art | tea Sarah Ingel

Matt Cosper and I sat down at Goodyear Arts in Charlotte, NC in January to discuss legacies, mentors, the importance of continuing training, and the act of leaning into the unknown. As a director and theater maker, he reminds us that there is magic in coming together to experience art as a community, and that obsessively studied gestures can develop into rituals of meaning. With Matt’s work, he invites artists and audiences alike to boldly venture into vulnerability, sit with discomfort, and to learn from listening to the room and to each other. As Matt says, “Let’s not know together.”

Matt Cosper is an artist and educator working at the intersection of performance and ritual. He has served as Artistic Director of experimental ensemble XOXO since it’s founding in 2009. Original works created with the company include: Mum’s The Word, i wont hurt you, P*E*R*M*A*N*E*N*C*E, #CAKE (year zero), The Children’s Crusade, Widdershins, GUF, and Bohemian Grove. Cosper was a founding curator of Charlotte’s BOOM festival and is a member of the Goodyear Arts collective. He writes on arts and culture for CLTure Blog. As an educator he served on the faculty of Spoleto Study Abroad in Umbria for three years and is Director of Theatre Arts at Charlotte Latin School.

You can follow Matt on Instagram at @mattcosper or at @briarcreekcunning where he is available for Tarot Readings and other miscellaneous sorcery. You can follow XOXO Performance Ensemble at @xoxo.clt or check them out at xoxoperformance.org.

Special thanks to Goodyear Arts for providing space for conversations and Dylan Gilbert for creating the catchy theme music. You can follow them at @goodyeararts and at @dylangilbertmusic. You can follow me (Sarah Ingel) at @singelarity or at sarahingel.com. Be sure to follow the podcast at @arttea.pod or send an email to arttea.pod@gmail.com

Cheers!

Renee Cloud and I met up early March at Goodyear Arts in Charlotte, NC to talk about her work and the relationships that art can cultivate. I'm always so impressed by Renee's creative energy and her unending promotion of others artistic processes and work. Renee's own work acts as a mirror, offering space for reflection and introspection into our own uses of language. At times uncomfortable and mysterious, always thought provoking and honest. Her exuberant use of color and sparkle sound an alarm, daring us to pay attention and make a connection. 

Renee Cloud is a Charlotte native and received her BFA in Studio Art from Appalachian State University in 2015. Using a combination of text art and mixed media, she creates work that focuses on the personal narrative, the black experience, and the power of the written word. The text she incorporates into her pieces provides only a fraction of the narrative, leaving the viewer to create the rest. Cloud resides in Charlotte, North Carolina and is currently serving as the Gallery Coordinator for Central Piedmont Community College.

Visit her website at https://www.reneecloud.com/ where you can see her portfolio and purchase works and check in on her most recent project The Shiny Language project. 

Special thanks to Goodyear Arts for providing space for conversations and Dylan Gilbert for creating the catchy theme music. You can follow them at @goodyeararts and at @dylangilbertmusic. You can follow me (Sarah Ingel) at @singelarity or at sarahingel.com. Be sure to follow the podcast at @arttea.pod or send an email to arttea.pod@gmail.com 

Cheers! 

Megan Payne and I discuss her creative practice, our curatorial collaboration, favorite femme makers, movies & TV shows. In our 5 years of creating together, Megan never ceases to amaze me with her dedication and strength of vision. Megan's work inspires performers and audiences to push past their boundaries of what we think dance can be, to collaboratively craft community through process and feedback, and to move powerfully in and with our experiences. Megan reminds me to be brave, bold, and to see the beauty in the breaths in-between. 

Megan Payne is a dance and experimental film artist living in Charlotte, NC. Her creative practice approaches movement as a way to research and gain a better perception of the world we live in, working collaboratively with others to manifest new forms, or ways of being. She received a MFA in Dance from Hollins University in partnership with the American Dance Festival and a BFA in Choreography and Performance from Ohio University. Her works have been presented throughout the country,  including showings at the American Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Festival, Ohio University, and Detroit Dance City Festival. Megan has also had the privilege of working with artists Camille Brown, Joy Davis, Jesse Zarrit, Gladys Bailin-Stern, Ronald K. Brown, and Mariah Maloney. Megan recently finished a year long, guest artist position in the dance department at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Megan is the co-director of repCLT a North Carolina organization advocating research and exchange in performance, and co-producer of ladyfestCLT, an annual festival promoting dance and female/female identifying movement makers in the southeast region. Megan is also a contributing member of the Goodyear Arts collective (Charlotte, NC) and has been an artist in residence since its inception in 2015. Megan has a deep love for all things Meryl Streep and listens to PJ Harvey daily.

www.paynedance.com

Special Thanks to Goodyear Arts (Charlotte, NC) for providing space for conversations and Dylan Gilbert for creating the catchy theme music. You can follow them at @goodyeararts and at @dylangilbertmusic. You can follow me (Sarah Ingel) at @singelarity or at www.sarahingel.com

Also be sure to follow the podcast at @arttea.pod or send an email to arttea.pod@gmail.com

Cheers!

I sat down with Dennissa Young at Goodyear Arts in Charlotte, NC to talk about her creative journey.  Dennissa's energy and positivity serve as a reminder that the practice of making art is generous. With openness and honesty, her work inspires and encourages audiences to engage with vulnerability, to cultivate a deeper connection to ourselves and to each other, and to let go of expectations so we may receive performance and art as a gift. 

Dennissa Young is a native New Mexican and international nomad currently  identifying as a Rock Thrillian. She graduated from the School of the  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2015 with a BFA. Dennissa is a  video  performance and relational artist. Her work is a catalyst for feeling,  interaction, connection and togetherness. Dennissa is highly involved in  the Carolina art scene through her day job with Friday Arts Project,  helping lead We Also Make Art (WAMA) and going to as many shows as  possible. Dennissa would love to sit across the table from you and hear  all about your life. You can catch her on instagram: @dennissayoung or  dennissayoung.com for more of her work

Special Thanks to Goodyear Arts for providing space for conversations and Dylan Gilbert for recording, editing, and creating the catchy theme music. You can follow them at @goodyeararts and at @dylangilbertmusic. You can follow me (Sarah Ingel) at @singelarity. 

Also be sure to follow the podcast at @arttea.pod or send an email to arttea.pod@gmail.com

Cheers! 

A podcast discussing the process, anxiety, doubt, joy, pleasure, effort and the importance of making and taking in art. Hard truths over a calming beverage. Welcome to the tea party! This is art | tea!