In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde Podcast, host Caira Moreira speaks with Legacy Russell — curator, writer, and Executive Director & Chief Curator of The Kitchen. Russell is the author of Glitch Feminism and Black Meme, and her work reimagines how we experience art in both digital and physical space. Together, they discuss curating at the intersections of technology, diaspora, and community, while reflecting on what it means to create institutions that embody care, resistance, and possibility.
Follow Our Guest to stay up to date: https://www.instagram.com/thekitchen_nyc/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/ellerustle/?hl=en
In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde, Caira sits down with Hrag Vartanian — co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hyperallergic — to unpack the evolving role of art criticism in today’s cultural landscape. From the early days of building one of the most influential art publications to navigating the shifting boundaries between journalism, activism, and personal voice, Hrag offers candid insights on the responsibilities and challenges of covering the art world. The conversation spans memorable exhibitions, the politics of cultural institutions, and the power of writing to hold the art world accountable. Whether you’re an emerging artist, a seasoned curator, or simply art-curious, this episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how art criticism is shaping our understanding of culture today.
In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde, Caira sits down with contemporary abstract artist Ashley Cole, whose bold, expressive works channel the energy of color, memory, and personal symbolism. Ashley shares how her early environment shaped her creative voice and sparked her love for vibrant color and layered textures.
Together, they discuss Ashley’s unique approach to abstraction, the significance of scale and color in her practice, and how painting becomes a tool for both storytelling and self-expression. Tune in as Ashley reflects on vulnerability, visibility, and the power of pouring oneself into the canvas.
In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde, Caira sits down with Asmaa Walton — Detroit-based arts educator and founder of the Black Art Library, a growing reference archive dedicated to Black visual art. We talk about the origin of the project, the role of ephemera in preserving cultural memory, and the importance of making art history accessible to all. From museum education to grassroots archiving, Asmaa shares how she’s reshaping how we learn about and engage with Black art.
🎧 Tune in for a powerful conversation on legacy, learning, and liberation through the arts.
For more information follow here: https://www.instagram.com/blackartlibrary/?hl=en
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, we are thrilled to welcome the immensely talented Layo Bright! Known for her captivating sculptures and mixed-media works, Bright explores themes of migration, inheritance, and identity through materials like glass, clay, wood, and textiles. Her art resonates deeply, reflecting fragile yet complex relationships with personal, natural, and built environments.
In this episode, we discuss:
✨ Her solo museum debut Dawn and Dusk at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
✨ The role of ancestral narratives and natural forms in her work.
✨ Her global journey from Lagos to international exhibitions and residencies.
Bright's ability to weave personal history with universal themes makes this an inspiring conversation you won't want to miss!
📅 Available now on all major podcast platforms.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#LayoBright #TheCuratorialBlondePodcast #ContemporaryArt #ArtistInterview #ArtInFocus
New Episode: The Curatorial Blonde x Arvie Smith
In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde, I sit down with the incredible Arvie Smith, a painter whose vibrant, politically charged works confront the legacies of racism, power, and representation in America. We discuss his artistic journey, the influence of storytelling in his practice, and how his bold, layered compositions challenge dominant narratives. Smith shares insights into his process, the role of satire and memory in his work, and his perspectives on the evolving landscape of contemporary Black art.
Tune in for a compelling conversation with one of today’s most thought-provoking artists. Available now on all streaming platforms! 🎙✨ #TheCuratorialBlonde #ArvieSmith #BlackArtMatters #ContemporaryArt
🎙️ New Episode Alert: A Conversation with Natasha Roberts
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, we are honored to host Natasha Roberts—a visionary publicist turned art advisor and strategic consultant. Known for her ability to bridge creativity and strategy, Natasha works with artists, brands, nonprofits, and cultural organizations to craft impactful campaigns and culturally resonant experiences.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ Her journey from PR and luxury events to founding The KNOW.
✨ The art of building public engagement and cultivating buzzworthy campaigns.
✨ Her groundbreaking role as the first-ever Publicist at Public Art Fund.
✨ Insights from her post-graduate studies in curatorial practice, contemporary art, and even perfumery!
Natasha’s expertise and passion for advocacy have positioned her as a dynamic force in the art world. Don’t miss this conversation with one of the most innovative strategists shaping contemporary art and public engagement today.
📅 Available now on all major podcast platforms.
#NatashaRoberts #TheCuratorialBlondePodcast #ArtAndCulture #ArtAdvisor #CreativeStrategy
In this week’s episode, we're thrilled to welcome multidisciplinary artist Basil Kincaid! Known for their powerful explorations of memory, identity, and liberation through quilting, performance, and sculpture, Basil dives deep into the roots of their practice, the influences that shape their artistry, and the role of community in their work.
Tune in as we explore Basil's journey, their unique creative process, and how they see the future of art-making in relation to healing and transformation. You won’t want to miss this inspiring conversation!
Catch Ep. 62 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major streaming platforms. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and follow along on social media for behind-the-scenes content!
Listen now and join the conversation and check out our guest on instagram @
Basil Kincaid (@basilkincaid)
#TheCuratorialBlonde #BasilKincaid #ArtPodcast
Tune in this week for a special monthly episode of The Curatorial Blonde where we take a look at the current state of the art market in the midst the fall art season.
This episode, we’re joined by the incredible artist Adebunmi Gbadebo! Renowned for her powerful sculptures and works using materials like human hair, indigo, and cotton, Adebunmi sheds light on her profound approach to reclaiming history, memory, and the Black experience through her art.
Listen in as we discuss her journey, the symbolic materials she uses, and the stories embedded in her work. Adebunmi's practice pushes the boundaries of traditional mediums, creating pieces that challenge and inspire.
Catch Ep. 61 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite streaming platform. Don’t miss out—subscribe, leave a review, and stay connected for more art and culture insights!
Listen now and join the conversation 🌍 #TheCuratorialBlonde #AdebunmiGbadebo #ArtPodcast
In this episode of The Curatorial Blonde Podcast, Episode 59, we’ll be joined by Siobhan An Jie Russell Wood, a multifaceted artist whose work spans photography, sculpture, modeling, video making, and poetry. Her diverse background as a former fashion assistant informs her multi-disciplinary studio practice, characterized by a collaged process that reflects the overwhelming flow of contemporary information. Siobhan's art addresses her experiences navigating complex social and racial contexts shaped by her lineage tied to both the enslaved and the enslavers, a result of British and Dutch colonialism. Through her exploration of imperialist histories, she critically examines representations of the commodified ‘Other’ and diaspora culture in today’s digital landscape.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#artpodcast #thecuratorialblonde #BlackArt #cairamoreira #womenartists #diasporicart
This week on The Curatorial Blonde we have Lauryn Levette. Levette sets her colorful figurative works in a dreamscape capturing the subconscious mind and elevating agency and power in Black women. Her paintings and drawings reference personal narrative, pop culture, and spirituality to explore themes of the self, the power of introspection, and learning to assert comfort and vulnerability in a world that is still learning to value it. Levette graduated with a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2021. Her art has been exhibited in several fairs, auctions, and solo and group shows across the U.S. and internationally for venues such as Soho House, Untitled, Miami, and WACO’s Wearable Art Gala. She is recognized in Artsy, Juxtapoz Magazine, and RISD Museum publications.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#thecuratorialblondepodcast
#LaurynLevette
#womenartists
#artpodcasts
#Blackwomeninarts
This week on The Curatorial Blonde we have Jasmin Hernandez (she/her). She is the Black Latina founder & eic of her art baby Gallery Gurls. An award-winning digital space celebrating Black & POC changemakers in contemporary art since 2012. Gallery Gurls has been featured in Vogue, Artnet, and partnered with Vanity Fair, Dior, Outfront Media, Artsy, etc. Her writing has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Latina, PopSugar, Bustle, ELLE, Refinery29, CNN Style, among others. Her debut book, We Are Here: Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World, was released by Abrams (2021). Her writing has been awarded by The Awesome Foundation (2018) and Critical Minded (2020), and she is a Creatives Rebuild New York inaugural grant recipient (2022-24). She is a proud Dominican Yorker, based in Harlem. To stay tuned on Jasmin Hernandez’s work and everything we talked about during the episode check out the links below. Live on all major streaming platforms.
https://www.jasminhernandez.com/
https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/we-are-here_9781419747595/
https://www.instagram.com/gallerygurls/
https://whosbehindblackart.com/
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#thecuratorialblondepodcast
#jasminhernandez
#gallerygurls
#afrolatina
#Blackwomeninarts
This week on The Curatorial Blonde we have Allison Glenn. Allison Glenn is a New York-based curator and writer focusing on the intersection of art and public space, through public art and special projects, biennials, and major new commissions by a wide range of contemporary artists. She is a Visiting Curator in the Department of Film Studies at the University of Tulsa, organizing the Sovereign Futures convening, and Artistic Director of The Shepherd, a three-and-a-half-acre arts campus part of the newly christened Little Village cultural district in Detroit.
Previous roles include Co-Curator of Counterpublic Triennial 2023; Senior Curator at New York's Public Art Fund, where she proposed and developed Fred Eversley: Parabolic Light (2023) and Edra Soto Graft (2024) for Doris C. Freedman Plaza; Guest Curator at the Speed Art Museum, and Associate Curator of Contemporary Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. In this role, Glenn shaped how outdoor sculpture activates and engages Crystal Bridges 120-acre campus through a series of new commissions, touring group exhibitions, and long-term loans. She also realized site-specific architectural interventions, such as Joanna Keane Lopez, A dance of us (un baile de nosotros), (2020), as part of State of the Art 2020 at The Momentary. She acted as the Curatorial Associate + Publications Manager for Prospect New Orleans’ international art triennial Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp. A Curatorial Fellowship with the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, culminated with In the beginning, sometimes I left messages in the street (2016), a citywide billboard and performance exhibition. As Program Manager at University of Chicago's Arts Incubator, she worked with a team led by Theaster Gates to develop the emergent space, where she curated exhibitions and commissioned performances such as Amun: The Unseen Legends (2014), a new performance from Terry Adkin's Lone Wolf Recital Corps, that included Kamau Patton.
Glenn has been a visiting critic, lecturer, and guest speaker at a number of universities, including The University of Tulsa, University of Pennsylvania, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Louisiana State University, and Pacific Northwest College of Art. Her writing has been featured in catalogues published by
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Neubauer Collegium, Counterpublic Triennial, Prospect New Orleans Triennial, Princeton Architectural Press, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Kemper Museum, Studio Museum in Harlem, and she has contributed to Artforum, ART PAPERS, Brooklyn Rail, Hyperallergic, ART21 Magazine, Pelican Bomb, Ruckus Journal, and Newcity, amongst others.
She has curated notable public commissions, group exhibitions, and site specific artist projects by many artists, including Mendi + Keith Obadike, Matthew Angelo Harrison, Maya Stovall, Rashid Johnson, Basel Abbas + Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Lonnie Holley, Ronny Quevedo, Edra Soto, Terry Adkins, Kamau Patton,Shinique Smith, Torkwase Dyson, George Sanchez-Calderon, Hank Willis Thomas, Odili Donald Odita, Martine Syms, Derrick Adams, Lisa Alvarado, Sarah Braman, Spencer Finch, Jessica Stockholder, Joanna Keane-Lopez, Genevieve Gaignard and others. Her 2021 exhibition Promise, Witness, Remembrance was name one of the Best Art Exhibitions of 2021 by The New York Times. Glenn is a member of Madison Square Park Conservancy’s Public Art Consortium Collaboration Committee and sits on the Board of Directors for ARCAthens, a curatorial and artist residency program based in Athens, Greece, New Orleans, LA and The Bronx, New York. She received dual Master’s degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Modern Art History, Theory and Criticism and Arts Administration and Policy, and a Bachelor of Fine Art Photography with a co-major in Urban Studies from Wayne State University in Detroit.
This week on episode 54 of The Curatorial Blonde we speak with Laura Lester, owner of Lester Fine Art LLC is a full-service art advisory specializing in modern, post-war, and contemporary
art. Laura works with clients in Chicago and beyond— from first-time buyers and established collectors, to
real-estate developers and interior designers. Her clients rely on our reputation for discretion,
confidentiality, and transparency in all aspects of our business.
Tune in to learn more on all major streaming platforms.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#Artpodcast
#LauraLester
#thecuratorialblondepodcast
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, Ep. 53 Artist, Na’ye Perez discusses his artistic journey, navigating exhibition, and how he approaches painting, drawing, and performance in his practice resulting in “This transmedia approach grounds each work to the communities and memories they were derived from.”
Listen now on all major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and view visuals on YouTube.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#Artpodcast
#Na’yePerez
#thecuratorialblondepodcast
#artist
#brooklyn
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, Ep. 52 features Kimmah Dennis (b. 1996, Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire), who received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, for Studio Art (2020) and is an MFA candidate in the Painting and Drawing
program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as a recipient of the New Artist Society Scholarship and the 2024 Terra Foundation Affiliated Rome Prize Fellow at the American Academy in
Rome.
Listen now on all major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, and Spotify, and view visuals on YouTube.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#artspodcast
#AfricanDiaspora
#arttalks
#contemporaryart
#chicago
#KimmahDennis
#CairaMoreira
#thecuratorialblondepodcast
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, Ep. 51 features Reevah Agarwaal who is a multi-disciplinary artist from New Delhi, India, currently based in Chicago, IL. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2024. Through textiles and print media, her work explores girlhood, memory, and the complex dualities that exist in domestic relationships. Using repurposed found textiles that have a personal history, she creates quilts and collages that reference her childhood, relationships, and the domestic spaces she has lived in. By employing material history, intuition, and memory, she aims to reconstruct and reclaim narratives of women and girls.
Her work has appeared in various shows including Stainless Gallery in New Delhi, and at Zhou B Art Center, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Purple Window Gallery, Color Club, South Asia Institute, FLXST Contemporary, Free Range, and The Martin in Chicago. She also has permanent public artwork on view in South Chicago which was funded by Chicago Public Art Group (CPAG) and South Chicago Parents and Friends. Recently she received the New Futures Award from The Other Art Fair. Currently, her work is on view in a two-person show at FLXST Contemporary with Lisa DeAbreu titled "Becoming".
#arttalks
#ReevahAgarwaal
#ContemporaryArt
#arttalks
#Chicago
#CairaMoreira
#TheCuratorialBlonde
#southasianartist
#indianartists
This week on The Curatorial Blonde, Ep. 50 features Jasmine Weber. Weber is a writer, editor, and artist from Long Island, New York, now based in Brooklyn.
Her experience includes news editor of Hyperallergic, editing and writing about contemporary arts and culture since 2018. She has participated in panels hosted by the Brooklyn Rail, Medgar Evers College, ICP-Bard, Creative Time, the International Association of Art Critics, and the New York Academy of Art, also appearing on NPR’s All of It with Alison Stewart.
Her photography and collage work has been published in multiple publications, including Them, Gumbo Magazine, Rookie. Her artwork was presented in a 2019 exhibition hosted by BRIC.
In 2018, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Ethnicity and Race Studies from Columbia University, specializing in Black Cultural Production and receiving departmental honors for her undergraduate thesis. She also completed a concentration in Visual Arts.
#arttalks #JasmineWeber #ContemporaryArt #arttalks #Blackwomen #CairaMoreira #TheCuratorialBlonde