Unapologetically Creative

Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • 5.0 (7)
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Unapologetically Creative is the official podcast from Vermont College of Fine Arts, featuring bold voices in art, design, and storytelling. Through fearless creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking, each episode explores how culture is shaped and reimagined. Hosted by Andrew Ramsammy, the show highlights how VCFA’s collaborative community empowers creators to challenge convention, embrace risk, and lead with purpose. Cover Art by David Jon Walker

  1. Imagination Without Limits: Shruti Swamy on Writing, Intuition, and Creative Freedom

    1D AGO

    Imagination Without Limits: Shruti Swamy on Writing, Intuition, and Creative Freedom

    Shruti Swamy, author of A House is a Body and The Archer, explores how imagination, cultural inheritance, and intuition shape her work. Drawing from Hindu mythology and her experience growing up between cultures, she reflects on the flexibility that comes from a bicultural perspective and how it informs the way she sees and tells stories. In this conversation, Shruti challenges traditional rules of craft, sharing why she’s moving beyond rigid frameworks like “show, don’t tell” and toward a more intuitive, truth-driven approach to writing. She also discusses the role of the subconscious in creative work, the importance of spaces that encourage experimentation, and how writers can reconnect with a sense of possibility when they feel stuck. Throughout the episode, Shruti emphasizes the importance of telling the truth in both life and art, creating work that leaves space for the reader to step in, interpret, and find their own meaning. 01:28 Cultural Inheritance and Storytelling 03:32 Understanding Hindu Mythology 05:00 Growing Up Between Cultures 06:11 Bicultural Perspective and Imagination 08:23 Rethinking Writing Education and The Dreamside 11:07 Creative Practice and Reconnecting with Imagination 13:29 Risk Taking, Safety, and the Subconscious 15:31 Balancing Structure and Dreamlike Writing 16:56 Returning to the Writing Practice 18:46 Creativity and Telling the Truth 19:56 Advice to Her Younger Self 21:03 Building Courage and Creative Community

    23 min
  2. A Language Within a Language: Brendan Constantine on Poetry, Voice, and Creative Evolution

    MAR 31

    A Language Within a Language: Brendan Constantine on Poetry, Voice, and Creative Evolution

    Brendan Constantine, poet and educator, explores how creativity evolves over time and why great work comes from moving forward rather than repeating what once worked. In this conversation, he reflects on poetry as a “language within a language,” one that allows us to express what everyday speech cannot. He shares how teaching and working with individuals experiencing aphasia and brain injuries reshaped his understanding of communication, showing how creativity can restore connection and unlock new ways of thinking. The episode also dives into the tension between growth and complacency, the role of failure in artistic practice, and why meaningful work is less about perfection and more about usefulness, generosity, and emotional truth. 1:41 Defining a Poetic Voice2:53 AI Tries to Copy His Voice4:01 Avoiding Creative Complacency5:25 The Pitfalls of Praise6:57 Why You Can’t Recreate Success8:06 Poetry as a Language Within a Language11:07 Is It True, Kind, or Helpful?15:01 Reading Work Out Loud18:00 Poetry and Aphasia Work24:53 Giving Back in Art28:41 What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative

    31 min
  3. Still That Artist: Karla Diaz on Intuition, healing, and Creating Through Life

    MAR 17

    Still That Artist: Karla Diaz on Intuition, healing, and Creating Through Life

    Artist Karla Diaz discusses how personal experiences, including caring for her mother and navigating loss, have shaped her creative work. She reflects on the ways art can serve as a space for processing grief, memory, and transformation, and how those experiences continue to inform the themes and direction of her practice. The conversation also explores the role of intuition in the creative process, the importance of community in sustaining artists, and how creative work evolves over time while remaining connected to deeply personal experiences. Timestamps: 2:12 Finding a Path into Art6:05 Trusting Intuition in the Creative Process9:48 How Life Experiences Shape Artistic Work13:20 Caring for Her Mother and the Role of Healing in Art17:42 Community, Collaboration, and Creative Support21:05 Balancing Personal Life and Artistic Practice24:36 How an Artist’s Work Evolves Over Time27:58 Advice for Emerging Artists30:15 Continuing to Create Through Life’s Changes

    30 min
  4. Art and Accountability: Ashley Hunt on Mass Incarceration, Research, and Speaking Alongside

    MAR 3

    Art and Accountability: Ashley Hunt on Mass Incarceration, Research, and Speaking Alongside

    Ashley Hunt discusses how research and lived experience shape his creative work. Beginning with his evacuation during the Los Angeles wildfire, the conversation expands into his long engagement with mass incarceration and the systems that structure punishment in the United States. He reflects on art as a way to examine power, the importance of historical context, and the responsibility artists carry in understanding their own position in the work they make. Ashley also explores the idea of speaking alongside communities rather than for them and why art remains a space for critical thinking and possibility. 2:28 Evacuating Topanga Canyon and Community Response6:22 Climate Crisis and the Educational Mission9:30 Incarcerated Fire Crews and Exploited Labor12:12 Two Californias and the Scale of Incarceration15:12 Teaching, Criminalization, and Early Inquiry18:21 Research as Artistic Practice21:43 Profit Motives and Private Prisons22:16 Counter Narratives and Media Mythology24:54 History, Slavery, and the Prison System27:03 Self Awareness, Privilege, and Accountability27:59 James Baldwin and Rethinking Whiteness30:28 CalArts and VCFA Coming Together31:58 When Is the Right Time for Graduate School35:04 What Unapologetically Creative Means

    38 min
  5. Creating Closer to the Nerve: edwin bodney on Grief, Performance, and living Without Apology

    FEB 17

    Creating Closer to the Nerve: edwin bodney on Grief, Performance, and living Without Apology

    Poet, performer, and educator edwin bodney joins Unapologetically Creative for a deeply honest conversation about writing closer to the nerve, transforming grief into a landscape for discovery, and creating work rooted in truth, vulnerability, and connection. Edwin reflects on their journey from early open mic nights at the Poetry Lounge to becoming a powerful voice in contemporary spoken word, exploring how performance sharpened their craft and how storytelling became a space for survival, joy, and radical empathy. Together, edwin and host Andrew Ramsammy unpack what it means to live and create without apology, why spoken word sits at the foundation of all literature, and how artists can continue their own stories on their own terms. From grief and identity to creativity as courage, this episode is a powerful reminder that no one else gets to write the ending of your story. 2:04 Getting Closer to the Nerve4:00 Grief as Geography7:51 Discovering Poetry and Performance13:44 First Time on Stage15:55 Growth Over Time16:22 Identity, Belonging, and Connection17:50 Bringing Audiences Closer to Themselves19:25 Living Without Apology20:27 Spoken Word as the Foundation of Literature21:14 Breaking Rules in the Creative Process21:54 Where Performance and Writing Converge23:59 Writing for Truth and Vulnerability25:36 Expanding Reach Through social media26:58 Continuing Your Own Story

    29 min
  6. Writing Through Humor and Pain: Brooke Champagne on Identity, Storytelling, and Creative Truth

    FEB 3

    Writing Through Humor and Pain: Brooke Champagne on Identity, Storytelling, and Creative Truth

    Brooke Champagne, award winning author of Nola Face: A Latina’s Life in the Big Easy, joins Unapologetically Creative for a conversation about writing from the most personal places and finding humor inside life’s contradictions. Growing up biracial in New Orleans shaped her voice, teaching her to hold darkness and joy in the same frame and to explore the complicated emotions that drive honest storytelling. Brooke reflects on the risks of telling intimate family stories, the power of vulnerability on the page, and why writers must abandon people pleasing in pursuit of truth. She also shares how teaching and mentoring emerging writers reinforces her belief that, even in the age of AI, human storytelling…our need for that in order to survive is not going away. This episode is a thoughtful look at identity, resilience, creative courage, and the responsibility artists have to document the world around them while inspiring others to make art of their own. 1:41 — Identity, Language, and Growing Up Biracial4:18 — Writing the Hard Stuff4:57 — The Philosophy of “Bugginess”7:22 — Humor as Survival9:25 — Abandoning People Pleasing to Tell the Truth11:26 — Writing Risky, Intimate Stories13:20 — When Family Reads Your Work16:02 — How New Orleans Shapes Her Voice17:18 — Editing, Deep Reading, and Literary Context19:48 — Teaching Writers in the Age of AI21:39 — Why Writers Must Keep Going23:54 — What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative25:13 — Advice to Her Younger Self

    27 min
  7. Letting the Story Lead: Damon Davis on Medium, Meaning, and Creative Practice

    JAN 20

    Letting the Story Lead: Damon Davis on Medium, Meaning, and Creative Practice

    Damon Davis reflects on how stories shape meaning, memory, and responsibility. Working across film, music, visual art, and public installation, Davis explains why he lets the story dictate the medium and how creative practice begins with close attention to place, history, and lived experience. Throughout the conversation, Davis discusses subjectivity and fairness in storytelling, the implications of local work entering national institutions, and why art often becomes one of the lasting records of a moment in time. He shares how process, patience, and care guide his decisions, and why resisting labels allows the work to remain honest and grounded in context. Rather than offering prescriptions, Davis leaves us with a way of thinking about creative practice that values intention over posture, meaning over speed, and the long life of work made with care. 0:22 — Introduction and Background 2:21 — Letting the Story Dictate the Medium 2:54 — Early Life, Family, and Creative Roots 4:59 — Process, Symbols, and Public Monuments 7:53 — Local Stories Going National 8:20 — Ferguson and Making Whose Streets? 10:53 — The Smithsonian and Art as Historical Record 15:06 — Art as a Tool for Truth and Authenticity 15:52 — Grief, Tropes, and Telling Difficult Stories 17:04 — Subjectivity, Objectivity, and Power 18:30 — Teaching, Stillness, and Self-Awareness 20:23 — Accolades, Ego, and Staying Grounded 22:29 — Relationships and Creative Fuel 23:48 — Activism, Burnout, and Branding 25:40 — Fatigue, Relevance, and Stepping Away 26:36 — Creating an Opera 30:16 — The Three Phase Creative Vision 33:00 — Being Unapologetically Creative

    34 min
  8. The Responsibility of Story: Charles Burnett on Community, History, and Filmmaking Beyond Entertainment

    JAN 5

    The Responsibility of Story: Charles Burnett on Community, History, and Filmmaking Beyond Entertainment

    Filmmaker Charles Burnett reflects on a career shaped by community, history, and a deep sense of responsibility to tell stories often left unseen. Growing up in Watts and coming of age during a pivotal moment in American history, Burnett shares how lived experience, observation, and empathy became central to his approach to filmmaking. In this conversation, Burnett discusses why he has always viewed film as more than entertainment, emphasizing storytelling as a way to preserve memory, reflect social realities, and give voice to everyday life. He speaks about his time at UCLA, the challenges Black filmmakers faced in gaining access and recognition, and how works like Killer of Sheep emerged from a commitment to authenticity rather than spectacle. Burnett also reflects on legacy and what it means to remain creatively engaged over time, offering insight into the responsibility artists carry to their communities and to future generations through the stories they choose to tell. 02:10 – Early Life in Watts and Learning to Observe 04:30 – Community as a Source of Story 06:45 – UCLA and a Transformative Moment in History 09:10 – Access, Barriers, and Being Seen as a Filmmaker 11:45 – Film as Reflection, Not Explanation 14:00 – Rejecting Spectacle and Hollywood Expectations 16:10 – The Making of Killer of Sheep 19:20 – Everyday Life as Cinematic Material 21:40 – International Recognition and U.S. Resistance 24:00 – Preservation, Memory, and Cultural Responsibility 26:10 – Teaching, Mentorship, and Passing Knowledge Forward 28:15 – Legacy, Responsibility, and Closing Reflections

    31 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

Unapologetically Creative is the official podcast from Vermont College of Fine Arts, featuring bold voices in art, design, and storytelling. Through fearless creativity and cross-disciplinary thinking, each episode explores how culture is shaped and reimagined. Hosted by Andrew Ramsammy, the show highlights how VCFA’s collaborative community empowers creators to challenge convention, embrace risk, and lead with purpose. Cover Art by David Jon Walker

Information

  • Creator
    Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Show Website
    Unapologetically Creative