Art Insiders New York Podcast hosted by Anders Holst

Helen Toomer is the director of Photofairs New York, which held its inaugural edition at the Javits Center this past September. The mission is to “present the state-of-the-art view of visual culture, … to explore the diverse and rapidly evolving landscape of image-making, from intersections with digital art and film, to the medium’s next frontiers, … including virtual reality, augmented reality, and AI-driven art.” In this interview, Helen talks about her excitement for a photo fair that exists in the space between the traditional archetype of photo exhibitions and the typical art fair; a photo fair that celebrates the incredibly vast and diverse medium of photography. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about photography as an art form, and how visual communication is very much at the core of how we interact with each other today. Helen dives into the effects of the democratization of photography with the dawn of the smart phone and even gives a valuable recommendation to those of us who are passionate about photography. Helen has previously directed the IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair, PULSE Contemporary Art Fairs, and Collective Design Fair. She co-founded Stoneleaf Retreat, an artist residency and creative space, Art Mamas Alliance, to support dialogue on motherhood among creative professionals, as well as Upstate Art Weekend, an annual celebration of the cultural vibrancy of Upstate New York. Helen Toomer, 2023 © Casey Kelbaugh, courtesy of PHOTOFAIRS New York  

In this episode, Linnea Larsdotter Mikkelä, creative director and president of NIFF, Nordic International Film Festival, takes us on an inspiring walk-through of this year’s festival program. We talk about the identity of Nordic filmmaking, and why the 2022 Cannes Film Festival was the busiest festival ever for Nordic filmmakers, among them Ruben Östlund, who won his second Palme d’Or with Triangle of Sadness, Tarik Saleh with Cairo-set Boy From Heaven, and Iranian-Danish director Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider, the story of an Iranian serial killer. The vision behind NIFF, is to build bridges between filmmakers in the Nordic region and the international film community, by finding diverse independent films with strong characters and storylines, that encourage all filmmakers to submit their films, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or worldviews. Linnea is a much-acclaimed actress and film producer in her own right. Till We Meet Again is a romantic adventure drama film directed by Thai filmmaker Bank Tangjaitrong and starring Johan Matton, Linnea Larsdotter, Emrhys Cooper and Vithaya Pansringarm. The film was written and produced by Johan Matton - who also co-founded NIFF with Linnea in 2014 - and won awards at several film festivals, including the Audience and Jury prizes at the Long Beach International Film Festival, and Linnea won best actress at NYLAIFF, New York Los Angeles International Film Festival.  Photo by Sean Turi   

Paola Antonelli is the Senior Curator of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, where she also serves as the founding Director of Research and Development. She has been described as "one of the 25 most incisive design visionaries in the world" by TIME magazine. In this interview Paola talks about her vision of what design is. She believes that design touches every aspect of society, and that design has a civic responsibility towards humanity and the planet. “Design is the enzyme that makes progress happen”. Her biggest ambition is to enhance people’s awareness of design and to make sure the world understands that design is not only cute chairs, sleek products, and fetching logos. But objects are not irrelevant, the controversial acquisition of the @ sign to the MoMA collection shows that collecting is not about ownership per se, since the sign belongs to everyone.     We talk about some of the more impactful exhibitions she has organized at MoMA and the 40-plus Salons that she has organized, that will not only inform the museum and its program, but also inspire the wider conversation in the world outside. The Salons are available on-line and new Salons can be enjoyed through the museum’s live streaming. Paola also explains the vision behind the Instagram/podcast based project Design Emergency together with design critic Alice Rawsthorn. On a more personal note, we also talk about curiosity and adventure as major driving forces in her life, her passion for traveling and love for New York. We also get Paola’s take on how AI and Refik Anadol’s work “Unsupervised” have influenced her perspective on MoMA’s collection. Paola Antonelli © 2021 The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Photo: Peter Ross  

Since its inception in 1977, Public Art Fund has presented more than 500 artists' exhibitions and projects at sites throughout New York City.  In this episode, Susan K. Freedman, the president of Public Art Fund, presents current exhibitions including Nicholas Galanin’s impressive new sculpture “In Every Language There Is Land/En cada lengua hay una Tierra” at Brooklyn Bridge Park, art installations at La Guardia Airport Terminal B by Jeppe Hein. Sabine Hornig, Laura Owens and Sarah Sze, at Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal A by Karyn Oliver and Layqa Nuna Yawar, as well as art installations at the Moynihan Train Hall by Stan Douglas, Elmgreen & Dragset, and Kehinde Wiley. Public Art Fund is also behind the late Phyllida Barlow’s final series of large-scale sculptures, PRANK, in City Hall Park, that opened in the beginning of June. Public Art Fund believes in free access to great contemporary art for all, that artists are an essential part of our civic dialogue, and that art has the power to ignite conversation among different people, to open hearts and minds, and to help shape our collective future.   Freedman currently serves on the board of the Municipal Art Society, and as vice chair of the board for the City Parks Foundation. She is a recipient of the 1999 Associates of the Art Commission Annual Award and was honored with the 2005 Municipal Art Society's Evangeline Blashfield Award for her contributions to New York City’s urban landscape. Photo by Kelly Taub