ArtSkewl

*This episode was recorded before Russia's invasion into Ukraine. Our guest, Ellina Chetverikova was born there and has family still living there. If you're able to support Ellina in her efforts to get her family out of Ukraine and to safety, you can donate to the links below.  Venmo: @ellina-chetverikova  PayPal : @echetverikova@artacademy.edu In this episode, we meet our new co-host Peter Van Hyning! Peter and I talk with Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) alum Ellina Chetverikova. Ellina was born in Severodonetsk, Ukraine, in 1989. Her love of painting and drawing developed very early, and she's always felt drawn to represent her surrounding world and create images from life. Listen to learn about how Ellina moved to Cincinnati, OH as an exchange student to pursue her education in Arts, her experience growing up in Ukraine, and how her practice has evolved since leaving the AAC.  Resources: Sugarlift Gallery Bayan Air Bud        

In this episode, we're joined by two photographers who work in medium format, Caroline Bell and Bruce Bennett. Bell is joining as a guest host. Bennett was in town for his latest photo series, Love II, which was on view at the Weston Art Gallery from Nov 19, 2021 - Jan 16, 2022. Bennett explores issues of gender, sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status in large-scale black and white photographs. In this interview, we ask Bennett about how he got to this point, what it's like to balance editorial and personal work, his love for film photography, and what he misses most about art school.

On this episode, we talk with Anna Paulson and Caleb Francis of Main Street Studio. They are both 2020 graduates of the Art Academy of Cincinnati and have formed their studio during this unprecedented pandemic. Listen to learn more about their experience and what they look forward to now that they'll soon be opening their doors to the community.

This was an unprecedented year for students, and for some, it was their final year. After dealing with the unknown and staying apart, we were able to come together for in-person graduation. Held outside and with safety in mind, we celebrated these students' hard work. For this episode, we recorded live and tried to capture the feeling.

Hanif Abdurraqib, internationally acclaimed poet, essayist, and cultural critic is our latest guest on ArtSkewl. Proclaimed "Hanif Super Fans" Amyia Carrol and Amanda Parker-Wolery take over the podcast for this episode to ask Hanif questions about his new book, what it felt like to have a small art school ask him to speak at our commencement, and so much more. 

This month we prepare to launch the Art Academy Shop! Luke and I have been working hard to fill the up the store and we have some great new t-shirts designed by AAC students. On this episode we talk to one of the shirt designers, some local shops, and we get to find out what Luke thinks makes a good t-shirt. 

Duta Dago and Nytaya Babbitt are upperclassmen at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. In this episode, we talk about the work they're creating, the founding of the Black Student Union, and their experiences as a student of color at a predominantly white college of arts and design.

Artist and Art Academy of Cincinnati (AAC) professor, Keith Benjamin just returned from a sabbatical, Covid may have prevented him from traveling, but after talking with Keith we learned the only traveling he wanted to do was the walk to his studio. During our interview, we talk about how Keith doesn't source his materials, how teaching influences his work, and what he did over his sabbatical.

Matthew Grote is Cincinnati based artist and designer, whose work ranges from furniture to painted murals. He recently created a series of light-based interactive public art installations in collaboration with Artworks for Switch on Avondale. We talk to Matt about his time at Fischer Price, his love of graffiti, and how he uses his industrial design background to work with communities to create long-lasting art.

The pandemic has caused anxieties to hit an all-time high, and the holidays aren't making it any easier. On this episode of ArtSkewl, we talk with Mental Health Counselor and Artist, Casey Riordan. Casey tells us how art has lead her to mental health and she gives us some advice for managing anxiety in these unprecedented times. 

After taking a break to adjust to this new normal ArtSkewl is back with episode 3! We connected with artist and AAC professor Benjamin Cook over ZOOM to talk about art during COVID, and his project, Social Distance Gallery. *This episode was recorded in April.

On the second episode of ArtSkewl, we sit down with poet and mixed media artist, Kile McVey. They recently installed an interactive work at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in response to the current show, Pride and Prejudice. We talk with Kile about the installation, the Cincinnati poetry scene, zodiacs, and what it's like to apply to grad school.    

It's the very first episode! Luke and Chelsey talk with two members of the feminist collective, ArtHags. Linnea Gartin and Kate Tepe discuss their current installation “Holding Space: The Jeanne-Claude Project," on view at The Carnegie through the end of January.