Museum Confidential

On this edition of Museum Confidential -- which is, yes, the very last one (!) -- we speak with Megan Whittaker Nesbit, the CEO and President of Philbrook Museum of Art. Nesbit, who joined the Philbrook team nearly a decade ago, talks with us about her tenure at the museum thus far, her curatorial interests and experiences, and what she has in mind for the future. Thank you for listening! Please exit through the gift shop. 

"Homeward to the Prairie I Come: Gordon Parks Photographs from the Beach Museum of Art" is on view at Tulsa's Philbrook Museum of Art through June 19th; this striking exhibit features 70+ works, including iconic photo-journalism, portraits, and experimental photography. Recently, MC host Jeff Martin had the opportunity to chat with one of Parks's good friends, the fellow photographer Fred Sweets. An award-winning photographer and photo editor who worked over the years at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press, Sweets was greatly inspired by the photography of Gordon Parks (as were so many others). On this episode, we hear Sweets reflecting on his life and work with the camera -- as well as that of the legendary Gordon Parks.

We're discussing a fine show now on view at the Detroit Institute of Arts; it's the first major Native American exhibition at DIA in three decades. "Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation" (which runs through April 5th) celebrates indigenous work from across the Great Lakes region by way of 60 different artists and nearly 100 works. Our guest on MC is the show's curator, Dr. Denene De Quintal.

For the first time in more than 30 years, a leading museum is hosting a major exhibition of work by the noted architect Bruce Goff (American; 1904-1982). The Art Institute of Chicago -- drawing primarily upon its own extensive Goff collection -- has recently opened "Material Worlds." It's on view through March 29th of this year. On this episode of MC, we catch up with the show's curator, Alison Fisher.

On this newest episode of MC, we speak with Welana Queton; she's currently the Mellon Fellow for Native Art at Philbrook Museum of Art. Recently, Welana was asked to shine a light on a specific area of the museum's collection: baskets. This work led to a newly-launched exhibition -- INTERWOVEN: CHEROKEE, MUSCOGEE (CREEK), & YUCHI BASKETS. Presenting a variety of styles, both decorative and functional, and spotlighting baskets made from a wide range of materials, INTERWOVEN runs ay Philbrook through February 8, 2026.