The Art Colony

Art in L'overalls with Myra Kooy.  Our guest today is a visual artist who also co-owns her own art gallery in Provincetown, the Radiance Art Gallery.  In this episode, we talk about how being a woman, and African-American, has played a role in Myra's life and art.  We journey through her growth as an artist, from selling handmade suspenders on the streets of New York City to owning an art gallery in Provincetown.  This episode is full of happiness and laughter, as we discuss choosing joy in our lives. 

This week, we welcome artist, educator, curator, and arts administrator Burt Yarborough to discuss his six-decade relationship with Provincetown and the Fine Arts Work Center (FAWC). Yarborough recounts coming to Provincetown in 1976 after studies in architecture and photography, his FAWC fellowship, and how the center’s early, unrenovated lumber-yard facilities and local visual committee shaped artists through time, space, and support. He describes making site-specific work in the dunes, later shifting from photography and abstraction toward more figurative, emotionally driven painting, and a Fulbright year in Nigeria studying Yoruba carving that influenced his materials and imagery. Yarborough explains his current process using reactive dyes, acrylics, inks, and occasional bleach, previews a mural commission, notes exhibitions and a PAAM studio visit, and shares memories of living three summers in a dune shack.

This week, we interviewed a Provincetown multidisciplinary artist, educator, and curator Megan Hinton about how studios and process shape art. Hinton, raised in Ohio, describes coming to art through deep looking and connecting drawing to sports via eye–hand coordination, with art helping to live more freely and queerly. We describe current abstracted-realism bird collages built from drawings, photos, and cut canvas, using a blue-black palette and birds as a symbol of freedom amid a polarized society. Hinton discusses reappropriating historical and Provincetown painters as a transformative, long-standing artistic conversation. 

The Drag Philanthropist with Mackenzie

This week Gaston welcomes to the studio the very talented playwright and improvisation artist Cody Sullivan.  For the last seven years Cody has been making Provincetown audiences laugh with his witty and insightful stage performances.  Learn about his origins as an artist, about his connection and love for improvisation, about his popular event "Cody Plays," and about the plays he has staged and that he is currently working on.

Gaston welcomes multifaceted percussionist, singer, and innkeeper Brian Calhoun to discuss music in Provincetown and Brian’s path to the marimba. Brian describes his musical family, early piano and drum set lessons, and discovering marimba.

This week, we interviewed Marian Roth about arriving to Provincetown in 1982, helping start the Freehand writers’ school, and leaving a career in political science to become an artist. She recalls being inspired by women in nontraditional jobs and began photographing “The Working Women of Provincetown,” before finding her artistic voice through pinhole photography, including transforming a van into a giant camera—work tied to her Guggenheim Fellowship. Roth describes how the AIDS crisis shaped daily life through caregiving and activism with the PWA Coalition, though it did not directly drive her art. She discusses recurring themes of village, diaspora, and home, later work using silhouetted figures influenced by her mother’s dementia, and her current focus on making paper and building collage “villages,” guided by a love of learning and beginner’s mind.

The Art Colony Podcast welcome Cherie Mittenthal, artist and Executive Director of the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. We take a journey through the long history of Castle Hill, and talk about the myriad offerings of classes at the center. We also discuss Cherie’s art, especially her passion for welding, pottery and encaustic. And this leads us to review the annual International Encaustic Conference happening in Provincetown and Truro this May for its 19th year. 

Gaston talks with author Jeannette de Beauvoir, a France-born writer and historian who settled in Provincetown and created the Sidney Riley series. She explains how the town’s festivals, shifting seasonal crowds, and real locations inspire her plots, discusses “Dead in the Water,” and notes she weaves Provincetown history into the series. She previews her next novel and shares her Dune Shack–inspired historical novel “Our Lady of the Dunes,” reading an excerpt. She also describes “Making Light,” her monthly Commons gathering for artists to support each other.

Gaston invites PJ Kierans, a PTown chocolatier, on this week to discuss the mastery and artistry of chocolate making. PJ, who hails from London and trained in culinary arts in the UK and the Netherlands, explains his journey from a busy restaurant kitchen to becoming a full-time chocolatier in Provincetown. He delves into the intricacies of chocolate production, from the fermentation of cocoa beans to creative flavor combinations like thyme and tangerine or cranberry cabernet. The episode also touches on the impact of climate change on cocoa supply and the future of chocolate. PJ shares his unique experiences and innovative creations, including his viral lobster-flavored chocolate bar.

Wall Writer and Wave Rider with Andrew Jacob

Artist at Work - Trevor Mikula

Cut and Paste with John Derian

Phil Jimenez, a celebrated comic book artist, shares his artistic journey and the influence of Provincetown on his work. Phil discusses his early inspirations from TV shows, comic books, and his dedication to breaking into the industry through comic conventions and persistent networking. He highlights major projects, including working on iconic characters like Wonder Woman and the X-Men, and transitioning to digital art for improved detail. 

This week, we interview Roddy Bottum, and explores topics such as Roddy's journey in 1980s and 1990s rock, his experiences with addiction and coming out as gay, and his new book which reflects his life and the cultural landscape of San Francisco during that era. They discuss his move to Provincetown, the magic of the town, and his ongoing musical projects. 

Action, Activism, and Performance with Jay Critchley

The Birthplace of American Theater with David Drake

Gaston interviews Sian Robertson, a distinct artist known for her unique style of cutting intricate designs out of maps. 

Comedian Kristen Becker shares her journey and experiences in the world of comedy and activism. Kristen discusses her roots in Buffalo, New York, and her career progression through comedy, including her start in Toronto and extensive tours in the Deep South. She recounts her move to Provincetown, the significance of queer representation in comedy, and her efforts to promote diverse voices through her show, Fruit Basket. Kristen also highlights her involvement in the Summer of Sass program, which brings queer youth from the South to Provincetown for a transformative summer experience. She reflects on the importance of community, her unique characters such as Sandy Claus and Sergeant Roach, and her ongoing contributions to the Provincetown art scene.

This week, Gaston talks to musician, singer, actor, all-around great guy, Jonathan Richardson. We more learn about his journey toward becoming a musician, and his arrival in Provincetown in the 2010s. In the second half of the interview, they talk at length about Jonathan’s new musical, “The Jack of Hearts Club,” which premiered to great acclaim at the Provincetown Theater in the fall of 2025, and will return for the summer of 2026.