Art Works Podcast National Endowment for the Arts

Community Activist, Organizer and 2024 National Heritage Fellow Pat Johnson, a pillar of the Pocahontas, Arkansas community, shares her work preserving local history and fostering community fellowship through the Eddie Mae Herron Center. She founded the Center in the very building where she once attended a segregated one-room school, transforming it into a cornerstone for celebrating Black culture and heritage. Named in honor of her beloved teacher, Miss Eddie Mae Herron, the Center stands as a testament to the enduring impact of education and community memory and solidarity.  She is a dedicated and tireless advocate of remembering, researching, and highlighting Black history and material culture in Randolph County. Throughout the episode, Johnson discusses the rich history of the Eddie Mae Herron Center, her personal experiences growing up and living in Pocahontas, and the impact of her efforts on the community. She highlights the significance of Juneteenth celebrations at the Center, the restoration of historical Black cemeteries,  and her outreach to the Marshallese community.   Johnson shares her vision, challenges, and triumphs in preserving African American history and fostering a sense of unity and pride within the community. 

Curator Tyler Blackwell Discusses the Innovative Initiatives that Make the Speed a Community Hub

This week's podcast is a heartfelt remembrance of blues harmonica master and 2017 National Heritage Fellow Phil Wiggins, who passed away last month. Phil Wiggins was celebrated for his extraordinary skill and soulful music, deeply rooted in the Piedmont blues tradition. In this interview, he shared his journey from his early days in Washington, D.C., playing with renowned bluesmen, to his long-standing partnership with 1989 National Heritage Fellow guitarist John Cephas—a collaboration that brought them international acclaim and numerous awards. Phil Wiggins also discusses the distinct characteristics of Piedmont and Delta blues, his musical influences, and his love for the harmonica. We explore his experiences performing globally, his insights on music and culture, and his reflections on a lifetime dedicated to the blues. This episode is filled with Phil's music and stories, offering a fitting tribute to his enduring legacy.  This 2017 podcast is hands-down one of my favorite interviews—not only because of Phil's extraordinary musicianship and thoughtful storytelling, but also because he was a true gentleman with a warm presence that drew people to him. He was deeply admired, respected, and loved. 

Director of Education and Violin/Viola Teaching Artist at the Paterson Music Project (PMP) Shanna Lin gives us the program's history: it’s an El Sistema-inspired program established in 2013 with 32 second graders and now serves over 500 students from 25 schools in Paterson, N.J. PMP offers after-school programs four days a week and on Saturdays, including string orchestra, concert band, guitar, jazz, hand drumming, keyboard, and choir and provides instruments to students at no cost.We discuss the principles of El Sistema. Started in Venezuela about 50 years ago as a social impact program, it uses music education to teach discipline, teamwork, and community building. She notes that El Sistema has spread globally, with over 140 programs in the US, including 5 in New Jersey. Lin shares that students in PMP come from Paterson Public School District and celebrates the diversity of the city with its significant immigrant populations.  Lin talks about the importance of parental involvement through a volunteer parent committee and shares how parents support program activities, provide input, and help during events and the importance of long-time supporters like the National Endowment for the Arts.  Lin also discusses how PMP fills the gap left by budget cuts in Paterson schools that reduced programming in instrumental programs and explains that PMP is part of Wharton Arts, which includes New Jersey Youth Symphony, New Jersey Youth Chorus, and a performing arts school.  She recounts her own path to becoming a co-founding teaching artist at PMP and shares how her mentors, Choong-Jin Chang and Honggang Li, influenced her approach to music education.  Lin highlights the expressive outlet and sense of identity that music provides for students and shares stories of how PMP offers a supportive community where students feel they belong and can thrive.  Shanna also describes the diverse backgrounds of PMP's 30 teaching artists, including public school teachers, freelance musicians, and international artists and shares how these teachers bring unique skills and experiences, enriching the program for students. And finally, Lin shares the joy of knowing students and their families a decade or more—which is central to community music programs like PMP.

We’re celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month by revisiting my interview with LGBT and ethnic scholar and author Lillian Faderman who discusses her book "My Mother's Wars." The book is a reconstructed narrative that explores the life of Faderman's mother, a Jewish immigrant in the United States, navigating the complexities of love, survival, and identity against the backdrop of the Great Depression and the rise of Nazism. Faderman recounts her mother's journey from a Latvian shtetl to New York City in 1914, detailing her struggles with language barriers, cultural acclimation, and the harsh realities of the American Dream. She recounts the grueling working conditions in the garment industry, the significant role of unions in fighting for better working conditions during the 1930s, and her mother’s involvement with strikes. Faderman discusses her mother's tumultuous relationship with Moishe, which results in her giving birth to Lillian in 1940 and raising her as an unmarried mother.  Faderman also discusses the increasing dread among Jewish immigrants in the U.S. as Nazism spread across Europe, and her mother’s frantic reactions to the impact on her family.  And finally she shares insights into her writing process, revealing how the act of writing the memoir allowed her to understand finally her mother's heroism and strength. 

President of Actors' Equity Kate Shindle and the NEA Director of Theater & Musical Theater Greg Reiner discuss the current challenges, strategic innovations, and the evolving landscape of American theater.  Kate provides an overview of the history and evolving mission of Actors' Equity in safeguarding actors and stage managers.  While Greg discusses the NEA's strategic funding to support theaters nationwide, highlighting the critical need for sustainability in the sector. Both emphasize the creative resilience and artistic innovation within the theater community while exploring the significant financial and structural challenges faced by the industry during and post-COVID-19. They share optimism over the leadership transitions within the theater community, which focuses on the representation of diverse voices in leadership roles but also see the need to support these leaders who have stepped up in a fraught time.  We also discuss the implications of digital streaming for live theater, considering its potential to enhance accessibility and audience engagement. And Kate, who is stepping down from Equity leadership, reflects on her tenure while both share their aspirations for the future of theater in America.