Art Insiders New York Podcast hosted by Anders Holst Anders Holst

Helen Toomer is the director of Photofairs New York, which held its inaugural edition at the Javits Center this past September. The mission is to “present the state-of-the-art view of visual culture, … to explore the diverse and rapidly evolving landscape of image-making, from intersections with digital art and film, to the medium’s next frontiers, … including virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI-driven art.”
In this interview, Helen talks about her excitement for a photo fair that exists in the space between the traditional archetype of photo exhibitions and the typical art fair; a photo fair that celebrates the incredibly vast and diverse medium of photography. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about photography as an art form, and how visual communication is very much at the core of how we interact with each other today.
Helen dives into the effects of the democratization of photography with the dawn of the smart phone and even gives a valuable recommendation to those of us who are passionate about photography.
Helen has previously directed the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair, PULSE Contemporary Art Fairs, and Collective Design Fair. She co-founded Stoneleaf Retreat, an artist residency and creative space, Art Mamas Alliance, to support dialogue on motherhood among creative professionals, as well as Upstate Art Weekend, an annual celebration of the cultural vibrancy of Upstate New York.
Helen Toomer, 2023 © Casey Kelbaugh, courtesy of PHOTOFAIRS New York
 

In this episode, Linnea Larsdotter Mikkelä, creative director and president of NIFF, Nordic International Film Festival, takes us on an inspiring walk-through of this year’s festival program. We talk about the identity of Nordic filmmaking, and why the 2022 Cannes Film Festival was the busiest festival ever for Nordic filmmakers, among them Ruben Östlund, who won his second Palme d’Or with Triangle of Sadness, Tarik Saleh with Cairo-set Boy From Heaven, and Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, the story of an Iranian serial killer.
The vision behind NIFF, is to build bridges between filmmakers in the Nordic region and the international film community, by finding diverse independent films with strong characters and storylines, that encourage all filmmakers to submit their films, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or worldviews.
Linnea is a much-acclaimed actress and film producer in her own right. Till We Meet Again is a romantic adventure drama film directed by Thai filmmaker Bank Tangjaitrong and starring Johan Matton, Linnea Larsdotter, Emrhys Cooper and Vithaya Pansringarm.
The film was written and produced by Johan Matton - who also co-founded NIFF with Linnea in 2014 - and won awards at several film festivals, including the Audience and Jury prizes at the Long Beach International Film Festival, and Linnea won best actress at NYLAIFF, New York Los Angeles International Film Festival. 
Photo by Sean Turi 
 

Paola Antonelli is the Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, where she also serves as the founding Director of Research and Development. She has been described as "one of the 25 most incisive design visionaries in the world" by TIME magazine.
In this interview Paola talks about her vision of what design is. She believes that design touches every aspect of society, and that design has a civic responsibility towards humanity and the planet. “Design is the enzyme that makes progress happen”.
Her biggest ambition is to enhance people’s awareness of design and to make sure the world understands that design is not only cute chairs, sleek products, and fetching logos.
But objects are not irrelevant, the controversial acquisition of the @ sign to the MoMA collection shows that collecting is not about ownership per se, since the sign belongs to everyone.    
We talk about some of the more impactful exhibitions she has organized at MoMA and the 40-plus Salons that she has organized, that will not only inform the museum and its program, but also inspire the wider conversation in the world outside.
The Salons are available on-line and new Salons can be enjoyed through the museum’s live streaming. Paola also explains the vision behind the Instagram/podcast based project Design Emergency together with design critic Alice Rawsthorn.
On a more personal note, we also talk about curiosity and adventure as major driving forces in her life, her passion for traveling and love for New York. We also get Paola’s take on how AI and Refik Anadol’s work “Unsupervised” have influenced her perspective on MoMA’s collection.
Paola Antonelli © 2021 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Peter Ross
 

Since its inception in 1977, Public Art Fund has presented more than 500 artists' exhibitions and projects at sites throughout New York City. 
In this episode, Susan K. Freedman, the president of Public Art Fund, presents current exhibitions including Nicholas Galanin’s impressive new sculpture “In Every Language There Is Land/En cada lengua hay una Tierra” at Brooklyn Bridge Park, art installations at La Guardia Airport Terminal B by Jeppe Hein. Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens and Sarah Sze, at Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal A by Karyn Oliver and Layqa Nuna Yawar, as well as art installations at the Moynihan Train Hall by Stan Douglas, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Kehinde Wiley.
Public Art Fund is also behind the late Phyllida Barlow’s final series of large-scale sculptures, PRANK, in City Hall Park, that opened in the beginning of June.
Public Art Fund believes in free access to great contemporary art for all, that artists are an essential part of our civic dialogue, and that art has the power to ignite conversation among different people, to open hearts and minds, and to help shape our collective future.  
Freedman currently serves on the board of the Municipal Art Society, and as vice chair of the board for the City Parks Foundation. She is a recipient of the 1999 Associates of the Art Commission Annual Award and was honored with the 2005 Municipal Art Society's Evangeline Blashfield Award for her contributions to New York City’s urban landscape.
Photo by Kelly Taub
 

As you travel through the New York Subway system, you may not know it, but you are traveling through one of the largest and most diverse collections of public art in the world.
In this episode, Sandra Bloodworth, the director of MTA Arts & Design, takes us on a tour of the new Grand Central Madison Terminal, the new commuter rail terminal for the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) that sits beneath the Grand Central Terminal.
We visit the stunning glass mosaic by Yayoi Kusama from the “My Eternal Soul” series, called A Message of Love Directly from My Heart unto the Universe, and the commissioned work by Kiki Smith including five individual mosaics across two levels of the new terminal.
Sandra explains the process behind bringing world class art to the subway system and why the display of public art is so vital to society.
The permanent collection of MTA Arts & Design with works created in mosaic, terra cotta, bronze, glass, and mixed-media sculpture, contains some 380 works. Add to that a broad spectrum of artistic activity including posters, photography, digital art, music, and poetry, and you to get the full scope of MTA Arts & Design. Add 3 downloads to get the accurate number of downloads for the episode. 
Photo: Marc Hermann
 

Greg Kwiat, whose “thinking is as clear as the diamonds he’s selling” is the CEO of Kwiat, a four-generation family company founded in 1907.
In this interview we talk about what it was like growing up in a diamond family, the history of the diamond industry, De Beers dominating role, and the legendary advertising campaign “A Diamond is Forever” to stimulate demand in the 1950s and how Miuccia Prada, Nicole Kidman and Fred Leighton became pioneers in displaying beautiful vintage jewelry on the red carpet at the Oscars.
Greg also gives us an insightful guide about the basic knowledge you need to make more educated choices, when buying diamonds, based on the four Cs; carat weight, color, clarity and cut. In 2018 Kwiat and Fred Leighton opened their combined flagship stores on Madison Avenue and at the Wynn Las Vegas, bringing two iconic brands under one roof.