Weird Sounds: An Audio Companion to the Boston Art Book Fair

Boston Center for the Arts

Weird Sounds is a podcast featuring hour-long interviews with creatives you need to know, talking about their work and life, where they’ve been and where they’re going – and what it means to them to be part of a meaningful cultural community in complicated times. Hosted by Randi Hopkins and Oliver Mak, co-founders of the Boston Art Book Fair, presented by Boston Center for the Arts and Bodega. Theme Song: Oliver Mak Graphic Design: Oliver Mak Visual Identity: Haley Nickola Sound Editor: Dallas Welk

Episodes

  1. 06/23/2023

    Karin Goodfellow, City of Boston

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today! Oliver and Randi talk to Karin Goodfellow, Director of Public Art for the City of Boston.  In that role, she works with artists and other community members on the creation of public memorials, murals, sculptures, and social practice projects that reflect the diversity and cultural values of the people, ideas, histories, and futures of Boston.  In addition to over fifteen years running Boston's public art program, Karin is the Director of the Boston Art Commission, and the founding director of Boston Artists-in-Residence, a residency that has nurtured cohorts of creative partnerships between civic workers and community artists since 2015.   Oliver and Randi sat down with Karin to learn more about her background and the paths that led to her work in the Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, how she has seen her work evolve over time, and what she’s excited about now. And, we got a chance to revisit our excitement over Karin’s role in having October 12, 2018 proclaimed Boston Art Book Fair Day in the City of Boston, one of the proudest moments in Boston Art Book Fair history. When: Interviewed May 4, 2023 A few helpful links, to provide context and further information about topics that came up in our conversation.  In particular, we talked about some of the public art and artists in Boston, and about how to access various City of Boston resources and opportunities for artists.  Here you go: Art and Artists: Shepard Fairey Arrested in Boston 2009 Liza Quinoñez in Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture 2023 The Embrace and the 1965 Freedom Plaza, by artist Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group on the Boston Common Tory Bullock Opportunities: Boston Artists-in-Residence Boston Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture Thanks for listening to Weird Sounds: an audio companion to the Boston Art Book Fair!  We look forward to seeing you in person at BCA’s Cyclorama November 10-12, 2023 for the fifth Boston Art Book Fair.

    Karin Goodfellow, City of Boston

  2. 05/05/2023

    Augie Lehrecke, Pneuhaus

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today! Pneuhaus is a Rhode Island-based art and design studio that specializes in exuberant inflatable transformations of public space. They design and create  immersive sculptures and environments to guide visitors into the universe of their senses and the joys of shared experience. Inspired by physics, biology, and craft, Pneuhaus’s work incorporates the lessons of nature in both form and function.  To kick off our second season of Weird Sounds, Oliver and Randi sat down with August Lehrecke, Co-Founder of Pneuhaus, to learn more about this unique enterprise, which has handcrafted immersive environments for use by entities ranging from NASA to the Providence Children’s Museum.  And (thank you Pneuhaus!), they have created beautiful and community friendly seating for Boston Art Book Fair 2018, 2019 and 2022.  When: Interviewed March 9, 2023 Thanks to everyone who took part in Boston Art Book Fair 2022!  We look forward to seeing you at BCA’s Cyclorama November 10-12, 2023 for the fifth Boston Art Book Fair.

    Augie Lehrecke, Pneuhaus

  3. 12/16/2022

    Episode 8: Emily Isenberg, Isenberg Projects

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today!   Oliver and Randi sat down with Emily Isenberg, Founder and President of Isenberg Projects, to learn more about her and her team of community strategists, creatives, tastemakers, deal makers, producers and artists – all, as she describes it, “obsessed with culture and driven by insatiable curiosity.  Isenberg Projects is a creative consulting agency based in Boston that specializes in placemaking and community engagement. Founded in 2011—and officially certified as a women owned business in the State of Massachusetts in early 2020—Isenberg Projects has produced hundreds of projects, pushing over 1 million dollars into the hands of the local creative economy.     When: Interviewed November 17, 2022 With thanks to everyone who took part in Boston Art Book Fair 2022! Emily and Oliver reflect on the history of Isenberg Projects and the DIY world of organizing cultural events in Boston.  They reference: Boston Children’s Hospital Art Program Fourth Wall Gallery Girls Rock Campaign Boston Caleb Neelon HBS Allston Skirt Gallery (R.I.P.) We fondly remember the retro concept of “Selling out” Emily talks about IP’s work with  Studio Allston We talk about art: Tony Goldman (R.I.P.), and Miami’s Wynwood Walls LaMontagne Gallery est. 2007 Blanc Permitting: 1010 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston Dining: New York’s Outdoor Dining Sheds Baths: Japanese Onsen And Youth: Future Chefs, Youth Pride and Roxbury Youthworks The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan comes up, as does fearlessness, women-led businesses, and social media influencers. Digital Soup

    Episode 8: Emily Isenberg, Isenberg Projects

  4. 11/01/2022

    Episode 7: Yng-Ru Chen, Praise Shadows Gallery

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today! Mark your calendar – Boston Art Book Fair 2022 IN PERSON November 4-6 Boston Art Book Fair, at Boston Center for the Arts! More info here, including exhibitor and programs lists, and link for tickets to our can’t miss Friday night, Nov 4 preview party. Show notes: Oliver and Randi talk with Yng-Ru Chen, founder and CEO of Praise Shadows Art Gallery, a hybrid space that opened in Boston’s Coolidge Corner neighborhood in 2021. The gallery serves as a lively space for exhibitions by emerging and mid-career contemporary artists, a retail space for art books and more affordable works made by artists, and a platform for mentorship for young talent in the Greater Boston area. Their work is local, global, and virtual. When: Interviewed Sept 22, 2022 The journey: Tattly Temporary Tattoos Tina Roth Eisenberg/Swissmiss The Guerilla Girls Snark.Art NFTs Eve Sussman, 89 Seconds at Alcázar 2004 FairChain Nicole Wilson, Ötze project And all kinds of candid advice and insights into how to be–and keep being–in the arts.

    Episode 7: Yng-Ru Chen, Praise Shadows Gallery

  5. 10/13/2022

    Episode 6: Jameson Johnson, Boston Art Review

    EPISODE 6 / Jameson Johnson, Boston Art Review Mark your calendar –  Boston Art Book Fair 2022 IN PERSON November 4-6 Boston Art Book Fair, at Boston Center for the Arts!  More info here, including exhibitor and programs lists, and link for tickets to our can’t miss Friday night, Nov 4 preview party. Support the Boston Art Book Fair today! Show notes: Oliver and Randi talk with Jameson Johnson, founder and editor-in-chief at Boston Art Review.  Like many of us in the arts, Jameson wears a variety of hats.  In addition to her tireless work for Boston Art Review, she is a writer, editor, independent curator, and is also the Marketing Associate at MIT’s acclaimed List Visual Arts Center. When: Interviewed Sept 8, 2022   In Jameson’s past: The Horse Race ForYourArt Boston Art Book Fair #1, 2017   Interesting Character: Vermin Supreme   RIP: Boston Phoenix Big Red & Shiny Notable quotes from Jameson: “Boston needs more parties.” In Oliver’s past: Fourth Wall Gallery   Places that Jameson is excited about right now: Praise Shadows Gallery, Brookline MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge First Thursdays at State Park, Cambridge

    Episode 6: Jameson Johnson, Boston Art Review

  6. 09/12/2022

    Episode 5: Kathleen Sleboda, Draw Down Books

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today!   Oliver and Randi talk with designer, educator and publisher Kathleen Sleboda, co-founder and design director of Draw Down Books, an independent publisher and bookseller, and the primary at Gluekit.  Kathleen teaches at the University of Connecticut, Boston University, and Rhode Island School of Design, where she co-designed the course Newly Formed with her partner and frequent collaborator, Christopher Sleboda.  When: Interviewed August 11, 2022 The journey: Archivism at Yale Gluekit “Made Photographs”  Orality We talk about: The digital age and problems in preservation of documentation of non-dominant social cultures and artifacts in culture.  Case in point: Hardcore Fanzine: Good and Plenty, 1989-1992. The significance of PUNK and the DIY roots of design in sub-cultures like Club Culture, Dance Culture, Acid Graphic Design movement; subcultures as rich breeding ground for design.  Food Zines Finding community Cleon Peterson here, and here! (And Shepard Fairey) Library Stack Kristen Liu-Wong Boston Center for the Arts’ Cyclorama The Dutch Idea Books And something that Kathleen has learned recently:  How to Code Open Type Features (“so, a little bit of Python.”).  Also – Kathleen reveals that the roots of the terms upper case, lower case, and out of sorts, are all typographic. For your calendar: March 2023, the Multiple Formats: Contemporary Art Book  Symposium returns to Boston University.  Here’s info about the February 2022 edition; March 2023 promises to be equally amazing, PLUS is adding its own art book fair.

    Episode 5: Kathleen Sleboda, Draw Down Books

  7. 07/28/2022

    Episode 4: Paul Soulellis

    Support the Boston Art Book Fair today! Oliver and Randi talk to Paul Soulellis, an artist and educator based in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the founder of Queer.Archive.Work, an independent non-profit that supports artists, writers, and activists who share studio space for queer publishing. Paul is also Head of the Department of Graphic Design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). When: Interviewed June 13, 2022 First: Shout out to Boston Art Book Fair #1, 2017, and to Olivia Meyer-Jennette for helping make that happen. The journey: Library of the Printed Web Paul’s 2012 print-on-demand Stripped (Sixty-Six Sunsets Stripped) // in homage to Ed Ruscha’s 1966 Every Building on the Sunset Strip Queer.Archive.Work Who and what else: Kenneth Goldsmith Artists Books Cooperative Scotch Tape Jack Halberstam Mark your calendar: September 4, 2022/1st Queer and Trans Zine Fest, at The Steel Yard organized by Binch Press and Queer.Archive.Work We love PVD! @staysilentpvd @tradepvd @wheresnasty @drew_bar And the history: Fort Thunder Dirt Palace

    Episode 4: Paul Soulellis

  8. 06/17/2022

    Episode 3: Liza Quiñonez and Marka27

    Oliver and Randi talk to Liza Quiñonez and Marka27 founders of Street Theory, an award-winning creative agency that activates communities, spaces, and global brands through street art, cultural placemaking, and design. Who: Street Theory (https://www.street-theory.com/), aka Liza Quiñonez and Marka27 When: Interviewed October 20, 2021 What: Murals for the Movement, Dumbo Brooklyn, fall 202 Murals for the Movement @MFA 2020 Who else: We talk about artists including– Rob “Problak” Gibbs Rob Stull Don Rimx Hoxxoh Vyal Greg LaMarche Matthew Zaremba Liza’s role as City of Boston’s Transformative Public Art Mural Consultant (aka Mural Czar) VERZUZ And some of Marka27’s earlier projects: MiniGod speakers Fashion: Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM): The Encyclopedia of Camouflage Impact: Make the Road New York Stunt Doubles: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo ; see also Michael Boogaloo Shrimp Turbo Recommended Reading: There’s a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, Kool Mo Dee Support the Boston Art Book Fair today!

    Episode 3: Liza Quiñonez and Marka27

  9. 05/16/2022

    Episode 2: Danielle Abrams & Mary Ellen Strom

    Oliver and Randi talk to Danielle Abrams and Mary Ellen Strom about Rights Along the Shore, a research project, and a conceptual and collaborative exhibition that examines the history of segregated swimming sites in the United States. Exhibition: Rights Along the Shore in the Mills Gallery, at Boston Center for the Arts. April 2 —May 28, 2022. More info: https://bostonarts.org/event/rights-along-the-shore-2/ Learn more about the writers, artists, and projects discussed in this episode: Michael Patrick MacDonald (http://www.michaelpatrickmacdonald.com/) and his compelling stories about growing up in Southie in the 70s, Krzysztof Wodicko’s 1998 projection on the Bunker Hill Monument, and Yellowstone Revealed, a series of public art projects organized by Mountain Time Arts and sited within Yellowstone between June 2022 and May 2023, coinciding with and responding to Yellowstone Park’s 150th anniversary. Think more about swimming and activism: Check out The Harlem Honeys & Bears, a senior-citizen synchronized swimming team, The Swim Safely Partnership, launched by former Boston Mayor Kim Janey, and Ebony Rosemond’s Black Kids Swim in Maryland, including a webinar series “The Goree Project” connecting swimmers in Maryland and the Washington DC area with Goree Island in Dakar, Senegal. Dive into artist projects centering on water and segregation: Victoria Prizzia’s POOL: A Social History of Segregation Joyce Scott’s project at Druid Hill Park Pool #2 in Baltimore Danielle Abrams and Mary Ellen Strom’s exhibition Rights Along the Shore, Mills Gallery, Boston Center for the Arts, April 22-May 28, 2022 Get Outside: Kelly Outdoor Ice Skating rink in Jamaica Plain, MA Listen to More Podcasts: Jacobin’s People’s History Podcast, E.5, about South Boston’s Carson Beach and segregation Luminary’s Fiasco Podcast, Season 3 on Desegregation and Carson Beach, Rialto Report–Golden Age of Adult Film TriPod: New Orleans at 300, series on the history of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina Recommended Reading: Donna Haraway, Staying With the Trouble Support the Boston Art Book Fair today!

    Episode 2: Danielle Abrams & Mary Ellen Strom

  10. 05/06/2022

    Episode 1: Kristin Texeira

    In this episode, hosts Randi Hopkins and Oliver Mak talk to artist Kristin Texeira about her work, collaborations, and life. And, briefly, about sassafras. Weird Sounds is a podcast companion to the Boston Art Book Fair (Nov 4-6, 2022) presented by Boston Center for the Arts and Bodega. Resources for this episode: More about artist Kristin Texeira here. Learn about KT’s “fave art duo” Josef and Anni Albers here and here Check out Carraig-na-gCat, their artist residency in West Cork, Ireland. Images of Kristin’s Colors of Music series. The Bat-Signal Playlist: Colors of Music (thank you Ellen Buchanan!) Recommended Reading: Sassafras, Cypress & Indigo, by Ntozake Shange Support the Boston Art Book Fair Today!

    Episode 1: Kristin Texeira
  • 10 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

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2 Ratings

About

Weird Sounds is a podcast featuring hour-long interviews with creatives you need to know, talking about their work and life, where they’ve been and where they’re going – and what it means to them to be part of a meaningful cultural community in complicated times. Hosted by Randi Hopkins and Oliver Mak, co-founders of the Boston Art Book Fair, presented by Boston Center for the Arts and Bodega. Theme Song: Oliver Mak Graphic Design: Oliver Mak Visual Identity: Haley Nickola Sound Editor: Dallas Welk

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