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Light Work Presents: Everything Is Connected, created by Folasade Ologundudu is a podcast that shares the interesting and inspiring stories of artists, thought leaders, and critical thinkers on life, work, and a wide range of cultural and social topics. Through engaging content, Ologundudu seeks to inspire listeners to lead their best lives through the transformative power of art and culture. She dives into ideas on art and society across cultures with a focus on diverse communities worldwide. Guests include artists, curators, entrepreneurs, educators, and creatives who are changing the way we think about the art, creativity, and the world.
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On this episode I’m joined by Bisa Butler. We discuss her pivot from painting to quilting, what it was like for her to study at an HBCU, she earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University, how that experience shaped her and what she hopes her work does in the world. Bisa talks about her recent exhibition Hold Me Close that was previously on view at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in LA. Bisa Butler (b. 1973) lives and works in New Jersey. She earned her BFA in Painting at Howard University and holds ...
On this episode I’m joined by Rashaad Newsome as we discuss his film Assembly. The documentary details the personal journey and events that inspired his 2022 Park Avenue Armory installation. I was fortunate to attend a final performance, thanks to my ARTNOIR family, and was captivated by Rashaad's immersive world. Shoutout to ART NOIR! I especially loved the dances and spoken word segments, which highlighted the participatory nature of his work. The film honestly reveals how compelling person...
On this episode I’m joined by Salome Asega. Salome and I discuss her journey from working at the Ford Foundation to returning to a more intimate engagement with artists at New Inc. We cover the importance of alternative spaces for artists, how New Inc supports interdisciplinary creators, and the impact of geopolitical tensions on creative communities. And the significance of teaching, community, and place-based work, emphasizing the need for genuine engagement and collaboration. ...
On this episode I’m joined by Kennedy Yanko as we discuss her recent artistic endeavors, working with paper pulp prints which are on view in her latest exhibition, Without Gravity, at Pace Prints now through Oct 4th. Kennedy shares the joy of returning to immediate, experimental creation, reminiscent of her earlier abstract expressionist paintings. She reflects on her 20-year journey as an artist, acknowledging the challenges and growth that have shaped her current practice. Kennedy and...
On this episode I’m joined by Michelle Kuo, Chief Curator at Large and Publisher, of the MoMA, as we discuss Jack Whitten: The Messenger, the first comprehensive retrospective dedicated to the groundbreaking art of Jack Whitten (American, 1939–2018). The exhibition showcased more than 175 works from the 1960s to the 2010s, including paintings, sculptures, rarely shown works on paper, and archival materials to explore the depth and breadth of Whitten’s near six-decade career. The show wa...
On this episode I’m joined by Brice Yonkeu as we discuss his career in the arts. With a background in political science, Brice transitioned to the arts, seeking to make a more relevant contribution to culture. In this episode, he shares his experiences working in the arts, from opening his own gallery, Bwo Art Gallery in Cameroon, to participating in Amoako Boafo’s residency, dot.ateliers, as the first curator in residency, and showcasing his latest exhibition, a continuation of the show he p...
On this episode, I’m joined by Julien Creuzet, the Afro-descendant French Caribbean artist who has his first institutional solo exhibition on view now through June 1, 2025 at The Bell at Brown University in Providence Rhode Island. In the episode Creuzet shares his artistic journey and passion for making exhibitions where he can have a discussion through art. His work spans various mediums including sculpture, poetry, video, music, and more. Here, he’s reimagined his French Pavillion fr...
On this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Joy Simmons. Dr. Joy Simmons is a radiologist, art collector, and philanthropist. In this episode, she discusses her multifaceted engagement with the arts. Beyond simply acquiring works, Dr. Simmons supports an entire arts ecosystem from artists to small non profits to galleries and museums through her work, her stewardship, and her commitment. She emphasizes the importance of visibility and community support for Black artists, writers, an...
On this episode, I'm joined by Shinique Smith. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and now Los Angeles based, Shinique Smith is best known for her visual poetry, monumental fabric sculptures, and paintings of calligraphy and collage that engage abstraction. Her work gained critical acclaim and widespread attention through her participation in important group exhibitions, including Frequency at the Studio Museum in Harlem, 30 Americans organized by the Rubell Family Collectio...
On this episode I’m joined by Taylor Renee Aldridge. Taylor Renee Aldridge is a writer and curator based in Detroit, Michigan. In 2014, with writer Jessica Lynne, she co-founded ARTS.BLACK, an online journal of art criticism from Black perspectives. In Fall 2024, she assumed the role of Executive Director at the Modern Ancient Brown Foundation. In the episode we discuss her return to her native Detroit, the importance of ancestral practice, why there’s a lack of art criticism toda...
On this episode I’m joined by Ekow Eshun. Ekow Eshun is a writer, editor and curator, known for his work in arts, culture, and identity. In the episode we discuss his latest exhibition, The Time Is Always Now: Artists Reframe the Black Figure, on view through February 9 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The show brings together over 60 contemporary works that unfold around three core themes: Double Consciousness, Past and Presence and Aliveness. As the former Director of the Institute of Con...
We're back with another season of Everything is Connected in 2025! Before we get started with a new season I just want to take a moment and say thank you to all of the listeners from all over the world. We had more listener-ship in 2024 across the globe than ever before. So thank you all. It's really such a joy and such a pleasure to be in company with you on this journey. Being in conversation with artists and curators, visual creatives, and cultural leaders. People who are actively ...
On this episode, I'm joined by Otobong Nkanga as we discuss her latest commission, Cadence, on view at the MoMA now through summer 2025. I first discovered her work when I wrote about her earlier this year for the summer issue of Sculpture Magazine. Otobong Nkanga, a multidisciplinary visual artist born in Nigeria and based in Antwerp, Belgium, explores themes of memory, identity, and the complex relationships between people and their environment. Nkanga’s art is deeply rooted in storytelling...
On this episode I'm joined by Jammie Holmes as we discuss his work and practice; the journey that led him into art and the focus of his practice today. His exhibition, Morning Thoughts, at Marianne Boesky Gallery is on view when we sit down to talk about his origin story and some of the ideas he’s investigating in his latest body of work. Incorporating portraiture, symbolism, and written text into his work, Holmes intersperses reflections on social, cultural, and political...
On this episode I'm joined by Kandy G Lopez as we discuss her practice on the eve of the closing of her two person show with Aminah Robinson at ACA gallery in Chelsea. In the exhibition viewers were presented with her mixed media, fiber, and stained glass works. Lopez is an Afro-Caribbean visual artist, eager to be challenged materialistically and metaphorically when representing marginalized individuals that inspire and move her. Her works are created out of the necessity to lea...
On this episode I'm joined by Genevieve Gaignard as we discuss her latest exhibition, and third solo with Vielmetter Los Angeles, Thinking Out Loud. In the show, Gaignard excavates concepts of identity and reflects on the intersections of life’s journey. In what might be Gaignard’s most intimate body of work to date, Thinking Out Loud overlaps her practice with her most recent lived experience, set against the backdrop of her newly situated life in New York where she has a new stu...
On this episode, I’m joined by Paul Anthony Smith. His latest show, Antillean, is on view at Jack Shainman Gallery when we sit down to talk. Paul has just returned from London, where he attended Frieze London, and spent time seeing his Jamaican family, who lives there. In the episode, Paul reflects on the history of the Caribbean and explores themes of migration. We discussed how photography plays a key role in his work, and his use of labor-intensive techniques, such as the hand-scratching m...
On this episode, I'm joined by Chiwoniso Kaitano Executive Director of MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program. She is the 10th person to lead the organization since 1907. Before joining MacDowell, Chi spent the last four years at the helm of Girl Be Heard, expanding its organizational budget, increasing individual giving by 200 percent, and growing both the staff and board. Prior to Girl Be Heard, she served as executive director of Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, a 30-year-old...
On this episode, I'm joined by Samuel Levi Jones ahead of his latest solo exhibition at Vielmetter, Los Angeles, abstraction of truth. The exhibition presents a profound and timely critique of the structures that shape our understanding of authority and history. Jones’ method of deconstructing books and now, flags serves as a powerful metaphor for the dismantling of the colonial and imperial narratives that continue to influence our legal and social systems. By physically tearing apart these ...
On this final episode of Everything is Connected: African Artists & Curators in the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale, I'm joined by Sir John Akomfrah RA. Akomfrah is a Ghanaian-born British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist and curator. A pioneering filmmaker, Akomfrah creates multichannel video installations that critically examine the legacy of colonialism, the Black diaspora, and environmental degradation. Akomfrah weaves together original footage with arch...
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