ART FIGHT PODCAST

Mike Calway-Fagen, Curator and Director of Exhibitions for Stove Works, is an artist, writer, and curator based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mike joins us and talks about his practice, the southern identity in art, navigating ghosts and the paranormal in art spaces, and breaks down the upcoming Stove Works benefit BODY SLAM! - an evening of art and revelry... with live wrestling!?

Follow Stove Works on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stove_works

Learn more about Stove Works and get tickets for BODY SLAM! at: https://www.stoveworks.org/

The GOAT of MMA writing joins us to talk about the importance of world-building in MMA storytelling, the levity of writing about fighting, and wrestling with the responsibility required for realizing his herculean dream of writing a book to the standard of Liebling's 'The Sweet Science' for Mixed Martial Arts.

Follow Chuck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChuckMindenhall

Read Chuck's work on The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/author/chuck-mindenhall/

Kool Keith aka Dr. Octagon, Dr. Dooom, Black Elvis, and many more names joins Brian Siskind for a conversation on navigating the past, present, and future in music, beats and production, and basketball. Keith walks through working with Bill Laswell, Automator, how the cover art for Sex Style came to be legend, why money makes people lose all perspective, and talks about his new record "KEITH".

Follow Kool Keith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UltraMan7000

This week we hang with artist Amber Lelli and talk about the bronze postmodern future, and the values of creative freedom.

Follow Amber on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amberlelliart/

We have a fun and irreverent hang with artist Brian Wooden this week for all you glorious freaks. We rap about flow state, the necessity of comedy in culture, process in illustration and street art, and how skateboarding aligns the body and soul.

Follow Brian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brianwooden

This week we get in the ring with NWA professional wrestler and spiritual prophet, Jocephus. He teaches us the ropes about powerbombing cosmic consciousness into faithful fans while also working as a music educator and filmmaker.

Follow Jocephus on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jocephusnwa
and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jocephusnwa/

This week we connect with professor Nancy Ann Kidder to talk about her course at American University - Writing and Fighting. We touch on combat sports literature, the power of fight narratives, how fighting is a vehicle for understanding issues from gender equality to geopolitics, and why Nick Newell always finds a way to make us cry.

Follow Nancy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NancyAnnKidder

Learn more about the Writing and Fighting course at: https://www.writeandfight.com/

After a week off, we are back in the clinch with Nashville painter Jodi Hays. We talk about Jodi's exhibition at Red Arrow Gallery in Nashville, the joys of giant paintings, and the pros and cons of a growing art scene.

How do you attend the Nashville Art Crawl like a pro? How did Tarantino botch Bruce Lee's legacy in his new film? Is contemporary sculpture absurd? Can you have an art gallery in your house? We answer these questions and talk about our latest projects and exhibits on this week's episode.

Follow Joe Nolan: www.instagram.com/mightyjoenolan

Follow Brian Siskind: www.instagram.com/thosedrones

Video artist, performance artist, painter, and circuit bender Sophia Gordon-Stevens talks about bending video, the magic of VHS, video art as an object, and how she balances her mental health through creating her Miller's Grove Public Access project - that you can be a part of.
Learn more about Sophia and her Miller's Grove Public Access exhibition channel at www.sophiagordonart.com/

Jon Sewell is Nashville's most Progressive mayoral candidate. Jon joins us to talk politics, theater, political theater, smears, jeers, smoke and mirrors in the very last episode of Season 5.

Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejonse 

Breaking in the new studio! T-Rex fossils, street art, graffiti, Nashville art scene, alligators, art shows, and mucking about reality with Chris Zidek.

Follow Chris on Instagram www.instagram.com/zidekahedron

David King hangs with us while it is storming outside loudly and talks with us about Extended Play Press. Extended Play is an independent publisher based in Nashville making books in collaboration with local and regional artists. The books are unique and specific pieces - the result of a research process into individual artist practices and the book form. They are produced using a mix of contemporary and traditional printing techniques.

This week we rap with artist and educator Rocky Horton about his self-declared artist residency, Nashville's worst sculpture off I-65, innovation avoidance, and making art at home.

This week we sit down with Nashville artist Erin Murphy. Erin talks about drawing art out of the natural environment, curiosity in creativity, and how to learn Norwegian in two months or at least look sporty trying.

This week we hang with artist, curator, provacateur Andres Bustamente. He tells us about growing up as a young refugee, how street art saved his life, and why he fights to make art for himself and his community.

Mr. Regular, The Roman, and Tony Airlines drop into Nashville, sit down in an electric blue carpeted hotel meeting room, and ponder: nostalgia and the words of Samuel Hines, how "a car deposits you in the era of your best self", the perils of Charles Bukowski, the power of having heroes like Bruce Henn, and how sitting on your words for a month makes for a better car review.

Watch RCR on YouTube

Follow RCR on Twitter

Follow Tony Airlines on IG

Have you heard about the Tennessee Triennial? Artist, educator and curator Brian Jobe talks Locate Arts, the new Tennessee Triennial, and the big picture for regional art scenes.

Join us as we sit down with artist and educator Thomas Sturgill. Swim after this deep dive into: art/life balance; achievement, awards; and value; and why Sturgill is the number one artist, but not really.

This week we host Taylor Alexander of NBC's The Voice. Taylor talks us through the making of his new album, wonders aloud at the definition of "Country," and puts his extra large coffee in a guillotine choke while ranting about his love of jiu-jitsu and his new blue belt. OSS!

WPLN Nashville Public Radio afternoon host Natasha Senjanovic stops by the studio this week. We chat about film culture, hard news V.S. soft news, radio as performance - and the otherworldly phenomena of listeners saying her name aloud along with her.

This week we hang with Nashville native, Kurdish-American artist, Nuveen Barwari. We talk about the protective power of the Evil Eye, the challenges and joys of growing up in two worlds, and why she's not waiting for diversity to catch up with her dreams.

This week we celebrate the end of our 4th season with regular guest and friend of the show, artist Chris Zidek. We talk NYC, female MMA fighter greatness, translating street art into gallery spaces, and we answer our weirdest batch of voicemail messages yet.

Janet O'Shea is a Professor of World Arts and Cultures/Dance at UCLA , and author of the new book Risk, Failure, Play. She joins us to talk the importance of play, improvisation, and why winning is overrated. Through movement, martial arts, and expression, combat is her vehicle for knowledge and creativity.

This week we sit down with Nashville artist and filmmaker Marlos E'van. E'van fills us in on his new cookbook project, the Night Shift Network variety show web series, how to say I'm sorry with sculpture, and his thoughts on Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman and Canelo Alvarez vs.Daniel Jacobs.

This week we're joined by Nashville artist, Lindsy Davis. Davis breaks down her psychedelic art exhibition at Fort Houston., talks about hitting her heavy bag, and champions mystery in social media self-promotion.

Warriors in the music business, tech, branding, and fighting the good fight for creatives - Ernest and Mark are storied figures in Nashville who are making waves across multiple sectors. We hang and answer your questions on how artists are getting screwed, the imminent nature of tech and change, licensing, marketing, and cannabis coming to Tennessee.

Paul Horton is the man behind the keys for the Alabama Shakes and a founding member of the experimental music ensemble Concurrence. Horton brings his No Stress philosophy to Art Fight to talk about balancing work and family, maintaining a creative practice on the road, and the North Nashville music Mecca that might have been.