EP 42: On Art and Community with Catherine Haggarty

On episode 42 for The School of Unlearning I welcome with my twin sister, Catherine Haggarty. Catherine is a Brooklyn based artist, teacher, curator and co-founder of the NYC Crit Club. Catherine walks us through her days in childhood where she learned to make things from what she found and by embracing her imagination. We reminisce on our early memories together and the influence that our Mom and Dad had on us as found solace in art and in sports. It's a sweet episode that gets fiery at times as we discuss and challenge the narratives around art, education and entrepreneurship. 

This episode is dedicated to our late father, Jim Haggarty who lead with love and curiosity throughout our entire lives and to our Mom, who showed us what perseverance and enduring love looks like. 

We cover:

• Catherine's early influences growing up
• How Mom and Dad shaped and nudged each of us
• How language and words can shape and influence a young child 
• Unlearning how we box ourselves into identities too quickly and too soon in life 
• Why we should ditch the pursuit of "being good at things" 
• How Catherine found her voice in college and decided to pursue art school abroad in Rome, Italy. 
• The benefits for Catherine in not necessarily having a lot of models in the art world early on.
• Why making art will always be #1 for Catherine 
• What Catherine is actively unlearning these days

To learn more about Catherine's work, visit her site at www.catherinehaggarty.com 

Referenced during the podcast: 

Liv Aanrud, Artist

NYC Crit Club 

______________

Elisa is a Conscious Leadership Coach who works with leaders and professional athletes to empower them with the self-awareness and power skills to navigate change and break repeated drama patterns. 

Follow Elisa at @elisamaryhaggarty and visit her visit at www.elisamaryhaggarty.com