Interviewing (2005-Now)

Over the years I have had the pleasure of interviewing over one hundred artists and activists about art, education, food, history and politics through projects like Why Philly publication for Common Field, the Holding Space group interview project for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, State of the Arts (SOTA) blog, Never the Same, Farm Together Now, AREA Chicago, Immersive Life Practices, Studio Conversations at Moore, and Headlands Center for the Arts’ Creative Ecologies project.

Live interview with Janet Echelman – Later edited and published in Public Art Review (2014)

Individual and Small Group Q & A’s In Print, Video and Web

1. Aaron Hughes on Art, Education and Activism with Iraq Veterans (2007), Aaron Hughes on his Intrusive Thoughts exhibit (2011)
2. Aaron Sarver and Emily Udell on “Fire on the Prairie” the In These Times Radio Show (2005)
3. Amy Franceschini on Victory Gardens (2011)
4. Angelic Organics Learning Center about farmer training (2009)
5. Anne Rapp on Taking Students to the US Social Forum in Atlanta (2007)
6. Anthony Rayson, Lauren Berlant, Debbie Gould, Rogers Park Community Action Network, Leticia Cortez, Kristen Cox, and Gabriel Piemonte Tell their Solidarity Stories (2006)
7. Aquaranch about zero-waste tilapia farming (2009)
8. Artists Congress “nominated artists” recognized by local grassroots activist groups for their committed art (Ellen Gradman, Jennifer Juarez, Jamie Hayes, Toyin Aboyade Cole, Mike Siviwe Elliott, Sarah Wild, Sarah Jane Rhee, Veronica Morris-Moore and Darrius Lightfoot, and Dorthy Burge) (2014) (see also)
9. Bernard Williams on moving between public art and gallery art (2013)
10. Beth Stephens on Art and Research (2011)
11. Calles Y Suenos on organizing across generations (2010)
12. Catherine Cole on Future Planning for the Public University (2011)
13. Cynthia Hooper on Making Art About Water in California (2011)
14. Chicago Couriers Union group interview (2006)
15. Compass on their group history throughout the midwest (2013)
16. Dan S. Wang on Community and Place (2010-2011) and on the Organize Your Own class we co-taught together (2018)
17. Daniel Block on Mapping Food Deserts (2006)
18. Dara Greenwald on her art, the Pink Bloque and Butcher Shop communities (2011)
19. Dayanita Ramesh and Lucille (Lucy) Potter on Exhibition Making and Student Activism (2011)
20. Dee Hibbert-Jones and Dick Hebdige on Art and Research (2011)
21. Devon Pena and Joe Gallegos on their acequiahood, cooperatives and water rights (2009)
22. Emily Forman on Pilot TV and Experimental Media (2005)
23. Eric Tang on the Non-Profit Industrial Complex and New Left (2008)
24. Extinct Entities on the ethics of archiving (2014)
25. Leora Abelson, Estelle Carol & Bob Simpson, Jenny Dale, Fatima Bahloul for Faith and Justice Q&A – (Collaboration with Robin Hewlett and AREA #10 Editors) (2010)
26. Fred Lonidier on Art and Labor Organizing (2011)
27. God’s Gang on displacement from public housing and food activism (2009)
28. Homocore Chicago on organizing concerts to build community (2011)
29. Humboldt Park Food-Not-Bombs on Local Food Activism (2006)
30. Hunger Coalition on evolving from a welfare advocacy organization to a self reliance group (2009)
31. Ivan Arenas on his Chicagoaxaca exhibition (2014)
32. J. Morgan Puett on the history of Mildred’s Lane (2013)
33. Jamie Kalven on the View From the Ground and Public Housing Journalism (2005)
34. Janet Echelman on her public art installations (2014)
35. Jesikah Maria Ross on the Art of Regional Change (2011)
36. Jesse Senechal and Maura Nugent on the Myth of School Choice (2007)
37. Jim Knopik on transitioning from conventional to sustainable food production (2009)
38. Joe Hollis on growing medicinal herbs and prefigurative politics (2009)
39. Joel Greeno on joining Family Farm Defenders and organizing dairy farmers (2009)
40. John Kinsman on Farmer Activism from the 60s to the present (2011)
41. Jorge Felix on his Not Enough Space exhibit (2011)
42. Josh MacPhee and Emily Forman on Department of Space and Land Reclamation (2011)
43. Just Farming Confederation on Sharing Land and Resources (2009)
44. Ken Ehrlich, Marc Herbst, Peter Krapp, Brett Stalbaum, and Fred Lonidier on Activism at the University of California; micha cárdenas on activism at the University of California in San Diego (2011)
45. Ladyfest Midwest on their ten year reunion (2011)
46. Laurie Palmer on art and collaboration (2013)
47. Liliana Angulo Cortes on hair culture, archiving and art (2014)
48. Marc Fischer and Laurie Jo Reynolds on Artists working on the subject of prison (Collaboration with Dan S. Wang) (2007)
49. Mary Jane Jacob on Culture in Action and resources for public art in the 1990s (2011)
50. Martha Boyd on Organizing Around Food Access (2006)
51. Mia Henry on the beginnings of the Chicago Freedom School (2007)
52. Mia Henry, Eric Triantafillou, Harishi Patel, and Kristen Cox on City-Wide Movement-Building Centers (Collaboration with Robin Hewlett) (2010)
53. Michael Staudenmaier on the Sojourner Truth Organization (2008)
54. Michele Rabkin and Gilda Haas on Sharing Resources in Academia (2011)
55. Miguel Cortez on Pilsen Open Studios (2006)
56. Mike Bancroft on Chitown Chefs and Co-Op Image (2006)
57. Mutual Aid Phonebook on Anarchist Networking (2005)
58. Nance Klehm on Art, Business and Food (2006), Nance Klehm on Art and Place (2013)
59. Nato Thompson on curating political art (2010)
60. Nicole Garneau on Theater, Public Art and Activism (2012)
61. On the Fly Farms on food activism and anarchism (2009)
62. Patricia Johanson on Eco Art (2011)
63. Pauline Lipman and Eric Rico Gustein on Teachers for Social Justice (2007)
64. People’s Law Office on The History of the People’s Law Office (2010)
65. Peter Krapp and Brett Stalbaum on Online Education; Peter Krapp and Brett Stalbaum on Efficiency in Higher Education (2011)
66. Phil Ross on Bio Art (2011)
67. Raj Patel on Food, Localism and Markets (2012)
68. Rosten Woo on the Center for Urban Pedagogy (2011)
69. Sandhill Community Farm on intentional communities and food culture (2009)
70. Salome Chasnoff on Media Arts (2012)
71. Sarah Kavage on Industrial Harvest (2010)
72. T. Allan Comp on AMD&Art (2011)
73. Terri Kapsalis on Performance art and Theater Oobleck (2012)
74. Tom Baker on Nicaragua Solidarity Committee (2007)

Additional group interviews:

In 2008 Nato Thompson and I conducted an interview project entitled Town Hall Talks that included interviews with 100 socially-engaged artists from five cities. Interviews included: [Los Angeles – at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions] Irina Contreras, Sara Daleiden, Armando Duron, Omar Foglio, Marc Allen Herbst, Robby Herbst, Hugo Hopping, Ashley Hunt, Suzanne Lacy, Sandra de la Loza, Ming Yuen S. Ma, Kelly Martin, Pamela Miller-Macias, Amitis Motevalli, Christina Ulke [Baltimore – at 2640] Michael Benevento, Scott Berzofsky, Laurie Bezold, John Duda, Gin Ferrara, Ashley Hufnagel, Kevin James, Kate Khatib, Nick Petr, Hugh Pocock, C. Ryan-Patterson, David Sloan, Nicholas Wisniewski, Rebecca Yenawine [New Orleans – at the Community Book Center] Willie Birch, Kyle Bravo and Jenny LeBlanc, Asali DeVan, Adella Gautier, M. Brady McKellar & Elsa Dimitriadis, Darryl Montana, Brandan Odums, Kathy Randals, Damon Rosenzweig, Mathew Schwarzman, Natalie Sciortino-Rinehart, Nick Slie, Rebecca Snedeker, Elizabeth Underwood, Vera Williams [New York City – at Not An Alternative gallery] Ayreen Anastas, Maria Juliana Byck, Kevin Caplicki, Stephen Duncombe, Beka Economopoulos, Steven Englander, Jason Jones, Malav Kanuga, Carin Kuoni, Josh MacPhee, Ann Messner, Jeff Stark, Christina Ray, Prerana Reddy, Greg Sholette.

This project was expanded locally in Chicago to include several more artists for Five Questions About Art In Chicago: Mike Bancroft, Wafaa Bilal, Sara Black, Brett Bloom, Aquil Charlton, Salome Chasnoff, Marianne Fairbanks, Edra Soto Fernandez, Nicole Garneau, Theaster Gates, Amanda Gutierrez, Craig Harshaw, David Isaacson, Jennifer Karmin, Nance Klehm, Demetrio Maguigad, Edmar and Rachel Marszewski, Mark Messing, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Sonjanita Moore, Laurie Palmer, Amy Partridge, Mary Patten, Coya Paz, Dan Peterman, Jon Pounds, Aay Preston-Myint, Toufic El Rassi, Laurie Jo Reynolds, Elvia Rodriguez-Ochoa, Deborah Stratman, Shannon Stratton, Brad Thomson, travis, Dan S. Wang, and Rebecca Zorach.

In 2017, I conducted 3 group interviews about the process of organizing the massive project Philadelphia Assembled, undertaken throughout the city and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The interview booklet “Holding  Space” which documents those conversations in an edited form can be downloaded here along with their other publications. The interview participants were Jeanne van Heeswijk, Nehad Khader, Phoebe Bachman, Shari Hersh, Kirtrina M. Baxter, M.A. Counter Narrative Society (CNS)/ Mabel Negrete, Amanda Sroka, Damon Reaves, and Denise Valentine.

In 2019, I collaborated with Ricky Yanas and Lauren Downing on a booklet for the artist-run organizations conference Common Field for which we invited 15 contributors from the city to share their thoughts about what was urgent and exciting in Philadelphia for visitors and locals alike to know and consider. You can download and read more about Why Philly? here. Contributors include Denise Brown, Rob Blackson, Vashti DuBois, Michael Clemmons & Ian Friday, Anthony Elms, Alexis Granwell, Amy Hicks, Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, Rana Fayez, Farrah Rahaman, Theresa Rose, Meredith Sellers, Li Sumpter, Nato Thompson, Ulises, and Carol Zou.