Wonder Stars of the Universe: Recent Episodes
Eboni Jalea Dion Freeman
To understand who you are today, it’s good to look back at who you've been. Join your host Eboni (published author, private consultant, and x-Googler) in talking to a national selection of Wonder Star artist up-and-comers, homemakers, and business owners. Listen to the stories of how they designed new versions of themselves and reinvented their present to take control of their future. Every 2nd and 4th Thursday, come get inspired to find who you could be.
To learn more about Wonder Stars of the Universe, check out WonderStarsUniverse.com
Hello Wonder Stars ⭐️
Thank you for listening to season 2 of Wonder Stars of the Universe!
By concensus, yall’s favorite interview quote this season was:
- “I'm always thinking about things in a strange or outside of the normal way, but at the same time, I want to be on Earth so I need somebody else to give me the vibes to bring me back to the Earth.” - from the astounding Minso Kim of CU Boulder
I also received these pieces of Galactic Feedback:
- 1) continue with the gifs
- Here you go!
- 2) start providing more background on the interviewees before the interview starts
- 3) stop changing the music so much
I will take all of your genius advice into Season 3, which will be released in 2022!
You can look forward to hearing from the following Season 3 Wonder Stars
- chipper Chip of Downtown Boulder
- altruistic Alex Pappas from The Bearded Advocate podcast
- prescient Prasanna Karur host of the PlayGround podcast
- and jazzy Julian Dawes from Sotheby's auction house
To ensure season 3 is out of this world, I will need 3 things from you:
- 1) Wonder Star interviewee suggestions - who do you think should join our universe and share their story?
- 2) Check out WonderStarsUniverse.com and let me know what is missing
- 3) Follow me on Instagram @EboniJDFreeman to hear about upcoming virtual meetups, in-person launch parties, and opportunities to join the Wonder Stars of the Universe team
May joy and curiousity always be in your orbit Wonder Stars!
This week I’m talking to Minso Kim, painter, electro-creator, and artistic Critical Media Practices Ph.D. candidate at CU Boulder about her new projects including the B.E.A.T. Convivial Machines exhibit at the Museum of Boulder. Interdisciplinary creation, remix culture, and techno-art are big and often intimidating concepts. Have you ever wondered where do artists get their ideas and inspiration for works at the edge of modern understanding of beauty and innovation? Minso Kim breaks it down into small, intentional, and integrated steps. We talk about how we she expanded her understanding of art, connected with her community to create greatness, and we share some personal perspectives on how we see the intersection of phobia and philia in natural and artificial environments.
Get ready to wander with a electro-artisan wonder star!
Best Quote: “I'm always thinking about things in a strange or outside of the normal way, but at the same time, I want to be on Earth so I need somebody else to give me the vibes to bring me back to the Earth."
Spotify playlist: https://bit.ly/MinsoKimPlaylist
Today's Gif: https://bit.ly/ElectroArtGif
To read today's episode transcript, head over to WonderStarsUniverse.com/Podcast/minso-kim
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
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More about Minso:
- https://www.colorado.edu/cmci/people/graduate-students/critical-media-practices/minso-kim
- https://korkimminso.wixsite.com/minso/bio
- Want to reach out to her? Email Minso.Kim@Colorado.Edu
More about Minso’s cool art scientist friends
- Angie Eng organizer of the Boulder bunny project
- Jiffer Harriman
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Episode Topics Covered
- Where does the name Minso come from?
- What does the average week look like for a Critical Media Practices PhD candidate focused on Emergent Technology and Media Art Practices at CU Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information?
- *How do you end up at the intersection of electronics and arts and sciences?
- How do you learn to build electronic festival parts?
- How does a Korean painter end up at Japenese electronics festival?
- *How do you transmute interdisciplinary volunteering experience into left-brain & right-brain exhibitions?
- What is like to join the Boulder Experiments in Arts & Technology (B.E.A.T.) meetup group?
- Why pursue a PhD in the art world? Is it worth it?
- How did the arts community in Boulder spread bunny love during the pandemic?
- What is a dissertation? What is a dissertation for a Critical Media Practices PhD?
- *What are biophilia and biophobia?
- What is like to present your research paper at an international conference?
- * What is the yuck factor and where did it come from: science or ethics?
- What is a PhD fellowship and why is it worth applying for?
- What kind of person should apply for a PhD at the intersection of arts and technology?
- Who is Minso’s warmest Wonder Star?
Welcome to the B.E.A.T. Galaxy! B.E.A.T. stands for Boulder Experiments in Arts and Technology and is a phenomenal meetup group where people all across the Front Range can share their work, get inspired, and find a collaborator as open-mic style meetups and workshops.
This episode includes interviews from the Convivial Machines Party at the Museum of Boulder. From casual techies to hardcore artisans, we’ll hear about their perspectives on the past, present, and future of communication technology.
Get ready to rock with 13 B.E.A.T. stars!
Want more B.E.A.T.? Type bit.ly/BEATMeetup into your browser and get ready to explore the intersection of art, technology, and science!
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
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Sample of the Interview Questions Asked:
- How does the technology you use everyday shape the way you interact with your community?
- If you could change one thing about technology/the way people conversate today, what would you change?
- If you could invent a new way of communicating, what would it be?
- How would you change communication technology if you had endless dollars and time?
- Who is part of your community? Who do you wish was part of your community? What's holding you back from connecting with them?
- How could we interact even more creatively and autonomously with one another and our environment? What's your wildest idea?
Have you ever wondered about the ethics of museum curation? Who gets to choose what matters? Who gets to say what ought to be preserved? Chelsea Pennington Hahn of the Museum of Boulder has pondered over just those questions and is willing and able to answer them just for you! She'll talk to us about what it means to define art not only for yourself but also for the public, and the weight of that responsibility in times of peace and tragedy.
Get ready to wander with a museum wonder star!
Best Quote: "You have a piece of history or a random artifact or something around, you might be like this seems boring to me if I'm being honest, but once you dig into it there's always something fascinating. Your fingertips tingle with new knowledge as your research tells an interesting story that you didn't realize was connected to this larger arc throughout history and throughout the community. "Spotify playlist: bit.ly/CuratorsCornerPlaylist
Today's Gif: bit.ly/DigiMuseumGif
To check Chelsea's favorite mentors, learn more about
- Nina Simon, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History - check out this classy article written all about her
- Pamela Schwartz, Executive Director of the Orange County Regional History Center - read this thorough NPR article written about her
- Cynthia Sanford, Registrar of the Clark County Museum - look through how she expertly handled tragedy and shares that wisdom with others in the museum world
To read today's episode transcript, head over to WonderStarsUniverse.com/Podcast/ChelseaMuseumOfBoulder
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
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Episode Topics Covered
- What is a collection facility?
- How does one acquire art?
- What is the mission of the collection?
- How does a curator balance building today's collection while crafting the collection you envision 20 years from now?
- How do you work with your team to define a vision?
- How do partnerships arise?
- How do you think about positioning the museum in terms of larger political and societal conversations?
- When you put your curator hat on, how do you manage leading on projects you don't have a passion for?
- How do you archive a mass shooting?
- How do you equitably tell the story of a diverse place where there are citizens across the political, economic, and social spectrums?
- How was it for you as a person and a curator to manage the King Soopers Shooting memorial through trauma-informed preservation?
- What was Chelsea's first big art experience?
- How does exploitation show up in the careers of art administrators?
Have you ever wondered about the what makes a great curator? I mean the nitty-gritty behind their best days and their hardest moments? Chelsea Pennington Hahn of the Museum of Boulder is here to answer those questions just for you!
Get ready to wander with a museum wonder star!
Best Quote: “As a museum we’re examining that narrative and saying, okay well like we've had it this way for years but you know what about all these other viewpoints or maybe there's actually another story that we need to reexamine and expose the truth of."Spotify playlist: bit.ly/CuratorsCornerPlaylist
Today's Gif: bit.ly/DigiMuseumGif
To experience a heavy dose of light-hearted participatory / interactive / immersive art, attend
- CU Boulder Atlas Institute's Whaaaat? Festival on November 14th
- Sign up for your ticket on Eventbrite
To read today's episode transcript, head over to WonderStarsUniverse.com/Podcast/ChelseaMuseumOfBoulder
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
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Episode Topics Covered
- What's behind the myth of the cool job?
- With TikTok and the internet widely available, should museums even exist anymore?
- What's the danger of a single narrative within a museum? Who does it hurt?
- How do you remain humble when a guest curator comes in with an entirely different perspective?
- How do you check your biases at the door when collaborating with diverse groups?
After rumbling through one of the most mystically magical art infusions of all time, Dapper District is ready to dance in your ears. But are you ready?
We’ve got Britnee Breeze of Breeze Creations, Janice Savonen of Sisu Tattoo, Katrin Bell of Happy Messes_Art, Jenny Verrochi of Wild Barn Coffee, and Laura Bukowski of Maus. They are all business residents of the North Boulder (NoBo) Arts District who share their creative methodology and the day-to-day of being an artist-entrepreneur.
Now that Boulder, Colordo has the 3rd highest concentration of artists in the USA, how can a solo adventurer compete? What’s their roadmap for upskilling techniques and growing their name around town and around the nation? Today’s conversations have a mix of practical tools and inspiritational advice to help you find your way in the Wonder Star Universe!
To Learn More about Boulder Art
- Where do local artists gather to strut their stuff: Boulder Arts Week
- Does Boulder really have one of the top 5 concentrations of artists in the United States: Daily Camera article
- Learn what's on the docket for our 2022 art season: The Year Ahead annual event hosted by the Boulder Art Commission
To Read about Women Artists From 1920 to 2020
- Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin by Marion Meade
- The Gospel According to Coco Chanel by Karen Karbo
- Lucille by Kathleen Brady
- Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
To Connect Further with Today’s Guests
- @BritneeBreeze
- @SisuTattoo
- @HappyMesses_Art
- @JennnnyGirl + her LinkTree
- @Maus_Creative + her portfolio
To Connect Further with the Eboni Freeman Institute
- Tweet at me using #WonderStars
- Follow what I’m up to @EJDFreed on Instagram
- Tell me what to checkout by DMing me on Facebook
- See the full list of Wonder Star Possibilities at WonderStarsUniverse.com
- Sign up for my Newsletter
Timestamps
- 01:12 Britnee Breeze
- 09:55 Releasing your fear of failure through an Attitude of Gratitude
- 14:20 Janice Savonen
- 14:57 Co-creating illustrative body art with clients
- 21:10 Katrin Bell
- 23:39 Translating your aesthetic across mediums
- 37:44 Jenny Verrochi and Laura Bukowski
- 39:38 Creating an artists’ collective in NoBo Art District
Our interviews today are part 2 of the Pop-to-the-Bus-Stop series featuring the artists Monks&Ninjas and Mr. Hanimal + Street Wise Arts Executive Director - Leah Brenner Clack. They’re walking us through Chicano creations, hand-animal curations, and what it means to support art movements at a hyper-local level!
Get ready to wander with 3 wonder stars!
Today's Gif: bit.ly/MuralMuralOnTheWallGif
To learn more about today’s featured Wonder Stars, check them out at:
- @MonksAndNinjas on Instagram
- www.monksandninjas.com
- @mr_hanimal on Instagram
- mrhanimal.com
- @streetwisearts on Instagram
- linktr.ee/streetwisearts
And if you want to check out:
- that coolio documentary Joseph and I were discussing pop over to YouTube and look up "Inside Japan’s Chicano Subculture | NYT”
- more on making it in modern art, go to your local library to ask for
- Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
- OR
- Making It in the Art World by Brainard Carey
- Try out a martial arts class at the chicest place in Boulder, go to Easton gym on Boulder’s 32nd street!
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
Have you ever wanted to peek into the mind of a museum curator? What about the secret thoughts of a creative collective’s Director? Well stop looking through their trash cans and return that creepy spy kit because that’s just what you’ll get on today’s episode!
This installation of Curator’s Corner features the mind meld of CU Art Museum’s Head Curator - Hope Saska - and Boulder Creative Collective’s Director - Addrienne Amato. Together they’ll teach us the books, experiences, and plans that transformed them from art appreciators to art activists!
Get ready to wander with 2 wonder stars!
Best Quote: “The idea started on a hike… with my business partner who’s also my best friend; we’d both just moved here and we felt like something was sort of missing."
Spotify playlist: bit.ly/CuratorsCornerPlaylist
Today's Gif: bit.ly/CurateThatGif
To learn more about one of Hope’s favorite childhood art books, check out "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" via bit.ly/MixedUpFilesBook!
And if you find yourself in NYC anytime soon, stop by The Morgan Library and Museum to see an exhibit on one of Hope’s favorite creatives: Pierre Jean Mariette :)
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
Our interviews today are part 1 of the Pop-to-the-Bus-Stop series featuring the artists Savannah Hope and Heather D. Schulte. They’re walking us through starting up as a professional artist and the theory behind tactile exhibitions!
Get ready to wander with 2 wonder stars!
Today's Gif: bit.ly/LetsGetCraftyGif
To learn more about today’s featured Wonder Stars, check them out at:
- @savhope on Instagram
- SavannahHope.com
- @heatherdschulte on Instagram
- https://www.stitchingthesituation.com
And if you want even more of Pop-to-the-Bus-Stop, come back on Thursday, September 23rd for part 2 featuring the artists Jospeh Jimenez (aka Monks&Ninjas) and Spencer of Mr. Hanimal!
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To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Cate Downey from her 2020 album: Boulder.
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute
WonderStars
Our stories today are part of the Curator’s Corner series featuring the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art's (BMOCA) curator: Pam Meadows, and the Dairy Arts Center’s curator: Danielle Seewalker (plus her best frient Carlota Cardona)! They’re walking us through the making of a curator, how art is selected for prestigious museum collections, and the beauty of take a chance on yourself time and time again. If you’re looking for a sign to start living your big art dream, this is it!
So get ready to wander with a wonder star!
Best Quote: “What are you? I am a citizen of the world and a vagrant into the arts."
Spotify playlist: bit.ly/CuratorsCornerPlaylist
Today's Gif: bit.ly/CurateThisGif
To learn more about one of Pam Meadows’ top Wonder Stars - Dr. Nancy Siegel of Juniata College - check out her book on Amazon via bit.ly/JuniataByDrNancy!
To read other Wonder Star stories, check out the full book: bit.ly/WonderStarsBook
Learn more about the Universe and get bonus content at WonderStarsUniverse.com
Music by Blue Dot Sessions
Published and produced by the Eboni Freeman Institute