The Art World: What If...?‪!‬ Allan Schwartzman and Charlotte Burns

This time hosts Charlotte Burns and Allan Schwartzman welcome their team of editorial advisors Deana Haggag, Mia Locks and Jay Sanders. They’re the brilliant trio who’ve helped steer this season’s conversations acting as an independent sounding board lending editorial advice and expertise - all essential in the creation of this podcast. This is (almost) the season finale - so time to reflect and look back at some of the surprises, delights and, of course, the many "What Ifs". Listen out in the next few weeks for some special bonus episodes!

What if we supported artists in taking moonshots?  This week we’re taking a tour around Glenstone museum in Potomac, Maryland - one of the largest and most ambitious private institutions in America, fusing art, architecture and nature. This wide-ranging conversation between Glenstone’s co-founder and director, Emily Rales and host Charlotte Burns covers the art inside the museum and how to create more meaningful visitor experiences, to the Glenstone foundation and future philanthropic plans. “Our values are immutable,” Emily says. “Art is essential to life. And sometimes when I say that to people, they're like, what does that even mean? But I really believe that art is essential to our civilization and to humanity.” She adds: “Long-term defines the way we think. We're not intending to go out guns a-blazing and then sun-setting the foundation within 20 years. We want this to continue to be sustained in perpetuity—and we really mean that.”

What if we made more mess? What if we could sit with discomfort?  This time Charlotte Burns talks to one of her heroes, the artist Pope.L. Probably best known for his public performance art including his legendary crawls, Pope.L has risked his own safety for his work — and he isn’t finished yet. An artist whose practice is as varied as it is profound, Pope.L makes art across media, time and space. He talks to Charlotte about his new work for a major exhibition involving confederacy monuments, about working with institutions and about his goal to make more mess. “Oh man, you know, like removing every wall in a space and just having no differentiated areas," he says. "That would be one way. The other one would probably be the use of outside and inside. Don't make that a differentiation and then have them agree that we'll do the show in winter. That would be fun!”

What if we trusted artists more? This episode Charlotte Burns is joined by Kathy Halbreich, the outgoing director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, who’s led some of the most dynamic institutions in the art world. They discuss freedom, finances and what the future holds for museums and those who work in them. “You could not pay me enough money to be a museum director at this point in my life,” says Kathy. “Maybe that's just because I really know what the job is and I think it is one of the most misunderstood and genuinely taxing jobs.”

Time to take stock this episode with hosts Charlotte Burns and Allan Schwartzman. We look back at some of the big ideas that have emerged throughout the series so far. From change and creativity, to finance and futures, we discuss what’s amazed, delighted—and even filled us with hope. "I think a lot more about excess than abundance," says Allan. "There is a generosity with which the word abundance has been used by a number of the people we've interviewed. I think that that sense of generosity and of abundance comes from an awareness of what the opposite is. And each of these people, in their own way, is either being given power or seizing power — and doing so to create a better world." Tune in for this very special episode.

We’re still in the city of angels for our second special episode asking ‘What if LA is the future?’ Join host, Charlotte Burns, as she drives from the East Side to Korea Town and out to Santa Monica. We visit the studio of artist and filmmaker, Cauleen Smith, whose life and work centers around building a better world. We also drop in on Kibum Kim, partner and co-founder at Commonwealth and Council - a gallery building a supportive community of artists - who wants to challenge the high-speed efficiency of the current art world model. Both embody what it means to live in the realm of possibility. “I guess what I'm doing is always looking to the relatively recent past of models where people really did do things differently quite successfully,” says Cauleen. Tune in, and subscribe, for more.