Art on the Air

Art(s) on the Air with Lusiana Morales

Join Tamara for an interview with Lusiana Morales, who was born in Puerto Rico and began an architecture program there, while also apprenticing at a local tattoo shop and honing her linework skills. Midway through her degree she moved to Savannah to instead get her BFA in Painting at SCAD - she arrived in town in early 2020, so her first months here were during the height of Covid!  

Since graduating, Lusiana spent some time in Miami before returning to Savannah to work at Tramp Art Studios and pursue her MFA in Fibers, which she is currently halfway through.

Check out Lusiana's work and follow her here:

https://www.instagram.com/lusiana.arte/ (art)
https://www.instagram.com/lusiana_morales/ (tattoos) 
https://www.lusianamorales.com/ 

Topics in their chat include:

How Lusiana got into art and making by carrying her coloring books and markers around everywhere as a child, and then by her Grandma teaching her how to use a sewing machine growing up; growing up amongst the nature of Puerto Rico (including snakes and iguanas); her 2 years of architecture school, which led to her apprenticeship as a tattoo artist, and the gradual realization that she wanted to study drawing painting instead; how she arrived in Savannah at the beginning of 2020 and the challenge of then immediately taking her Life Drawing and other studio classes over Zoom; what kind of undergarments do life models wear when they are modeling over Zoom?; the tattoo licensing exam is mostly about how to handle bodily fluids and about pathogens and CPR; her recent 1-month internship in various rural areas of Guatemala to learn about traditional textile techniques; the difference between back-strap weaving and a floor loom; being able to travel around and do guest residencies at other tattoo shops, and how she packs her inks for plane travel; and what she's looking forward to: the annual SOY X SOY group show this fall at the Cultural Center, and looking ahead to her final year of her Fibers MFA program.

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Adriana Iris Boatwright

Join Tamara for an interview with Adriana Iris Boatwright, a creative photographer and writer with a focus in social media. She was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and came to Georgia in 1994 by way of NYC and Germany. 

Her clients include: Coca Cola, Savannah Morning News, H&M, Bath and Body Works, Ghost Coast Distillery, Paramount Pictures, Do Savannah, and more.

Adriana is also an editor for La Voz Latina (a Spanish online magazine for SMN), *and* one of about 4 founding members of SOY X SOY, a space for Latino and Native American artists and creatives to meet, collaborate, and exhibit their work.

* Get ready for Art Rumble - A @soy_x_soy event!
8 artists will go head to head to win it all. What they draw is up to you! So make sure you attend to participate.
July 13 | 5-9 pm | Starland Yard *

Check out Adriana's work and the SOY X SOY group here:

https://www.instagram.com/adrianairis/ 
https://adrianairis.com/ 
https://www.instagram.com/soy_x_soy/ 

Topics in their chat include:

How Adriana was involved in Starland becoming an artsy district from its early days, throwing theme parties at the Wormhole; how her creative career came about through her blog about her baby daughter - she wrote a post about her brother's death and it went viral, and she suddenly got photography offers from various publications, including Savannah Morning News, where she still works; she transitioned out of blogging about her daughter as she got a bit older, to writing and photographing for SMN, particularly when they first launched "Do Savannah;" she shot the covers for years, including covers with the first gay couple and the first drag queen; how much she loved doing photo shoots with bands and collaborating about their location and their visuals; the pressure that comes from having a large Instagram following and a lot of people keeping an eye on you; the fact that Savannah has about 300 professional photographers (!); the importance to her of still going out to do personal and conceptual photo shoots for fun; having to transition from film photography to digital, including teaching herself Photoshop; being a sort of "purist" who doesn't rapid-fire during a shoot; doing food photography for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and SMN; she tells a wild story about the time an alligator suddenly walked through City Market, until being rehomed by Animal Control; shooting the yearly Lowcountry Pow Wow at Hardeeville, the only one in the area; upcoming Conde Nast Traveler in England of our local coffee shop Agatha's (!); and the upcoming SOY X SOY Art Battle.

 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Kristopher Monroe

Join Tamara for an interview with Kristopher Monroe: "writer, editor, and freelance culture assassin with over two decades of experience writing about the arts and other symptoms of human creativity." He was born and raised in Atlanta, where he began his freelance writing career, then lived in Seattle and NYC before settling in Savannah in 2013. 

You've probably read Kristopher's arts column in the Savannah Morning News, which he wrote for many years. He's also contributed to publications ranging from The Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Village Voice, Juxtapoz, Dazed & Confused, Beautiful/Decay, and Swindle. Lately he's been serving as the current Chair of the Savannah-Chatham County Historic Site and Monument Commission, AND has returned to his first writing love - sci-fi and cyberpunk - and is actively looking for an agent for his recently-completed first novel!

Check out Kristopher's work and follow him here:

https://www.cultureassassin.com/
https://www.instagram.com/savartscene/
https://www.amazon.com/What-Tired-Web-We-Breed-ebook/dp/B07XPD8PH6 

Topics in their chat include:

What Kristopher means by calling himself "a cultural assassin;" how the World Trade Organization protests impacted his life trajectory; how he fell into writing about fine art, street art, and pop art despite no formal art education; how 2013 was the last time that either Kristopher or I had a full-time job (!); his years spent balancing a weekly SMN column with 1-2 columns in the Do magazine; how he has blossomed into full adulthood in his community work; and how in the past couple of years he has gotten back to his early love of sci-fi and surrealist creative writing - one short story is available on Amazon for $1 (with cover art by local designer and art aficionado Don Sanders!) - plus a full novel; and his obscure skills with running and fixing a 35mm film projector. 

Tune in and get all the details!

Art(s) on the Air with Gabrielle Torres

Join Tamara and Melissa(!) for an interview with Gabrielle Torres, who earned her MFA in Painting from SCAD in 2021. She works in collage, installation, sculpture, etc, with media that runs the gamut from paint, wires, chains, live plants, fabric, and plastic bags.

In just the year since she graduated, she's shown her art at Sulfur Studios, Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah Cultural Arts Center, Savannah State University, and the September Gray Gallery in Atlanta, as well as having completed an Artist Residency at Sulfur Studios. Whew! 

https://www.gabrielleelizabethtorres.com/

Topics in their chat include: what Gabrielle's early artwork of horses represented to her, teaching art to kids as early as possible, explaining to gallerists the watering process for her artwork, the symbolism of English ivy, the location that her thesis show shared with recent horror movie "Halloween Ends," and using her Sulfur residency to talk to Savannahians about colonialism and other weighty topics. 

Tune in and get all the details! 

Art(s) on the Air with Jennifer Mack Watkins

Join Tamara for an interview with Jennifer Mack Watkins, a printmaker with a studio in Sulfur Studios. She was born in Charleston and holds a B.A. in studio arts from Morris Brown College, an M.A.T. from Tufts University, and an M.F.A. in printmaking from Pratt Institute. Her work investigates the societal constructs that can leave women feeling isolated, resisting definitions of femininity based on widely held notions of beauty and cultural norms.

If you happen to be in NYC in the next couple of months, Jennifer currently has a piece on view in The Metropolitan Museum of Art(!) - "The Power of Portraiture: Selections from the Department of Drawings and Prints," October 13, 2022–February 7, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/mack_jenniferprints/
http://www.mackjennifer.com/
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/675828/you-gotta-meet-mr-pierce-by-chiquita-mullins-lee-and-carmella-van-vleet-illustrated-by-jennifer-mack-watkins/ 

Topics in their chat include: Shina plywood (a soft wood for woodblock printing), what Jennifer's dream print shop would contain, what is risograph?, what getting rejected from an AP art class in high school inspired in her, and the soon-to-be-published children's book she illustrated: "You Gotta Meet Mr. Pierce!" 

Tune in and get all the details! 

Art on the Air presents Jennifer Moss

On this week's episode of Art on the Air we're pleased to air our long-form sit-down interview with Jennifer E Moss! Her exhibition "Marked: Rusted Wovens" is currently on view at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center Gallery!

Plus we'll be broadcasting our Field Note with Kench Lott Weathers about his Drive-Thru Art Box project "die Existenz" at Green Truck Pub!

Tune in!

Art on the Air presents Phillip Davis

On this week’s episode of Art on the Air we’re pleased to welcome Phillip Davis into the studio, along with special guest co-host Xavier Hutchins!

From Davis’ bio:

Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, Phillip Davis is the Executive Director of The Indigos, Inc., a non profit organization comprised of artist of all crafts and backgrounds. Through The Indigos, Inc. Phillip and a number of the members host various creative expressions and community based events for youth and adults.

Davis is a published author and poet, debuting his first book in 2016, a collection of poems titled "To The Soul, Sincerely Love”, and has also published and released his second book, titled “GEM: Grow. Evolve. Manifest.”

Davis is the host of a local poetry/open mic event called "Creatively Crafted", where he dares his peers, locals, and tourists to express themselves creatively and encourages them to dig deeper into their passions and what they love.

Additionally, Davis works as a “Teaching Artist” for the DEEP Center and a “Residential Manager” for Park Place Outreach.

Davis believes support is fundamental which lead him to create “Creative Savannah”, a online directory that create access to artist, creatives, entrepreneurs, and small business here in Savannah. "Live you, love you, be you" is his mantra and he will continue to spread love, hope, creativity, and awareness to those he can reach through his poetry, non profits and events here in the city and surrounding areas.

In addition to Phillip Davis, we’ll be broadcasting our Field Note with Peter Roberts from his studio!

Tune in!

Art on the Air Presents Patt Gunn

On this week's episode of Art on the Air we're pleased to welcome one of my "Savannah Heroes," none other than Patt Gunn into the studio, with special guest co-host Alexis Javier "AJ" Perez!

Gunn is the CEO of Underground Tours Savannah, the founder and Executive Director of the Geechee Institute, and has recently opened the Savannah Gallery on Slavery and Healing! She's also the driving force behind the yearly Jubilee Freedom Day festivities, and has an extensive history of working to empower others.

Plus we aired a Field Note centered around the work of Philip Davis from the Jubilee Day discussion circle at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center held on January 11th, 2020.

This is an episode that you won't want to miss!

Art on the Air Presents the 2019 Bobi Perry Awards

Join us for a very special broadcast of Art on the Air, the 2019 Bobi Perry Awards! With guest co-host Kristopher Monroe!

We asked former guests of Art on the Air to vote for 2019's best exhibitions, projects, events, and more, and on this week's episode we revealed the winners!

What's more, artist Greg T Davis designed and created a beautiful award to be given to each of the awardees.

Tune in to hear what Savannah's art community has chosen as 2019's best-of-the-best!

Art on the Air Public Art Panel 3

On this episode we broadcast the third and final Public Art Panel Discussion from the Cultural Arts Center that took place October through December of 2019!

Hosted by Kristopher Monroe, this one came with the subheading "Getting it Done," and the panelists truly fit the bill: Stephanie Raines, Arts Division Administrator for Athens-Clarke County (and originator of Savannah’s #art912 program); W Projects founder Erin Wessling; and the ever-brilliant internationally-recognized fine artist Jerome Meadows.

A MUST-LISTEN for anyone who is interested in doing public art, in Savannah or elsewhere!