On Topic

MCAD President Sanjit Sethi speaks with curator, arts advocate, and community leader Rosie Gordon-Wallace. Gordon-Wallace shares her experience as the pioneering founder of Diaspora Vibe Culture Arts Incubator in Miami, a leading platform for artists to challenge traditional definitions of Caribbean and Latin American art.

Recorded during the Race and Design 2021 Presidential Lecture Series. MCAD President Sanjit Sethi speaks with Amanda Huynh, a product, interaction, and food designer, and professor at Pratt Institute; and Rosemary Ugboajah, founder and CEO of Neka Creative, a brand development agency committed to bringing the power of inclusion to organizations. Amanda and Rosemary share their own experiences addressing race and racism inside and outside the design world. How can practitioners and company structures be more responsive to the communities it serves, and ultimately, more successful?

MCAD President Sanjit Sethi welcomes Ben Cameron, President of the Jerome Foundation, and Marianna Schaffer, Vice President of Programs at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, to discuss how the philanthropic field has changed and how foundations can equitably support the artists of today as well as long into the future.

In this episode, MCAD President Sanjit Sethi speaks with Sarah Bellamy of the St. Paul-based Penumbra Theatre, one of the nation's oldest and largest African American theater companies. Sarah discusses Penumbra's history and how the organization grapples with the social condition of Black Americans, while it also serves as a beacon for the community. Recently, Penumbra has transformed into a center for racial healing and developed a racial equity training program.

This episode's guests also happen to be MCAD alumni—technical artist and animator Mike Medicine Horse '00 and print-based studio artist Jonathan Herrera Soto '17. Hosted by MCAD President Sanjit Sethi, the conversation explores creativity and equity, and how it relates to mentorship, collaboration, racial inheritance, and social responsibility.

Lili Hall and Todd Paulson are the founder/CEO and Chief Creative Officer of KNOCK, inc., a full-experience creative agency with a strong commitment to community development. Sanjit spoke with Lili and Todd about the what it means to be a values driven ad agency, how philosophies on corporate responsibility have changed for them, and how they see empathy as a key driver in their work. Learn more about Lili and Todd on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic)

Gülgün Kayim is an interdisciplinary theater artist, writer and teacher. She serves as Director of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy for the City of Minneapolis. She and Sanjit spoke on May 28, three days after George Floyd was killed and hours before the 3rd precinct in Minneapolis burned to the ground. This conversation is one of processing, unpacking how our institutions respond during great moments of reckoning, and understanding where art and culture fit in the process of healing and responding to trauma. You can learn more about Gülgün on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic).

DeAnna and Roger Cummings founded Juxtaposition Arts twenty-five years ago in North Minneapolis to engage young artists in education and career development through creativity. As Chief Cultural Producer, Roger activates relationships between space and place through art, design, independent livelihood, and collective social enterprise. A few days after our conversation, DeAnna transitioned from Juxta’s CEO to Program Director of Arts at the McKnight Foundation. Learn more about DeAnna and Roger on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic)

Ifrah Mansour is a Somali, refugee, Muslim, multimedia artist, and educator residing in Minnesota. Sanjit and Ifrah talked in mid-May about how those identities are important to her work and about how curiosity, dialogue, and representation are important in the art world and beyond. Learn more about Ifrah on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic)

Yia Vang is owner and chef of Union Hmong Kitchen and forthcoming restaurant Vinai in Northeast Minneapolis. Yia is a phenomenal presence in the Twin Cities food scene and celebrates Hmong culture throughout his work. Sanjit and Yia spoke at the beginning of May about how intrinsically important culture and community are to food production and how food is a vehicle for expressing philosophies and ideas. Learn more on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic).

Hend Al-Mansour ‘02, MFA is a visual artist practicing in Minneapolis. Hend and Sanjit talk about Hend's childhood in Saudi Arabia, her transition from doctor to artist, and about how her move to the United States changed her relationship to Islamic art. Learn more about Hend on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic).

R.T. Rybak is the former mayor of Minneapolis and the President of the Minneapolis Foundation. Sanjit and R.T. talk about the unfinished work of disrupting police culture in Minneapolis, R.T.'s past, and how to correct inequities for today. Learn more about R.T. Rybak on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic)

Tricia Heuring–a professor, curator, and arts organizer–both lives and teaches this idea of cultural leadership. In this first episode of the podcast, Sanjit and Tricia talk about her intuitive path to curatorial work, the creation of Public Functionary, and how she approaches teaching cultural leadership as a faculty member in MCAD's Entrepreneurial Studies program. Learn more about Tricia on our website (mcad.edu/ontopic).

Welcome to On Topic: a new podcast from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In season 1, President Sanjit Sethi explores the topics of creative cultural leadership and resiliency You can find writings and ways to join the conversation on our website. And of course, please subscribe to or follow this podcast wherever you are listening.