Previously Unknown Independent

On this episode of Previously Unknown, we look ahead to Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists, a landmark symposium taking place at Independent organized by Art at a Time Like This and Artists at Risk Connection. The talks will highlight the challenges of censorship faced by artists around the world and the strong links between art and human rights. On the podcast, we hear from guests Barbara Pollack, the co-founder of Art At a Time Like This, and symposium speakers Laura Raicovich and Xiaoyu Weng, both of whom have confronted issues of censorship firsthand.

This episode features a special roundtable conversation ahead of Independent 2024, the fair’s 15th anniversary edition. Andrew Russeth, an editor at Artnet News, speaks with Elizabeth Dee, CEO and founder of Independent, and Matthew Higgs, founding curatorial advisor, about the major milestones through the 15-year history of the fair.
Artist Joel Mesler makes a special guest appearance looking back at his live painting sessions for Independent in 2019, when he created portraits of visitors at the fair to benefit White Columns. Mesler returns to Independent this year to restage the memorable presentation in honor of the 15th anniversary.
Later in the episode, Russeth and Dee speak with Forrest Arakawa-Nash, executive director of Contemporary Art Library, and art dealer Jay Gorney about The New York Gallery History Project, a major new digital archiving initiative co-organized by Independent and Contemporary Art Library.
Chapters:
1:25 - 15 Year History of Independent and Major Milestones: a conversation with Andrew Russeth, Elizabeth Dee and Matthew Higgs.
35:53 - A special guest appearance with artist Joel Mesler
54:30 - The New York Gallery History Project: a conversation with Andrew Russeth, Elizabeth Dee, Forrest Arakawa-Nash and Jay Gorney.

Our podcast series, Previously Unknown, returns this week with a new episode focused on a milestone moment the art and disabilities movement in America. Independent’s founding curatorial advisor Matthew Higgs hosts this timely conversation about the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s landmark acquisition of more than 100 works by artists practicing with the Oakland-based nonprofit Creative Growth Art Center. Tune in for more from our special guests Tom di Maria, the director emeritus of Creative Growth, and SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford.
If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:
Website: independenthq.com
Instagram: @independenthq

In this episode hosted at Independent 20th Century, Michael Dayton Hermann, Artist and Director of Licensing, Marketing, and Sales at The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, speaks with writer, curator, and photographer Bob Colacello, and Dia Art Foundation’s Senior Adjunct Curator of Special Projects, Donna De Salvo about Vito Schnabel Gallery’s solo show of Andy Warhol’s portraits at the fair.
This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.
If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:
Website: independenthq.com
Instagram: @independenthq

In this episode, Julia Halperin speaks with artist Maureen Dougherty, and Cindy Kang and Simonetta Fraquelli, co-curators of Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris (October 22, 2023 –January 21, 2024) at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the first major US exhibition dedicated to French artist Marie Laurencin in over 30 years. Our guests will speak to Marie Laurencin’s unique contributions to modern art in conjunction with Nahmad Contemporary’s solo presentation of her paintings from the 1920s and 1930s at Independent 20th Century. This body of work illuminates Laurencin’s distinct artistic language within the male-dominated avant-garde circles of early 20th-century Paris.
This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.
If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:
Website: independenthq.com
Instagram: @independenthq

In this episode, Lisa Darms, Executive Director of Hauser and Wirth Institute, and John Tain, Head of Research at Asia Art Archive, speak about the future of artist archives and legacies–from making archives accessible, maintaining papers in their communities and persevering the original order of a collection. Hauser and Wirth Institute is a non-profit exhibitor at Independent 20th Century 2023, and has recently funded and supported a major project to further the legacy of Zahoor ul Akhlaq with Asian Art Archives. 

This podcast is generously sponsored by Crozier Fine Arts.
If you’d like to support the show, you can visit our website and social media sites:
Website: independenthq.com
Instagram: @independenthq