Arts Unscripted with Monica Holt

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  • Performing Arts
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This is arts and culture. Unfiltered. Unscripted. Formerly known as CI to Eye, Arts Unscripted with Monica Holt is a trove of meaningful interviews with executives, artists, and experts across industries. Together with Monica, we’ll explore the way innovation, leadership, and joy drive our industry forward.

  1. 3d ago

    Courtney Burke Summers, Chief Marketing Officer of Vivo Performing Arts

    Rebranding a beloved institution requires not only defining what comes next, but building enough trust and shared ownership that both longtime supporters and new audiences see themselves in the future. Courtney Burke Summers recently helped lead the sweeping rebrand of Celebrity Series of Boston into Vivo Performing Arts, launching a new identity designed to better reflect the organization’s role in its community. In this episode, Courtney shares what it took to bring people along through that transformation and why meaningful change can only happen at the “speed of trust.” She also reflects on the opportunities and challenges of being a nomadic presenter; the value of collaboration across the arts ecosystem; and what most arts organizations are forgetting about the next generation of audiences.  ----- LINKS Vivo Performing Arts: https://www.vivoperformingarts.org/  The REACH at the Kennedy Center: https://www.kennedy-center.org/reach/  Libby: https://libbyapp.com/

    Courtney Burke Summers, Chief Marketing Officer of Vivo Performing Arts

  2. Sep 3

    Lisa Yun Lee, Executive Director at National Public Housing Museum

    What if a museum’s job isn’t simply to preserve history, but to help us imagine a different future? Lisa Yun Lee has spent her career exploring what cultural institutions can make possible when they understand themselves as civic spaces. As Executive Director of the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago, she leads an institution created by public housing residents to preserve their own histories, challenge dominant narratives about public housing, and bring arts, culture, and public policy together in the fight for housing as a human right. In this episode, Lisa traces the winding path that took her from studying religion and German intellectual history to the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, the University of Illinois Chicago, and ultimately the National Public Housing Museum. She shares how the museum puts solidarity with public housing residents into practice, why museums should engage both historical fact and lived experience, and what it means to create a cultural institution rooted in radical hospitality and collective joy. Lisa also challenges arts leaders to think expansively about whom our institutions serve and what success looks like—from compensating artists and cultural workers fairly to creating spaces where people can define beauty for themselves. --- LINKS: National Public Housing Museum: https://nphm.org/ NPHM 36 Questions for Civic Love: https://nphm.org/program/36-questions-for-civic-love/ W.A.G.E.: https://wageforwork.com/

  3. Aug 27

    Kim Jakominich, Senior Director of Brand at Barnes Foundation and Calder Gardens

    A great exhibition or performance can draw people in, but a strong institutional brand shapes how they understand the experience—and whether they feel invited to return. Kim Jakominich has spent more than 15 years working across publishing, public media, museums, and cultural destinations. Now Chief Brand Officer at the Barnes Foundation and Calder Gardens, she leads an integrated team spanning marketing, communications, publications, design, editorial, and visual resources, helping steward two distinctly different brands while creating a more unified audience experience. In this episode, Kim reflects on the unexpected path that brought her from Minnesota Public Radio to museum leadership, what she learned by realizing she needed mission-driven work, and how the Barnes’s philosophy of “seeing art differently” influences everything from visitor experience to brand strategy. She also takes us inside the creation of Calder Gardens, where art, architecture, and nature come together in an experience intentionally “open to interpretation.” Kim also shares lessons for cultural leaders on breaking down departmental silos, thinking about brand through the eyes of the audience rather than the organizational chart, and reframing innovation as something more meaningful than chasing new technology. For her, the question is ultimately whether an idea removes barriers, sparks curiosity, and helps audiences discover that art has something to say to them. --- LINKS: Barnes Foundation: https://www.barnesfoundation.org/ Calder Gardens: https://caldergardens.org/ The BrandLab: https://www.thebrandlab.org/

  4. Aug 20

    Ann Morrow Johnson, Global Immersive Experience & Entertainment Leader at Gensler

    As our attention becomes increasingly fragmented, the value of being fully present together has never been greater. The most memorable experiences go beyond spectacle and  create a clear sense of place, invite participation, and give people something meaningful to feel together. Ann Morrow Johnson has spent her career designing those kinds of experiences. After more than a decade at Walt Disney Imagineering, she now co-leads Gensler’s Entertainment practice, applying lessons from theme parks and immersive entertainment to cultural organizations, hospitality, real estate, and other physical spaces. In this episode, Ann Morrow explores why authenticity matters more than showmanship, how shifting from a scarcity mindset to a value-creation mindset can open up new possibilities, and why growing demand for shared, participatory experiences gives cultural organizations plenty of reason for optimism. --- LINKS: Gensler 2025 Immersive Industry Report: https://www.gensler.com/gri/immersive-industry-report-2025  No Proscenium: https://www.noproscenium.com/

  5. Aug 13

    Live from TLCC: Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Spoken Word Artist and Cultural Strategist

    Join Monica Holt for a live recording of Arts Unscripted with Marc Bamuthi Joseph, an internationally acclaimed cultural strategist, spoken word artist, and Chief of Impact at SOZO. Bamuthi has built a singular career at the intersection of creativity, leadership, and social impact—from performing on Broadway and co-founding Youth Speaks to shaping civic and cultural strategy at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Kennedy Center. Throughout it all, he has approached art not simply as expression, but as a tool for freedom, connection, and collective possibility. Recorded live at the 2026 Tessitura Learning and Community Conference, this conversation explores what it means for arts organizations to be true civic partners. Bamuthi and Monica talk about collective joy, why “budgets are moral documents,” the idea of using the arts for non-arts outcomes, and what becomes possible when institutions see themselves not just as producers of shows, but as producers of culture and inspiration. Along the way, Bamuthi reflects on the evolution of his own practice, the role of artists as “edge setters,” the grief and resilience that have shaped his recent work, and why—at a moment when inspiration can feel scarce—he still finds hope in the artists and arts leaders who keep choosing this field.

  6. Jul 30

    Clive Chang, President and CEO of YoungArts (Re-Release)

    Producer's Note: While Arts Unscripted is on summer hiatus, we're re-sharing a few of our favorite episodes from past seasons. Clive was actually the first guest to sit down and chat with Monica. The YoungArts application is open now through October 6th, so it's the perfect time to revisit how Clive thinks about supporting young, multi-disciplinary artists. --- Can legacy arts institutions innovate like start-ups? Clive Chang thinks so. As President and CEO of YoungArts, he’s reimagining how a 40-year-old organization can support today’s multi-disciplinary artists—by questioning everything, embracing experimentation, and making space for creative risk. In this conversation, Clive and host Monica Holt unpack how to disrupt old habits, build a culture of curiosity, and keep tradition from becoming inertia.

  7. Jul 23

    Cody Renard Richard, Tony Award-Winning Producer and Stage Manager (Re-Release)

    Producer's Note: While Arts Unscripted is on summer hiatus, we're re-sharing a few of our favorite episodes from past seasons. Cody recently celebrated Tony Award-winning runs with two Broadway productions: Ragtime and CATS: The Jellicle Ball. With CATS set to close on August 8, it's an apt moment to revisit Cody's reflections on the production (and grab tickets while you still can). ----- Great theater starts by creating trusted conditions for talent and creativity to thrive. Cody Renard Richard is a Tony Award-winning producer and stage manager whose career spans Broadway, television, opera, and even Cirque du Soleil. Along the way, his backstage leadership has shaped acclaimed productions like the 2025 revival of Ragtime and this spring’s CATS: The Jellicle Ball. In this episode, Cody talks about what it really means to lead from behind the scenes, and why stage management is such a powerful training ground for leadership. He reflects on his path through the industry, how he’s navigated power and visibility in a field that doesn’t always make room for everyone, and what it looks like to advocate for artists and audiences without burning out or losing yourself in the process. ----- LINKS: Cody Renard Richard: https://www.codyrenard.com/ Ragtime at Lincoln Center: https://www.lct.org/shows/ragtime/ CATS: The Jellicle Ball: https://catsthejellicleball.com/  RISE Theatre Directory: https://risetheatre.org/

  8. Jul 16

    Carlos Simon, GRAMMY-Nominated Composer, Curator and Activist (Re-Release)

    Producer's Note: While Arts Unscripted is on summer hiatus, we're re-sharing a few of our favorite episodes from past seasons. Carlos Simon is the the inaugural Composer Chair of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Composer-in-Residence since 2021 at the Kennedy Center. Since we recorded earlier this year, his Good News Mass keeps finding new orchestras and new audiences. With its Midwest premiere on July 31st at Ravinia Music Festival, what better moment to go back and hear how Carlos has built his body of work. ----- Music has the power to move a room. For composer Carlos Simon, that effect was first felt in church, where music was both a creative act and a shared experience.  Raised in a family steeped in ministry and musical tradition, Carlos grew up surrounded by gospel, jazz, and the spontaneity of worship. From playing organ by ear during Sunday services to his later work with orchestras, film, and opera, he has built a compositional voice that blurs boundaries: bridging sacred and secular, improvisation and form, tradition and innovation. In this episode, Carlos traces his path to becoming one of today’s most sought-after composers and the first-ever Composer Chair for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Along the way, he offers insight into the deeply collaborative nature of his work and frames musical composition as an act of service. ----- LINKS: Carlos Simon: https://www.carlossimonmusic.com/ brea(d)th: https://www.carlossimonmusic.com/album/brea-d-th Monuments: A Suite for DC: https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/festivals-series/250-years-of-us/sounds-of-us/monuments/ The Blacknificent 7: https://www.instagram.com/blacknificentseven/

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This is arts and culture. Unfiltered. Unscripted. Formerly known as CI to Eye, Arts Unscripted with Monica Holt is a trove of meaningful interviews with executives, artists, and experts across industries. Together with Monica, we’ll explore the way innovation, leadership, and joy drive our industry forward.

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