Our Shared Field

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, Anamaya and Aminata share the last conversation of the season. We begin by talking about the things that, for Aminata and Anamaya, make a place feel like a home.

Music in this episode was created specifically for this podcast by Philly indie band Lester, who pulls listeners in close with soundscapes that build and unravel.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, I talk to Aminata, block captain and civic leader, about the move back into her West Philly childhood home, the work she's done transforming a dilapidated lot into a community oasis, and why she sweeps the curb outside of her home every Sunday.

Music in this episode was created specifically for this podcast by Victor Vieira-Branco, featuring Matt Engle, while thinking about what collaboration actually sounds like.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

The intention with which Mexico City-based sculptor Anamaya Farthing-Kohl and West Philly block captain Aminata Sandra Calhoun care for the spaces they call home is remarkable. While ‘home’ means something different for each guest, they’ve both expanded the definition to exist outside of their own walls. For Aminata, a clean, cared-for home includes the block it is situated within, and for Anamaya, the actual form a home takes can be ever-shifting.

Today, I talk to artist Anamaya Farthing-Kohl, who always asks the public to collaborate with their work, asking for help to define, circulate, or discover its meanings and intentions. Everyday encounters and actions and objects become moments where Anamaya thinks, ‘this could be a sculpture’. 

Music in this episode was created for the conversation by janna, in response to Anamaya’s work and themes of creating alternative spaces for home and belonging.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

Today, Alexandra and Trae talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

Music in this episode was created for the conversation by Travis Woodson, a composer and multi-instrumentalist, as he was thinking about what an interaction between a painter and a microbiologist could sound like.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

On today's episode, Trae talks to me about all of the people who have made him who he is as an artist. We discuss the grief, family and love explored in his work, as well as, in his words, “the performative act of Blackness” for him and his body.

Music in this episode is by Emmanuel Ohemeng III and Perpetual Motion, a Philly  jazz fusion group that combines elements of jazz, hip hop and rock, led by local award-winning trumpet player Emmanuel Ohemeng III.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Multimedia artist Charles ‘Trae’ Mason III and microbiologist and immunologist Alexandra Soare talk with me about the relationship between art and science, and how both fields still have a long way to go in their ability to communicate outside of themselves. We also discuss the necessity of a good mentor, and acknowledge those who changed and expanded the ways they work.

On today's episode, Alex and I talk about her interest in merging the sciences with other fields, the work she’s doing with the Baltimore chapter for the Association for Women in Science, and some of the weirdest things she’s had to carry on the New York City subway.

Music in this episode is by DJ Osagie, a DJ, producer, and community events curator originally from Atlanta GA who uses his knowledge of music to educate listeners and youth on the traditional forms and sounds of African American culture.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Music in this episode is by TIOGA the Band, a modern indie rock band, born in Philadelphia, with roots extending to New York City. The quartet is composed of Greg Adams (lead vocals), Derrick Dieso (guitar), Austin Paragas (bass & vocals), and Henri Tyler Brooks (drums & vocals).

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Today, I talk with organics business owner Mike Serant of MicroLife. Mike and I talk about how he got started in the business, why it’s getting easier to communicate about organics, and how a healthy soil ultimately leads to a healthy society.

Music in this episode is by Bria Elena, a Philadelphia-based country singer and songwriter.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Today, I talk with artist and plant collaborator Ellie Irons. Ellie and I talk about a number of her ongoing public art projects, why tough weedy urban plants are so inspiring to her, and how she’s using her work to bridge a communication gap between science and the world it describes.

Music was created specifically for this episode by Veronica MJ; this piece, "Natalia", was conceived as an ode to Natalia Molchanova, the great Russian free diver, and is meant to evoke a sort of chaotic stillness that one can experience when diving deep down into a body of water, or sitting alone atop a mountain or deep in a forest.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Music for this episode was created by Lizdelise, whose work is a celebration of queer identity and self.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Music for this episode was created by Karen Smith, a Philadelphia percussionist and poet who often takes their drums on the road.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Music for this episode was created by Sophie White, a percussionist and professional drywaller. One of her pieces featured here mimics the sound of construction sites.

Check out our website to read more about the musicians and our guests, and to follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part three of the conversation, Aviva and Marcus come together to define their terms, discuss the power of a single tree, and to brainstorm potential project ideas.

Music for this episode was created specifically for this conversation, with Marcus' and Aviva's work in mind, by Philly improv musician Matt Engle.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part two of the conversation, Marcus speaks with me about his experiences as a volunteer tree tender, how he fell in love with caring for trees, and exactly what kinds of trees we should be planting and tending to.

Music for this episode is by local guitarist and composer Nick Millevoi, from the album Streets of Philadelphia.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to technical director Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Connected by their urgent efforts to tend to the environment, lawyer and Philadelphia-local Marcus Ferreira and eco-artist Aviva Rahmani talk about their varied approaches to eco-activism. Though they work at very different scales — Ferreira walks the streets of South Philly with pruners in his pocket and Rahmani writes symphonies for forests — they are both deeply attuned to the need for ecological restoration. In this conversation, we discuss the necessity of long-term thought, and the effects of planting and maintaining a single tree.

In part one of the conversation, Aviva and I talk about how she became an ecological artist, the broader role of art in the battle against climate change, and the development of her idea, “Trigger Point Theory”.

Music for this episode is composed by Hannah Selin, and featuring cellist Alexandra Jones. The piece featured here, Hirondelle, reimagines the vast intercontinental migration of the graceful barn swallow.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

We start the pilot season of Our Shared Field on a subject near and not-so-dear to the city of Philadelphia: the trash on our “dirtiest city in America” streets. Terrill Haigler, sanitation worker and activist, and Amze Emmons, printmaker and teacher, join me to talk about the ways in which this city’s trash has inspired them to create and build community, and how tackling a city’s overwhelming issues can begin with cleaning up the block.

In part three of the conversation, Amze and Terrill sit down together to talk about their love of the local, and the early stages of the project they're working on together!

The music for this episode was created by Arthur Thomas and the Funkitorium, a funk-meets-hip hop 6-piece band from Philadelphia.

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

We start the pilot season of Our Shared Field on a subject near and not-so-dear to the city of Philadelphia: the trash on our “dirtiest city in America” streets. Terrill Haigler, sanitation worker and activist, and Amze Emmons, printmaker and teacher, join me to talk about the ways in which this city’s trash has inspired them to create and build community, and how tackling a city’s overwhelming issues can begin with cleaning up the block.

In part one of the conversation, I begin by talking to Terrill about his activism on behalf of the sanitation department during the Covid-19 pandemic, alongside the things he finds in people’s trash cans and his plan to clean up Philadelphia. 

Music for this episode is by Jim Strong, a Philadelphia-local whose pieces featured here have been created using invented and found instruments from trash and other objects. 

Check out our website to read more about the guests, and follow their collaborations together.

Thank you to Eric Carbonara at NadaSoundStudio for audio editing, and to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for supporting this podcast.

Interviewees also have the opportunity to participate in a micro-residency, hosted digitally, where the public can experience and witness their processes of collaboration.

In the gaps between fields — in the space of actually listening to another person — new things can emerge, questions and creative projects that take into account differences of perspective.

About the host:

Our Shared Field is created and hosted by Austen Camille (she/her), an artist, writer, carpenter and arts organizer. Camille's practice investigates her itinerant state as it is informed by and intertwined with her work as a carpenter and land steward. The intersection between construction, land(scape), utility, and people’s desire to both care for and control their spaces is the result of growing up in her family’s hardware store and garden center. She received her MFA in Painting from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture in 2020. While in graduate school, she received multiple grants to organize a university-wide conversation series that brought different disciplines together to discuss common issues. This podcast series is an extension of her work, continuing to create spaces for dialogue and advocating for public arts accessibility. Learn more about her work here.

Credit:

Thank you to the Center for Humanities at Temple University for their support, and to Eric Carbonara of NadaSoundStudio for audio editing of this trailer. Thank you to the band Glitter Vomit for the music featured in the trailer.