In This Episode
Christina De León speaks to Tanya Aguiñiga about Metabolizing the Border, the performative embodiment of her engagement with the people and the landscape at the borderlands between Mexico and the US. With frank candor, Aguiñiga describes her years on the road and the environment, politics, and trauma that animate her work, as well as the emotional and spiritual difficulty of the performance and its aftermath.

Fields of the Future

S1E8: Tanya Aguiñiga—Making Metabolizing the Border

In This Episode
Peter N. Miller speaks to Brandon R. Byrd, historian of Black intellectual and social history, about the scope of intellectual history, the “rise” of Black intellectual history, and the urgent necessity to incorporate stories and knowledges that have been left out of the field. Through lively and deliberate intellectual exchange, Byrd and Miller explore a discipline in flux.

S1E9: Brandon R. Byrd—Redefining Intellectual History

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

As soon one hears that Baba so-and-so is celebrating his 70th, the next question might be, “Is there aṣọ ẹbí for the event?” In this episode, we talk about aṣọ ẹbí, our community practice that fuels the buying, selling, and wearing of textiles for celebrations in Nigerian communities.

S3E3: aṣọ ẹbí, the family cloth

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

Think of the fabrics around you growing up—is there a familiar stack of textiles, patterns, or garments? How did they get there? In this episode, we talk about how laces made in Austria landed thousands of miles away in the wardrobes of Nigerians, and the things that happened along the way as Nigerians remade these laces in their own image. It’s a story of evolving tastes, enduring culture, trade policies, industry crises, and more.

S3E2: lace, remade in our image

An interactive micro-exhibition and podcast where we talk about laces—originally Austrian-made, but now produced globally—in Nigerian culture.

In our season opener, two and a half generations of a Nigerian diasporic family sit around the table to talk about some of our favorite laces. We bounce from “classics,” like Swiss voile and French lace, to the latest trends, like sequins and beading on netting, or tulle. Come sit with us as we reflect on how tastes have changed, gist about our likes (and dislikes), and wonder where things might be headed.

S3E1: what makes a good lace?, pt 1

In the final episode of the season, join our host and an artist-educator as we talk about the broader Yorùbá textile canon — which has existed dynamically for centuries, and made it possible for lace to come on the scene. We move through enduring adages about dress & appearance, marvel at the labor-intensive openwork of handwoven aṣọ òkè, dive into the intricate patterns of àdìrẹ, and consider how textile artists are responding to lace till today.

S3E4: there’s nothing new about lace

In this episode Juliana Fagua-Arias speaks with Kevin Aspaas about the Navajo lifeway, the weaving process from sheep to loom, and the slow and conscientious craft of weaving in a fast-paced society.

S2E1: Kevin Aspaas—The Navajo Way of Life

In this episode, Juliana Fagua-Arias speaks with Elena Phipps about cochineal, luminescence, and the relationship between textiles, color, and culture.

Fields of the Future: Season 2

S2E2: Elena Phipps—Textile, Color, Culture

In this episode, Juliana Fagua-Arias speaks with Nikyle Begay about shepherding, the science of breeding for natural colors, and the sacred relationship between the Navajo people and churro sheep.

S2E3: Nikyle Begay—The Sacredness and Science of Raising Sheep

In this episode, Jessie Mordine Young speaks with authors, educators, and fifth-generation Navajo weavers Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas about their ancestral knowledge of weaving, their process of making rugs, their recently published book on the topic, and their relationship with their tools.

S2E4: Lynda Teller Pete and Barbara Teller Ornelas—Weaving as a Way of Creating Kinship

In this episode, Jessie Mordine Young speaks with Porfirio Gutiérrez about his textile art and its connection to place, specifically to his homeland of Teotitlán del Valle. They also talk about his relationship with natural dye and color and how his practice is deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge.

S2E5: Porfirio Gutiérrez—Color as a Form of Storytelling

In this episode, Jessie Mordine Young speaks with Larissa Nez about her contributions to the exhibition Color Riot at the Montclair Art Museum, where she currently is an Art Table Fellow. They also discuss how, in her curatorial career, she is advocating for decolonial disciplines and talk about the individual and collective experience of life on the reservation during a global pandemic.

S2E6: Larissa Nez—On Decolonizing Institutions

In this episode, Juliana Fagua-Arias speaks with Molly and Lara Manzanares from Tierra Wools about life as sheep ranchers, the musicality of weaving, and the intersection between business, artistry, and education.

S2E7: Molly and Lara Manzanares—The Artistry Behind a Weaving Business and Workshop

In this episode, Jessie Mordine Young speaks with Alejandro de Avila Blomberg, the founding director of the Ethnobotanical Garden and curator at the Oaxaca Textile Museum in Oaxaca, Mexico. They discuss his career in anthropology, the history of cochineal, and the evolution of biodiversity in the region.

S2E8: Alejandro de Avila Blomberg

In This Episode
Anthropologist Hadley Jensen speaks with Diné photographer and curator Rapheal Begay about his life and work and what it means to pay attention to the things we take for granted. Through visual storytelling he foregrounds Indigenous aesthetics, embodied knowledges, and alternative ways of knowing that explore the Diné way of life. Begay describes with visceral clarity the dynamic landscape of the American Southwest and the knowledge systems that animate it.

S1E1: Rapheal Begay—Life and Art on the Navajo Nation

In This Episode
Nina Stritlzer-Levine speaks with historian, theorist, and exhibitor Samia Henni about her approach to architectural history informed by her experience growing up in Algeria in the aftermath of French colonial rule. With targeted attention to the crucial role of the archive, both personal and collective, Henni poignantly highlights the significance of personal histories in combating colonial erasure.

S1E2: Samia Henni—Relearning Architecture, Exhibiting, and Teaching

In this episode Soon Kai Poh speaks to conservator Ellen Carrlee about Indigenous collaboration and the role of the conservator in networks of care. Recounting stories from her professional life, she illuminates the many ways communities can be invited to help care for their cultural objects and in doing so help define the future of conservation practice.

Fields of the Future: Season 1

S1E3: Ellen Carrlee—Collaborative Conservation

In This Episode
Jennifer Mass speaks with conservation heritage scientist Marc Vermeulen about the links between art and science, the wealth of information carried within the sample, and the microhistories of objects that are contained in data analysis. Listen to this episode to nerd out on the nuances of how materials transform over time.

S1E4: Marc Vermeulen—Data as Storytelling

In This Episode
Aaron Glass speaks with art historian and curator Heather Igloliorte about Indigenous futures, repatriation, and inclusive exhibition making. Using detailed real world examples Igloliorte articulates with alacrity and optimism how universities and museums can work towards being more supportive and inclusive of Indigenous peoples and perspectives.

S1E5: Heather Igloliorte—Inspiring Change from the Inside

In This Episode
Ivan Gaskell speaks to curator, art historian, and professor Sarah Anne Carter about how objects illuminate hidden histories. Carter articulates the importance of collaboration and interdisciplinarity in curation, teaching, and writing. Through recalling her own educational trajectory she highlights the central role objects can play in learning.

S1E6: Sarah Anne Carter—Making History with Things

In This Episode
Elizabeth Guffey speaks to historian Jaipreet Virdi about disability studies, her “path-breaking” approach to research, and the inclusive and collaborative opportunities social media allows scholars. Virdi’s work centers the people who used and adapted disability objects throughout history. Through rich and detailed examples Virdi illuminates the hidden stories behind these objects.

S1E7: Jaipreet Virdi—Disability Objects in the Archives

The Fields of the Future podcast amplifies the voices and highlights the work of scholars, artists, and writers who are injecting new narratives into object centered-thinking. Join us for engaging conversations between BGC faculty and fellows and their guests.

Fields of the Future

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