Art and Other Stories

Queens-based artist Nancy Paredes and host Jacqueline Kok do a deep dive into the concepts and layered meanings of home, family, diaspora, and longing for a place that you've never been to.

Artist and educator, Charlotte Woolf, joins host Jacqueline Kok to share an intimate story about her father's final words and how that has shaped her practice.

Host Jacqueline Kok and Beatrice Glow sit down together to think through questions of land ownership and its intersection with positionality in this rich episode.

Jacqueline Kok sits with research-based, interdisciplinary artist KS Brewer to expound upon the layered meanings behind the statement "I can't breathe" and how that has informed and shaped KS' thinking and artistic practice.

For our second Pollinate-partnered episode, we have Matías Alvial, a New York-based multimedia artist, community organizer, and activist originally from Santiago, Chile. Together with Jacqueline, Matías shares with us what human connection means to him and how it drives his artistic practice.

Back in full force! Kicking off New Year with our new partner, NYC-arts organization, Pollinate, we are happy to share that our first episode features Juliette Hayt. Our regular host, Jacqueline Kok, chats with Juliette about what painting means to her, particularly as an art therapist. Happy listening and welcome back! 

Artist Sa'dia Rehman joins Jacqueline for the second episode of our NYC Pt. 2 series to share their thoughts and reflections on notions of identity, home, and space.

Curator Amanda Lee takes us back to New York City for our next trio of episodes. Kicking off this series, artist Michael Cavayero joins Amanda to talk about his journey from a Long Island New Yorker to a Beijing-based scholar in Buddhist texts and arts.

For the third and final episode of the Helsinki series, curators Amanda Lee and Jacqueline Kok sit down together to talk about the extraordinary life of Ellen Thesleff and her contributions to Finnish art history.

Helsinki-based textile artist Outi Martikainen joins us to chat about growing up in the Jyväskylä Workers' Club building when it was a city theatre in the '70s, and how architecture and theatre have come to play such important roles in her life.

Triptych Arts' curator Amanda Lee joins photographer and visual artist Lotta Lemetti on our first episode of the Helsinki series to chat about the power of poetry and cultural tales, and how these materials have shaped her practice.

For our last episode of the Taipei series, artist Yin-Ju Chen hops online to share with us the transformative spiritual experience that has shown and taught her new meanings of compassion.

London-based Taiwanese artist TingTong Chang joins us to talk about how ghosts, alternative knowledge, and cross-disciplinary collaborations have come to shape and inform his practice.

In the first episode of our Taipei series, artist Charwei Tsai chats with us about the importance and power of song. *Trigger warning: in this episode, we talk about sexual abuse in detainment centers.*

For our last episode of the Austin series, artist Tammie Rubin joins us to talk about how basic shapes and objects can take a life of their own. TW: In this episode, we mention the recent murders of the six Asian American women in Atlanta.

Artist Rachael Starbuck joins us to share her love of the pothos plant and how its presence in her life has helped shape, to a certain extent, her practice.

For the first episode of the Austin series, polymath and multimedia artist VLM joins Jacqueline on the podcast to do a deep dive into all things hair.

Multi-media artist Sarah Fox joins Jacqueline at the table to share her very personal story of adopting her son William and how she's incorporated that journey into her art.

For the second episode of our San Antonio series, Justin Sterling joins Jacqueline to talk about the European influences and notion of essence that drive and inform his practice.

Join us with artist Megan Solis as we dive into all things horror-related and how ghost stories might have more than just shock value.

On our last episode of the New York series, Jacqueline sits down with Kenneth Tam to talk about the shortcomings of relational aesthetics, masculinity, and performance. *Warning: harsh language used in the episode*

NY-based Japanese artist Kyoko Hamaguchi joins curator Piper Ross Ferriter to share her experience of being detained at the airport. Together, they discuss how perseverance and hope in the face of life's challenges can oftentimes lead to better days.

Kicking off the New York series, Jacqueline speaks with photographer Amanda Cerami on her time in Poland, searching for distant relatives and ultimately finding herself in the process.

In our third episode, and the last one of our Toronto series, recent Western University MFA graduate Ramolen Laruan joins us to talk about reconnecting with her roots through her art and the beautiful feeling of falling back in love with her culture.

In our second episode, the Toronto series, Jacqueline sits with artist Curtis Tawlst Santiago to explore the ideas of diaspora, displacement, what it means to "hit the mark," and how a Basquait painting became the catalyst of his success.

In our inaugural episode, French artist Jérôme Havre sits with curator Jacqueline Kok to talk about his transition from Montréal to Toronto and how his experience has mirrored, to an extent, his research interest and artistic practice. 

A brief intro about who we are, what this podcast is about, and why we decided to create it. We hope you enjoy and keep listening!