Everything Is Connected

Bisa Butler: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

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 a MA in Teaching Art from Montclair State University. In 2020, Portraits at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Katonah Museum of Art was the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition. Her quilts were prominently featured in Black American Portrait at LACMA, Los Angeles (2022) and Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2021), and graced the cover of both exhibition catalogs. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of several institutions, including Art Institute of Chicago; The Smithsonian American Museum of Art; The Pérez Art Museum, Miami; High Museum of Art, Atlanta; MFA Houston; and de Young Museum, San Francisco. Butler is the recipient of the 2022 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship and of the inaugural “Faith in The Arts Award,” presented by Broadway Housing Communities in recognition of the legacy of Faith Ringgold. The World Is Yours, Butler’s first exhibition with Jeffrey Deitch in New York in 2023, attracted thousands of visitors. Hold Me Close is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles.--------------------------------- Follow & Subscribe Website - Sign up for the Light Work newsletter Follow Light Work on Instagram Follow Folasade Ologundudu on Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Light Work YouTube Channel

Dr. Rashaad Newsome: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

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 personal narratives are. Rashaad and I discuss these personal aspects, including his family history, struggles, and experience as a Black queer artist.Dr. Rashaad Newsome's multifaceted work blends filmmaking, animation, robotics, performance, and more, challenging traditional narratives. Drawing from diasporic improvisation, he incorporates advertising, art history, and Black and Queer culture to create counter-hegemonic works that oscillate between social practice and abstraction.--------------------------------- Follow & Subscribe Website - Sign up for the Light Work newsletter Follow Light Work on Instagram Follow Folasade Ologundudu on Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Light Work YouTube Channel

Salome Asega: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

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. Salome Asega is the Director of NEW INC, the New Museum's cultural incubator for creative practitioners working across art, design, and technology. Asega is also an artist, researcher, and educator working between participatory design and emerging technologies.Thank you to our hosts at WSA Podcast Studios. --------------------------------- Follow & Subscribe Website - Sign up for the Light Work newsletter Follow Light Work on Instagram Follow Folasade Ologundudu on Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Light Work YouTube Channel

Kennedy Yanko: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

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 I have been in each other’s orbit for several years watching each other grow and develop our respective practices. I had the pleasure of writing about her work for the Brooklyn Rail four years ago, so it’s really a full circle moment and a moment to reflect on what’s happened and how much growth we’ve both experienced since that time. In the episode we also talk about the importance of maintaining a spiritual practice and being open to the ebbs and flows of life’s natural movements. Thank you to our hosts WSA Podcast Studios. --------------------------------- Follow & Subscribe Website - Sign up for the Light Work newsletter Follow Light Work on Instagram Follow Folasade Ologundudu on Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Light Work YouTube Channel

Michelle Kuo: in conversation with Folasade Ologundudu

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 was critically acclaimed, and emotionally impactful. In the episode, Kuo describes the collaborative and intensive five-year process involved in curating the exhibition, highlighting Whitten’s innovative approaches to art, his engagement with technology, and the deep emotional and historical context in his work. As Kuo describes Whitten's work alongside canonical figures such as Rothko, Picasso, and Mondrian, she more importantly references the ways in which he reconfigured art history and the abstract expressionist movement with the use of new tools and techniques. Whitten’s oeuvre is marked by a courageous and uncompromising vision to resist the pressures of conformity, and instead carve his own path through abstraction. This episode emphasizes Whitten’s visionary nature and the lasting legacy of his art, which continues to inspire and move audiences.Thank you to our hosts WSA Podcast Studios. --------------------------------- Follow & Subscribe Website - Sign up for the Light Work newsletter Follow Light Work on Instagram Follow Folasade Ologundudu on Instagram YouTube - Subscribe to the Light Work YouTube Channel