014•37 min
