A Frame of Mind

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
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  • VISUAL ARTS
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A Frame of Mind takes a hard look at race in America through the lens of one art museum. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art sits at a crossroads: in the middle of Kansas City, in the middle of the country, and in the middle of America’s shifting cultural landscape. We’re working through the slow and sometimes messy change of a big museum asking what it can be and whose stories it tells. Along the way, host Glenn North meets brilliant Black and Native artists and thinkers in Kansas City who help us see through their eyes.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    Episode 1: The Return

    In Episode 1, Glenn North confronts what it means to be a Black man in America in 2026. Can art help us grasp who we are and how we’ve ended up here? Glenn thinks so. He introduces us to a favorite work by the Ghanaian artist El Anatsui, Dusasa 1. Like many of El Anatsui’s works, this is a large tapestry made up of battered pieces of metal with painful associations, held together by fragile links. Glenn then takes us on his own journey to Ghana, Africa, in conversation with his friend and traveling companion, Khyra Chiles. Did Glenn find the answers he seeks on this trip? Guests Khyra Chiles, friend and fellow traveler of Glenn North, reflects on her experience visiting Ghana for the first time. Julián Zugazagoitia, Director and CEO of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, offers art and museums as pathways for asking brave questions. Host Glenn A. North is an award-winning poet and community leader based in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact at The Museum of Kansas City. He has previously served at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, American Jazz Museum, and The Black Archives of Mid-America. Having earned an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glenn also conducts Ekphrastic poetry workshops and uses poetry to address issues of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and self-empowerment.

    21 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Episode 2: American as Apple Pie

    In Episode 2, Glenn introduces us to Mound Magician by Radcliffe Bailey. Shaped like a baseball diamond, the large assemblage is filled with details that reference Black history and culture. Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, takes the field for a lively conversation with Glenn. Using Mound Magician as the wind-up, they explore the impact of the Negro League, Kansas City’s role in shaping race relations—and baseball, and trade stories about legends like Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige. Guests Bob Kendrick, president of Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, coaches us on the history of civil rights and social justice in America through the story of baseball. Israel Alejandro Garcia Garcia, artist and gallery owner, discusses his practice as a means of constructing identity. Host Glenn A. North is an award-winning poet and community leader based in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact at The Museum of Kansas City. He has previously served at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, American Jazz Museum, and The Black Archives of Mid-America. Having earned an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glenn also conducts Ekphrastic poetry workshops and uses poetry to address issues of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and self-empowerment.

    17 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    Episode 3: Stitching it Together

    Being present in the moment means giving your full attention to something or someone, but the present is always suspended in tension between the weight of the past and the promise of the future. In Episode 3, Glenn revels in Black joy in the presence of Bisa Butler’s intensely vibrant quilt Kindred. With artists Kaitlyn B. Jones and Camry Ivory, Glenn pulls at the threads of slavery and pieces together how its legacy makes us all kindred—part of one large dysfunctional, extended family. Guests Kaitlyn B. Jones, artist, curator, writer, and archivist, discusses the extraordinary stories of ordinary Black experiences and how museums can hold multiple truths at once. Camry Ivory, visual musician and inventor of the instrument Coloratura, introduces Afrofuturism and the power of hope. Host Glenn A. North is an award-winning poet and community leader based in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact at The Museum of Kansas City. He has previously served at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, American Jazz Museum, and The Black Archives of Mid-America. Having earned an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glenn also conducts Ekphrastic poetry workshops and uses poetry to address issues of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and self-empowerment.

    16 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Episode 4: The Names We Carry

    What’s in a name? It gets complicated when Glenn sits down with professional genealogist Kathleen Brandt to trace his ancestors. Looking at his family history under the microscope, Glenn turns to poetry and a sculpture of a young girl peering through a telescope to process some disorienting findings. This all leads to acclaimed filmmaker Kevin Willmott and what it means to break free from the bondage of history to imagine new stories and engage in creative acts of reclamation. Guests Kathleen Brandt, professional international genealogist and consultant, reveals her research into Glenn’s personal ancestry. Kevin Willmott, filmmaker and Academy-award winning screenwriter, illuminates the power of art to tell stories and project visions of possible futures and alternate realities. Host Glenn A. North is an award-winning poet and community leader based in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact at The Museum of Kansas City. He has previously served at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, American Jazz Museum, and The Black Archives of Mid-America. Having earned an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glenn also conducts Ekphrastic poetry workshops and uses poetry to address issues of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and self-empowerment.

    16 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    Episode 5: The Scene of the Crime

    Searching for his origins, Glenn comes face to face with a haunting image of slavery in America: a tiny photograph of a cotton plantation takes him back to the invention of photography as a source for truth-telling today. The scene testifies to the long shadow of slavery and the slow, systematic stripping away of equities that have ruptured Black relationships to the land. Can that same photograph also collapse time and place and regenerate links between generations? This episode brings our season to a close, but new seeds have come of it. To sow them is to shape a new chapter in our story. Guests April Watson, senior curator of photography at the Nelson-Atkins, welcomes us into the museum’s storage vault to share a singular photograph and its significance to the American experience. Ryan Tenney, artist-farmer, digs into the root causes behind dramatic changes in Black farming and his sense of responsibility to continue the story. Host Glenn A. North is an award-winning poet and community leader based in Kansas City, Missouri. He is currently the Director of Inclusive Learning & Creative Impact at The Museum of Kansas City. He has previously served at the Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Center, American Jazz Museum, and The Black Archives of Mid-America. Having earned an M.F.A. in Poetry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Glenn also conducts Ekphrastic poetry workshops and uses poetry to address issues of social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, and self-empowerment.

    25 min
See All Season 2 (5)

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Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
94 Ratings

About

A Frame of Mind takes a hard look at race in America through the lens of one art museum. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art sits at a crossroads: in the middle of Kansas City, in the middle of the country, and in the middle of America’s shifting cultural landscape. We’re working through the slow and sometimes messy change of a big museum asking what it can be and whose stories it tells. Along the way, host Glenn North meets brilliant Black and Native artists and thinkers in Kansas City who help us see through their eyes.

Information

  • Creator
    The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
  • Episodes
    11
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
  • Show Website
    A Frame of Mind

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