This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM about his recent trip abroad. Having just returned from France, they talk about the Lourve robbery, differences in French vs American museums, the Sargent and Paris show, and Melissa's upcoming trip to London. 

Recorded on 10/28/2025

Alex is away on vaction so we are reairing episode 14 of the show where Alex sat down with Audrey Roclore, MAM's Curatorial Assistant to discover what it’s like to work behind the scenes on an art museum's curatorial staff and learn more about the ranging roles and responsibilities that surround any given museum's curatorial department.

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. In this episode, they answer some more burning questions asked by our listeners. They chat about hidden-gems in the Museum, the balance of showcasing historical works and supporting working artists, and dispelling musuem misconceptions.

Recorded on 10/14/2025

This special episode of "Maybe Actually Museums are for me," features four guests who join host Alex in answering the quinitsential question of the entire show, "Why are museums for you?" 

"Maybe, Actually, Museums are for me," is a podcast focused on inviting listeners who may have never been exposed to or had an interest in the arts to learn more about the culture of museums from somebody who, even while working in the industry, still wonders, Why is that not on display? or Should I know who painted that?

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist of the Montclair Art Museum, as he talks with museum professionals, other museum-goers, and exhibiting artists about how to approach and feel comfortable at a museum.

Thank you for 50 incredible episodes, heres to 50 more!

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), as he chats with Andy Kahnke, a MAM docent, about the many ways to experience museums, what a docent does, and why tours make a great starting point for newcomers to museums.

This episode was originally recorded on 10/16/2024

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. In this episode, they discuss recent headlines in the art world including a rural Danish art museum acquires a painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, and how the mystery behind the small dog featured in Rembrandt's famous, The Night Watch, 1642 was solved.

Recorded on 09/23/2025

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum, as he speaks with Blood and Ink author Joe Pompeo about an upcoming book talk he’ll be moderating with fellow narrative nonfiction writer Michelle Young. They discuss her recent book The Art Spy, the intersection of fine art and literature, and how researchers and historical novelists draw on libraries, museums, and cultural institutions to inform their work.

This episode is in association with the upcoming series of booktalks, From Resistance to Revelation: Stories of Art and Intrigue in France. In partnership with Watchung Booksellers, this three-part book talk series explores the power of art in times of war, loss, and transformation. From the streets of Nazi-occupied Paris to the galleries of the world’s great museums, each conversation will reveal how artists, curators, and everyday people work to preserve culture and make meaning during moments of upheaval.

You can find tickets here—
https://www.montclairartmuseum.org/resistance-revelation

Episode recorded on 09/10/2025

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), as he sits down again with Audrey Roclore, MAM's Curatorial Assistant to discuss the ins and outs of gallery rotations, how a tranforms in the weeks before an openig, what its like to work closely with artists on an installation, and what new is coming for the Montclair Art Museum in the fall.
Episode recorded on 09/10/2025

In this final summer bonus episode Alex revisits his chat with Eric-Paul Riege (Diné), the incredible and currently exhibiting experimental fiber and performance artist. In this episode the two talk about what it means to activate his hanging soft sculptures, the stigma often associated with performative art pieces, and the philosophy behind Riege’s works that he describes as “totems of memories”.

The original episode was recorded on 09/14/2024

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), sits down once again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. Together, they explore what it takes to market a museum. From the philosophies behind social media and email campaigns to strategies for bringing visitors both to the museum for the first time and back again. It’s a candid, behind-the-scenes look at how digital storytelling helps keep a museum vibrant, visible, and connected to its community.

Recorded on 08/26/2025

This episode of Maybe, Actually, Museums Are for Me is a little different. With summer winding down and vacation season in full swing at the Museum, Alex needed a bit more time to prep upcoming episodes. So, this week, they share a few thoughts about visiting Waves (2011), a public artwork by Tom Nussbaum installed on the Wildwood Boardwalk. Then, we're reairing Episode Two of the show, where Alex sits down with MAM’s Chief Curator, Gail Stavitsky. They discuss Gail’s path into the arts and curatorial work, how to learn to really look at art, what’s coming up at the Museum, and what first-time visitors can expect when stepping into a museum space.

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats with Dana Hawkins-Simons, Director of Development & CommunicationsMontclair Early Music. In this episode, they discuss the upcoming Medieval Fest coming to MAM,  the intersection of renaissance and baroque music and museums, and the importance of supporting local nonprofits.

Recorded on 08/08/2025

Buy tickets to Medieval Fest here—https://www.montclairearlymusic.org/events/medievalfest-2024

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats with Georgette Gilmore, Engagement Editor at Montclair Local. In this episode, they discuss the importance of reporting on the art world, how journalists should be approaching the arts, and the impact of reporting, about the arts and beyond, on the local level.

EDITORIAL NOTE:

This episode was recorded on 08/01/2025 and refrences the removal of President Trump's impeachments from a Smithsonian exhibition. Upon release of this episode the Gaurdian and other news outlets have since reported that the Smithsonian, "will restore Trump impeachment exhibits in ‘coming weeks’". 

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. In this episode, they discuss recent headlines in the art world including how a Jackson Pollock painting failed to sell at auction, and that another million dollar bananna was eaten while on view in an exhibition in France.

Recorded on 07/24/2025

This week on "Maybe, Actually, Museums Are for Me," Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), sits down for a conversation with friend and artist Katie Truk (@ktruk on Instagram). Katie creates dynamic fiber sculptures using pantyhose and is the perfect person to talk about abstraction. In this episode, Alex and Katie dive into what abstract art really is, how to perceive and approach it for the first time, and the wide range of artwork that is often labeled (or mislabeled) as abstract.

You can see a video of Katie at work in her studio here: https://youtu.be/v372zahTlgQ?si=Vn9gUZ7CHgyeRpr6

Recorded on 07/22/2025

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), as he sits down again with Audrey Roclore, MAM's Curatorial Assistant to discuss the purpose of gallery rotations, how a show closing informs what replaces it, working closely with artists, and what new is coming for the Montclair Art Museum in the fall.

Episode recorded on 07/15/2025

This episode of "Maybe, Actually, Museums are for me," is a little different. While Alex is busy prepping upcoming episodes, we thought we’d talk about what to expect for the show this summer, and re-air our very first episode for new listeners of the show who may not have heard the episode which started it all.

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. In this episode, they answer some more burning questions asked by our listeners. They chat about things like how curatorial get large artworks into the Museum? Why MAM staffers choice to work in the arts and museum industry? And what are some museum recommendations in the Northeast?

Recorded on 07/01/2025

Join Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), as he sits down with Katherine Woodward, MAM's Assistant Registrar to discuss the purpose and importance of loaning artwork, why museums do it, how it happens, and what works of MAM's are on view elsewhere in the world.

Recorded on 06/17/2025

This week, Alex Pavljuk, Digital Content Strategist at the Montclair Art Museum (MAM), chats again with his colleague Melissa Casale, Digital Marketing Manager at MAM. In this episode the two cover the recent breaking news that the Louvre's staff has gone on strike in protest against overcrowding, lacking infastructure, and understaffing. They also discuss, without any influence or experience in museum design, how they would address some of the presented concerns.

Recorded on 06/17/2025