Unapologetically Creative

Vermont College of Fine Arts
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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. Creating Closer to the Nerve: edwin bodney on Grief, Performance, and living Without Apology

    -5 ДН.

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

    3 ФЕВР.

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

    20 ЯНВ.

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

    5 ЯНВ.

    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 мин.
  5. The Power of Welcome: Daniel Nayeri on Specificity, Truth, and Universal Storytelling

    19.11.2025

    The Power of Welcome: Daniel Nayeri on Specificity, Truth, and Universal Storytelling

    Daniel Nayeri explores how specific details in a story can reveal something universal. He reflects on his fascination with “welcome,” from inviting strangers into his home for dinner to the moment characters meet around a fire, and discusses the role of food in his life and how being a pastry chef shaped his sense of pleasure, honesty, and craft. Daniel also shares what readers have taught him about vulnerability, why trusting his own palate matters, and how children and adults bring different emotional tools to stories, showing how specificity and truth help readers see pieces of their own lives in someone else’s story. 0:41 Introduction of Daniel Nayeri and Everything Sad Is Untrue. 1:14 The idea of “welcome” and storytelling through food. 2:27 Shoes on or off? Cultural norms and politeness as storytelling entry points. 3:47 Hosting strangers: the publisher’s reaction and surprising outcomes. 4:38 Unexpected connections — photographers, dinners, and shared creative space. 5:05 Daniel’s philosophy: everyone begins with welcome, but it can be lost. 5:54 Campfire metaphor: the moment two strangers negotiate trust. 7:33 Visualization and metaphor: crafting scenes with all five senses. 10:02 Life as a pastry chef: honest reactions in an open kitchen. 11:40 Applying the pastry chef mindset to writing. 13:52 Entertainment vs. art: palate cleansers and deeper meaning. 14:48 Why art isn’t just “chocolate and cocaine.” 15:34 Cooking and fighting: Daniel’s primary metaphors for truth. 16:35 Mike Tyson’s “everyone has a plan until they get punched.” 18:18 “Trust your palate”: the chef’s lesson on honesty. 19:04 Why trusting your own palate matters creatively. 20:08 Writing for children: appropriateness and development. 21:26 Children’s emotional depth and articulation. 26:07 Emails from readers and the weight of their stories. 29:03 Seeing ourselves everywhere; anthropomorphizing the world. 29:35 Art’s purpose: inviting others in without dehumanizing them. 30:30 Being unapologetically creative as a primal human act.

    32 мин.
  6. Stories that Shape Us: Linda Sue Park on Representation, Reading, and Real World Impact

    05.11.2025

    Stories that Shape Us: Linda Sue Park on Representation, Reading, and Real World Impact

    Linda Sue Park, Newbery Medalist and author of A Single Shard and A Long Walk to Water, reflects on growing up without stories that reflected her Korean identity, the importance of representation in books, and how reading helps young people develop deep thinking skills. She also shares the real-world impact of A Long Walk to Water, which inspired students to raise millions for clean water projects in South Sudan and discusses how stories give children a safe space to practice life. 2:04 How her creative journey began, childhood reading and early influences 6:07 Lack of identity representation in childhood reading 6:16 Experiences growing up Korean American and early awareness of difference 6:46 How representation influenced her writing and Korean historical focus 23:26 Discussion of A Long Walk to Water and its global impact 23:51 Credit to her husband’s journalism and origins of the story of Salva Dut 24:12 How the book spread through classrooms and inspired students to act 26:19 How it felt to see the book’s real world impact 26:23 Reflections on young readers’ response and her newest book about coral reefs 26:56 Question about advice to her younger self 27:07 Advice, embracing what makes you different 27:27 How would you present that in book form 27:29 Continuing reflections, being true to oneself and finding strengths in difference

    30 мин.
  7. The Art of Listening: Miller Wrenn on Improvisation, Authenticity, and Creative Connection

    22.10.2025

    The Art of Listening: Miller Wrenn on Improvisation, Authenticity, and Creative Connection

    Miller Wrenn is a bassist and composer who explores the beauty of improvisation, collaboration, and the deep trust that fuels creative work. In this conversation with Andrew Ramsammy, Wrenn reflects on how neurodiversity shapes his process, why true artistry begins with openness, and how music becomes a living dialogue between people. From his early days as an 11-year-old bassist to collaborations with acclaimed artists like Hildur Guðnadóttir, Wrenn reveals the lessons of resilience, community, and honesty that define his craft. 00:00–00:23—Opening Reflection00:28–01:35—Introduction01:36–03:05—Full Circle at CalArts03:06–05:11—Early Beginnings in Music05:12–06:37—Discovering Improvisation07:03–09:54—Collaboration and Connection09:54–13:04—The First “Date” with Hildur Guðnadóttir13:04–16:13—Experimentation and Musical Honesty16:14–18:29—Balancing Structure and Spontaneity18:30–19:52—Preparing for Improvised Performance19:53–21:24—Themes and Emotional Exploration21:25–22:56—Creative Blocks and Deep Listening22:57–24:46—Letting Go of Ego24:47–26:39—AI and the Future of Music26:40–28:51—Advice to His Younger Self28:52–29:51—Defining “Unapologetically Creative”29:57–30:39—Closing Thoughts

    31 мин.
  8. Between Humor and Honesty: Christine Sneed on Story, Identity, and Creative Persistence

    08.10.2025

    Between Humor and Honesty: Christine Sneed on Story, Identity, and Creative Persistence

    Christine Sneed, award-winning author and creative writing professor, reflects on her path from teenage poetry journals to national acclaim. She shares how humor, specificity, and emotional honesty shape her storytelling, the moment in Paris that cemented her identity as a writer, and why trusting your instincts matters more than chasing trends. Christine also opens up about the realities of publishing, the craft lessons she teaches her students, and the quiet persistence required to build a life in literature. 01:54 — What Inspired Christine to Start Writing 02:38 — The Epiphany Moment in Paris: “I’m Going to Be a Writer” 04:36 — Returning from France & Early Mentors 05:53 — Getting an MFA at Indiana University 06:59 — Balancing Life, Writing, and Early Struggles 07:24 — What is “Domestic Realism”? 07:51 — Writing Structure, Titles, and Episodic Thinking 08:47 — Narrative Structure & Flashbacks 09:44 — Christine’s Writing Process & Routine 11:28 — Writing Humor & Her Book *Please Be Advised* 13:58 — Corporate Life as Creative Fuel 15:52 — Writing *Little Known Facts* and Hollywood Dynamics 17:30 — Who She Writes For (and Why) 18:08 — Research & Writing from Different Perspectives 19:39 — Writing for Publication vs Writing for Passion 21:12 — The “First Pancake” Philosophy 21:33 — Teaching & How It Shapes Her Writing 22:56 — How to Create Specific, Real Characters 23:09 — Craft Advice & The Power of Detail 25:23 — The Importance of Organic Strangeness in Fiction 25:26 — Advice to Her Younger Self 26:36 — What It Means to Be Unapologetically Creative

    30 мин.
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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

Информация

  • Автор
    Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Годы выхода
    2025 - 2026
  • Выпуски
    14
  • Ограничения
    Без ненормативной лексики
  • Авторские права
    © Vermont College of Fine Arts
  • Сайт подкаста
    Unapologetically Creative