{"article":{"id":13796,"title":"Bad at Sports at 21: Before Everyone Had a Podcast, Chicago had This","excerpt":"","body":"



This interview is part of CGN's Fall 2026 issue. Purchase a copy or subscribe.




By SUSAN GESCHEIDLE


Launched in 2005 by Duncan MacKenzie, Richard Holland, and Amanda Browder, the legendary art podcast Bad at Sports is turning 21. If you were around the scene back then, you remember this trio of brilliant, sharp, and irreverent creatives who added dynamic intellectual energy to the city’s art dialogue. I spoke with Duncan to revisit the podcast’s early days, trace its evolution, and understand its impact today.


Susan Gescheidle: Let’s go back to 2005. How did the idea for Bad at Sports come together, and who named it?


Duncan MacKenzie: Friendship and building lives around contemporary art is the real story of how Bad at Sports became a thing. The origin starts with Richard Holland, a marriage proposal, the Suburban, and a few drinks.


Richard and I became friends at the 2003 Stray Show. While drinking, I accidentally blurted out that I was going to ask my girlfriend to marry me—and immediately tried to take it back. He demanded a quarter, explaining that it meant I had him on retainer and, as a lawyer and an artist, he was legally obligated to keep quiet. Realizing we worked in the same building, we resolved to meet after work to discuss exhibitions.


While working on an exhibition at Michelle Grabner’s Suburban, we learned a handful of people were making “radio show-like” audio programs distributed as large MP3s. Of the 3,000 or so of these existing on Earth (per Adam Carolla’s early distribution numbers), none addressed contemporary art. It was a whimsical thing to do: make an audio program about things we are supposed to experience visually and bodily. It removed the most obvious thing in the content to address it through artistic intent, humor, philosophy, viewer reception, system status, and curatorial context. In doing it that way, the conversation becomes the thing, the artists become central, and the artwork bears fruit as a subject of contemplation, narrative, and experience.


As we walked to Richard’s attic to record Episode 4, we ran into Amanda Browder and “press-ganged” her into joining us. It was a massive moment of serendipity that crystallized Bad at Sports. A few weeks later, Brian Andrews formed the “San Francisco Bureau,” setting our format for the first several years.


The name is another story. In our first graduate seminar with legendary curator Mark Pascal, he asked SAIC’s first-year print grads why they were there. It was an obvious feint to disabuse us of our naivety, so nobody answered. I looked around theatrically and said, “I don’t know, Mark, maybe we are all just bad at sports?” It wasn’t the answer he was looking for, but five years later it was exactly the name Richard and I were looking for to set a tone—light, a little real, a lot confusing, and just repellent enough that folks would have to be interested to figure out what we were about. We wanted to embrace contemporary art pretension and skewer it (and ourselves) at the same time.



The one where Bad at Sports interviewed David Hockney.




SG: Whose brainchild was the audio format? Did you foresee a 21-year commitment?


DM: The impulse was twofold. Richard and I were trying to find something to listen to that would enrich our studio time. We came from practices requiring repetitive tasks, and we also wanted to document a scene getting less attention than it deserved. We had no idea what we were doing. There were no models. We borrowed from radio, bar and studio talk, magazines, and graduate seminars…but really, it was an adventure. We still lack infrastructure because we have never been planning a future; we have just been trying to do “a now”. So many projects get hung up on the things that can make the “work” work for them and forget that the “work” is the thing that must work before it can work for you. We approached the thing we make like an artist approaches their studio: we started and kept letting the project lead us.


SG: Was the goal simply to review gallery shows or to capture the art world’s wider, raw conversations?


DM: When Amanda joined the show we figured it out. We thought we would pull an artist in to talk “smack” about what we had seen that weekend. But we had so much fun with Amanda that we started to see how we could engage the whole art world through the concerns of individual artists. It allowed us to constantly learn and grow while tracing the curves of the art world’s discourse. It completely reshaped our original notion. Brian and the SF crew expanded it to partnering with organizations like Art Practical.


SG: Where did that very first episode take place? Was it with Chris Cook, curator from the Sioux City Art Center?


DM: Yes. We did it a couple of days before it dropped, on what felt like the hottest day ever, in the hottest attic. Chris Cook was an outstanding guest, but it was hot, beer was involved, and I kept trying to bait him into arguments about modern art. We recorded for 90 minutes, and the episode was cut to something like 35. Richard claims he only cut my hectoring and pointed jokes about minimalism. Chris was a good sport—he is now the ED at the Bemis Center—but he is reluctant to get back on mic.


The second episode needs to be reissued. It is an interview with Chris Sperandio about a pilot show he made for Fox. They were unhappy that it had not gone through their lawyers first. I think we should put it out as a limited-release vinyl record.


SG: Was the project easier to manage when it was a small core group, or do you prefer this mesh, “well-oiled machine”?


DM: That is funny to think about. It always feels like being in a band—but one where you never really know who will show up for practice… or the gig. We only meant to have an independent voice in the art world and be beholden to the artwork itself. That has sometimes been a blessing and sometimes a curse.


I think everyone who has ever worked with us has been mad at everyone else who has ever worked with us; but like any good band, we are just as much family as friends. We are always there to pick up the phone for one another, and the ethic of the project is about showing up and contributing. Everyone connected is still welcome where we are. No one would call us a “well-oiled machine,” but we are a bunch of folks who are serious and care about what we do.



Tony Lewis and Baddie on the Terrace of the MCA during a recording session in 2025.



SG: In 2006, you added Christopher Hudgens for the website and Mark Staff-Brandl for a footprint in Europe. Did that expansion happen naturally?


DM: Like natural growth, we didn’t know how to control or dictate it; we learned along the way. Christopher Hudgens has been an incredible bedrock for the website. Mark joined us for a while because he loved what we were doing and wanted to contribute. Because of what Brian was doing in SF, what Amanda did in NYC, and the work of a few others, we actively tried to court a network model where we could share a different kind of art world than you get in Artforum or Frieze. In lots of ways, it worked amazingly for many years, but the core was always Chicago and the Midwest.


SG: Looking at the local ecosystem—the galleries, art schools, fairs, non-profit and public spaces, curators, and critics—what has gotten better, what has gotten worse, and what is completely different?


DM: This could be a whole interview, but there is a catch-22 here. Everything that has gotten better has also changed or taken away something great. The best thing is that we have more access to art than we could have imagined in 2005. The downside is that there is so much of it, and it is often overwhelming and underfunded. In 2005, we had a broken but stable model of the art “business.” In 2026, we have a lot of legacy models that need to be reassessed, but we are all afraid the sky is falling, so we stick with what we know.


We need to rethink the value arguments contemporary art makes to its audience. For me, it is always the same: this is a space of experimental culture. A safe space to ask questions, take unpopular stands, and “fuck around and find out.” It’s the space in which we expose ourselves to the unknown and the unknown exposes itself to us. It shouldn’t be—but can’t help but be—a place where we build ourselves as idea brands that “co-lab” with institutions to cross-expose our audiences. What artists do for humans is too important for that.


SG: What does Chicago’s art scene do exceptionally well that outsiders—especially in New York, LA, and global art hubs—still don’t understand?


DM: I always think that this is a byproduct of Chicago-based collectors wanting their NYC friends to recognize and admire their newly acquired works without having to justify their tastes. In general, I think we do a decent job of supporting our scene, but I would love to see us have the confidence that LA does and just say, “What NYC doesn’t know won’t hurt them.” We incubate and train the country’s best talent; we need to give them more to stay for than part-time teaching jobs and an incredible scene. Sales would help.


SG: Has your episode length changed over the years to keep up with how people consume digital media today?


DM: We always try to keep it to about an hour, but that is totally flexible. If the conversation is going somewhere, I never want it to stop, but you also want to be conscious of the audience. That said, it seems almost impossible to do what we did 21 years ago. The social media requirements, the need for constant engagement, video, editing—it would have been too much to wrangle at one time.


SG: Did you ever anticipate that Bad at Sports would step in front of the camera?


DM: We never mean to. There is something magical about a voice going out and finding someone. I don’t know that we need a face; the works we talk about are the face. We are “Muppets” that exist to get ideas out. Plus, I have learned that if you make a mean joke, criticize someone’s artwork, or get something wrong, those folks’ friends never forget. Artists themselves are fairly forgiving.


SG: In 2007, you dedicated Episode 79 to the West Loop—including the Chris Verene show at my gallery, gescheidle. The show notes explicitly tease you for repeatedly butchering his name on air. 


DM: Yes, and I am sorry. I remember and feel shame for every single incorrect moment of the last 21 years. I am fortunate to live in a community that has been accepting of my—and our—quirks. It has been a delight. Hopefully, we made some friends and some enemies. Either way, we loved you and all of it.


SG: You’ve evolved from irreverent commentators into trusted mainstays. How has that journey shifted your approach to honesty?


DM: In the early days, we got a lot of hate mail. Our value then was honesty: we weren’t in anyone’s pocket, and we said what we meant. It didn’t mean we weren’t wrong sometimes, but we were giving a raw and real reaction. It was quite different from writing reviews.


When reviewing, you sit with the work, balance internal and external concerns, measure the venue, consider the gallery’s reputation, consult other writers, and look at precedents. But when you are in the space, you react to a work like it is another creature. You react viscerally, bringing reason and experience to the object to vibe-check it. It is messy but honest, and a product of direct engagement. I think that is rare, and the audience and artists understood. That said, a number of partners and friends threatened us with bodily violence—but it is art, so that seemed bonkers. To date, only two of us have been punched over reviews.



BAS atop the MCA


SG: If you were forced to pick just one single episode as the most important or culturally significant conversation you’ve ever hosted, what would it be?


DM: Interesting question, and hard to answer. The interviews with Tony Fitzpatrick were important because we got a slightly different Tony than we got most of the time. Our interview with Kerry James Marshall was also important and incredibly revealing. Actually, everything in the first five years is amazing because no one was savvy enough to know what we were doing, so we got more honesty. I remember chatting with people from NYC where it felt like an hour-long pitch. A great interview is a conversation that is hard to leave, and that is what we chase now.


SG: Where is the most unique, bizarre, or flat-out fun space you have ever recorded an episode?


DM: We did a series with apexart in NYC where we would do interviews in destabilizing or transitory places. Amanda did one between two stalls in a decommissioned NYC school bathroom. I flew an artist to Chicago, met him for two hours of beer pong, and sent him back to the airport. His experience of Chicago was two taxis and one room. They were bizarre and fun. For VOLTA NY, we installed a bed and did 24 interviews over three days, John-and-Yoko style. Mat Gleason was super fun.


SG: What is the most unexpected geographic location where someone is downloading the podcast?


DM: I maintain a strict rule against checking metrics. We want the work to be the thing. That said, it has been fascinating to see the global reach of the show and just how many folks have spent time with us over the last 21 years.


SG: What platforms do you personally turn to?


DM: Obviously, Chicago Gallery News. But The Visualist is a longtime collaborator and an invaluable artist-run resource. I completely trust Mike and Meg to point us all toward an interesting future.


I am hopeful about the impact Gertie will have, or Mottley as an art-first PR firm.


One of the things I hope for with the next generation is that they see ways to help existing projects—and, where there is not a thing, that they go ahead and make the thing that should be there. 


SG: How did your relationship with Ed Marszewski and Lumpen Radio come about?


DM: Ed is a fellow traveler. We grew up in this art scene together, alongside Andrew Rafacz, Western Exhibitions, threewalls, Roots & Culture, a generation of artists, and a score of projects no longer with us. Ed and BAS have been vital parts of this artist-run community, and we remain deeply connected and supportive of one another.


More directly, when Ed started WLPN, we had coffee and he explained that he was opening a radio station for us. Then Logan said if we did it live, there was no expectation to edit. We will do anything Ed asks because he is one of us, and he has never let us down.


SG: Keeping an arts project alive for 21 years is a miracle. How is the podcast funded, and has an angel donor ever dropped a massive bag of cash?


DM: We are super open to an angel donor. We have lofty ideas for Season Two. Season One was held together with duct tape, goodwill, and glue. You can find our merch at badatsports.threadless.com


SG: Did King LeBron actually fund the podcast, or is this just elite clickbait?


DM: We are attempting to preserve the anonymity of our donors. I am horrified to hear that this has leaked.


SG: Have you ever had to issue a genuine apology to someone for an episode that went too far or was just plain mean?


DM: I like to think we are never mean and that, when we punch, we punch up. That said, in retrospect, “up” is a matter of perspective, and maybe it wasn’t what we thought it was. We were a little hard on Sterling Ruby and Rashid Johnson. I remember apologizing to Rashid in a Miami bar one night. He got it. Sterling, on the other hand, went out of his way to upset one of us and be dramatically uncool about it. It was disappointing, given his compound in LA.


SG: What’s the next milestone?


DM: I can’t speak for everyone—maybe for our current team: Ryan Peter Miller, Brian Andrews, and permanent guest host Jesse Malmed—but I love it. This has been one of the greatest trips ever.


SG: Richard Holland traded BAS for real estate, and Amanda Browder has an art practice and studio in Brooklyn. Do you three still stay in touch?


DM: Richard is my real estate agent and neighbor. Amanda exploded out of Bad at Sports and has gone on to fortune and glory through building-sized installations and spectacularly colorful artworks. We all hang out every time we can track her down, and Richard and I get together whenever time allows. I am sure both will be present on October 3 at the MCA when we record the last six episodes of Season One. Episodes 999, 998, 997, 996, 995, 994… Not that I am counting. I fucking love Chicago. There is no better art city—or city city—in North America. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to be anywhere but here.


#

","published_at":"2026-09-04 07:00:00","state":"published","slug":"bad-at-sports-at-21-before-everyone-had-a-podcast-chicago-had-this","type":null,"meta_description":"","text":null,"created_at":"2026-09-16 00:04:48.948","updated_at":"2026-09-16 00:04:48.948","category_id":3,"highlighted":false,"searchable":"'-22':1364B '000':265B '2003':164B '2005':32B,106B,1396B,1415B '2006':1186B '2007':1868B '2025':1183B '2026':20B,1428B '21':5A,50B,561B,1753B,1918B,2445B,2677B '24':2372B '3':264B,3012B '35':908B '4':366B '79':1872B '90':898B '994':3032B '995':3031B '996':3030B '997':3029B '998':3028B '999':3027B 'accept':1931B 'access':1387B 'accident':170B 'acquir':1608B 'activ':1276B 'actual':2217B,2737B 'ad':70B,1188B 'adam':274B 'address':281B,315B 'admir':1605B 'adventur':636B 'afraid':1445B 'agent':2956B 'ago':1755B 'ahead':2536B 'air':1898B 'airport':2347B 'aliv':2675B 'allow':788B,3002B 'almost':1746B 'along':1225B 'alongsid':2572B 'also':595B,1372B,1734B,2212B 'alway':1024B,1112B,1314B,1474B,1586B,1706B 'amanda':39B,370B,734B,767B,1264B,2315B,2933B,2959B 'amaz':1306B,2225B 'america':3053B 'andrew':397B,2573B,2904B 'angel':2690B,2706B 'anonym':2754B 'anoth':414B,1121B,2075B,2615B 'answer':452B,476B,2183B 'anticip':1782B 'anyon':1999B,3058B 'anyth':2654B 'anywher':3062B 'apexart':2302B 'apolog':2776B,2841B 'approach':693B,701B,1975B 'argument':891B,1463B 'around':54B,127B,455B,1495B 'art':43B,78B,129B,283B,530B,726B,779B,801B,823B,844B,894B,1057B,1291B,1327B,1389B,1425B,1465B,1564B,1578B,2130B,2502B,2569B,2673B,2937B,3046B 'art-first':2501B 'artforum':1297B 'artist':210B,318B,340B,700B,748B,786B,1550B,1861B,2112B,2330B,2471B,2583B,2603B 'artist-run':2470B,2602B 'artwork':345B,1064B,1851B,2982B 'ask':178B,427B,1488B,2656B 'atop':2147B 'attempt':2750B 'attent':603B 'attic':362B,869B 'audienc':1469B,1548B,1741B,2110B 'audio':256B,293B,555B 'away':1376B 'back':57B,104B,190B,941B,2344B 'bad':1A,45B,112B,136B,389B,469B,544B,1784B,2963B 'badatsports.threadless.com':2732B 'baddi':1171B 'bag':2696B 'bait':888B 'balanc':2040B 'band':1030B,1101B 'bar':623B,2847B 'bas':2146B,2595B,2928B 'base':1596B 'bathroom':2326B 'bear':346B 'becam':139B,160B 'becom':336B,341B 'bed':2369B 'bedrock':1234B 'beer':880B,2339B 'beholden':1061B 'bemi':933B 'best':1380B,1661B 'better':1342B,1370B,3045B 'bizarr':2283B,2360B 'bless':1071B 'blurt':171B 'bodili':304B,2125B 'bonker':2134B 'borrow':620B 'brainchild':552B 'brand':1536B 'brandl':1198B 'brian':396B,811B,1258B,2903B 'brilliant':64B 'bring':2080B 'broken':1419B 'brooklyn':2942B 'browder':40B,371B,2934B 'build':125B,224B,1532B,2976B 'building-s':2975B 'bunch':1156B 'bureau':402B 'busi':1426B 'butcher':1894B 'byproduct':1592B 'call':1145B 'came':587B 'camera':1793B 'captur':724B 'care':1163B 'carolla':275B 'cash':2698B 'catch':1363B 'center':845B,934B 'central':342B 'cgn':17B 'chang':1373B,1690B 'chase':2275B 'chat':2245B 'check':2090B,2408B 'chicago':11A,1315B,1562B,1595B,2332B,2351B,2457B,3041B 'chicago-bas':1594B 'chris':837B,870B,921B,956B,1879B 'christoph':1189B,1228B 'citi':76B,843B,3047B,3049B,3050B 'claim':910B 'clickbait':2746B 'co':1539B 'co-lab':1538B 'coffe':2624B 'collabor':2466B 'collector':1597B 'color':2981B 'come':115B,2556B 'comment':1965B 'commit':563B 'communiti':1927B,2605B 'complet':806B,1350B,2475B 'compound':2879B 'concern':783B,2044B 'confid':1638B 'confus':506B 'connect':1135B,2610B 'conscious':1738B 'consid':2048B 'constant':791B,1763B 'consult':2053B 'consum':1700B 'contempl':352B 'contemporari':128B,282B,529B,1464B 'content':313B 'context':328B 'contribut':1133B,1254B 'control':1219B 'convers':335B,731B,1722B,2168B,2264B 'cook':838B,871B 'copi':24B 'core':1004B,1312B 'could':775B,1285B,1354B,1392B 'count':3037B 'countri':1659B 'coupl':852B 'court':1279B 'creativ':68B 'creatur':2076B 'crew':815B 'critic':1338B,1848B 'cross':1545B 'cross-expos':1544B 'crystal':388B 'cultur':1483B,2166B,2579B 'curat':423B,839B,1336B 'curatori':327B 'current':2898B 'curs':1075B 'curv':798B 'cut':904B,913B 'date':2136B 'david':548B 'day':90B,854B,864B,1982B,2376B 'decent':1623B 'decommiss':2323B 'dedic':1870B 'deepli':2609B 'delight':1941B 'demand':192B 'deserv':606B 'destabil':2311B 'dialogu':79B 'dictat':1221B 'didn':1214B,2009B 'differ':1288B,1351B,2029B,2196B 'digit':1701B 'direct':2101B,2617B 'disabus':445B 'disappoint':2876B 'discours':804B 'discuss':232B 'distribut':258B,278B 'dm':564B,732B,846B,1016B,1209B,1352B,1584B,1704B,1794B,1899B,1978B,2177B,2296B,2401B,2455B,2558B,2699B,2747B,2791B,2888B,2950B 'document':598B 'doesn':1647B 'donor':2691B,2707B,2757B 'download':2398B 'downsid':1398B 'dramat':2870B 'drink':156B,168B 'drop':857B,2693B 'duct':2721B 'duncan':34B,83B,121B 'dynam':71B 'earli':89B,277B,1981B 'earth':272B 'easier':996B 'ecosystem':1324B 'ed':930B,2551B,2559B,2593B,2619B,2655B 'edit':1766B,2650B 'either':1950B 'elit':2745B 'els':1090B 'embrac':528B 'enemi':1949B 'energi':73B 'engag':776B,1764B,2102B 'enough':510B,2231B 'enrich':582B 'episod':365B,831B,902B,946B,1688B,1871B,2160B,2295B,2781B,3022B,3026B 'especi':1571B 'estat':2931B,2955B 'ethic':1124B 'europ':1203B 'ever':865B,1081B,1093B,1781B,2171B,2292B,2692B,2770B,2923B 'everi':1911B,2987B 'everyon':7A,1078B,1089B,1134B,2894B 'everyth':1366B,2218B 'evolut':93B 'evolv':1962B 'exact':487B 'except':1567B 'exhibit':233B,238B,2576B 'exist':270B,1832B,2524B 'expand':816B 'expans':1206B 'expect':2648B 'experi':301B,355B,2083B,2349B 'experiment':1482B 'explain':195B,2627B 'explicit':1889B 'explod':2960B 'expos':1506B,1514B,1546B 'extern':2043B 'face':1819B,1827B 'fair':1329B,1864B 'fall':19B,1449B 'famili':1107B 'far':2785B 'fascin':2423B 'feel':1025B,1908B 'feint':443B 'fellow':2562B 'felt':860B,2252B 'figur':519B,739B 'find':575B,1497B,1809B,2728B 'firm':2505B 'first':408B,418B,431B,830B,977B,2221B,2503B 'first-year':430B 'fitzpatrick':2188B 'five':482B,2222B 'flat':2286B 'flat-out':2285B 'flew':2328B 'flexibl':1719B 'folk':512B,1158B,1857B,2436B 'footprint':1201B 'forc':2154B 'forese':559B 'forget':676B,1860B 'forgiv':1865B 'form':398B 'format':405B,556B 'fortun':1922B,2971B 'fox':965B 'francisco':401B 'friend':161B,1109B,1601B,1858B,1946B,2121B 'friendship':123B 'friez':1299B 'front':1790B 'fruit':347B 'fuck':1494B,3039B 'fun':765B,2288B,2362B,2386B 'fund':2686B,2738B 'funni':1019B 'futur':648B,2487B 'galleri':720B,1326B,1884B,2050B,2458B 'gang':375B 'general':1617B 'generat':2516B,2581B 'genuin':2775B 'geograph':2393B 'gerti':2494B 'gescheidl':29B,100B,1885B 'get':601B,661B,940B,1295B,1834B,1853B,2998B 'gig':1046B 'girlfriend':180B 'give':1666B,2020B 'given':2877B 'gleason':2383B 'global':1577B,2427B 'glori':2973B 'glue':2725B 'go':103B,176B,1724B,1806B,2535B 'goal':716B 'gone':973B,2968B 'good':924B,1100B 'goodwil':2723B 'got':1984B,2193B,2200B,2240B,2851B 'gotten':1341B,1345B,1369B 'grabner':241B 'grad':434B 'graduat':419B,629B 'great':1378B,2260B 'greatest':2921B 'grew':2565B 'group':1005B 'grow':794B 'growth':1212B 'guest':875B,2907B 'hand':247B,2857B 'hang':2985B 'happen':1207B 'hard':2181B,2267B,2832B 'hate':1988B 'hear':2762B 'hector':915B 'held':2718B 'help':1525B,1684B,2523B 'hockney':549B 'holland':37B,147B,2926B 'honest':2096B 'honesti':1977B,1994B,2242B 'hope':1942B,2490B,2511B 'horrifi':2760B 'host':2172B,2908B 'hot':879B 'hottest':863B,868B 'hour':1714B,2256B,2337B 'hour-long':2255B 'hub':1579B 'hudgen':1190B,1229B 'human':1553B 'humor':320B 'hung':662B 'hurt':1652B 'idea':110B,610B,1535B,1835B,2711B 'imagin':1394B,3057B 'immedi':185B 'impact':97B,2493B 'import':1556B,2164B,2190B,2213B 'imposs':1747B 'impuls':566B 'includ':1877B 'incorrect':1913B 'incred':1233B,1680B,2215B 'incub':1655B 'independ':1053B 'individu':785B 'infrastructur':640B 'instal':2367B,2978B 'institut':1542B 'intellectu':72B 'intent':319B 'interest':517B,2178B,2486B 'intern':2041B 'interview':13B,547B,954B,1358B,2185B,2206B,2261B,2309B,2373B 'invalu':2469B 'involv':882B 'irrever':67B,1964B 'issu':21B,2773B 'jame':2209B 'jess':2909B 'job':1624B,1677B 'john':2378B 'john-and-yoko':2377B 'johnson':2838B 'join':378B,735B,1239B 'joke':918B,1847B 'journey':1972B 'justifi':1613B 'keep':216B,1695B,1709B,2671B 'kept':707B,885B 'kerri':2208B 'kind':1289B 'king':2735B 'know':462B,1037B,1216B,1456B,1649B,1814B,2233B 'la':1575B,1640B,2881B 'lab':1540B 'lack':639B 'larg':260B 'last':1917B,2444B,3020B 'later':395B,484B 'launch':30B 'lawyer':207B,976B 'lead':711B 'leak':2766B 'learn':245B,792B,1224B,1840B 'leav':2269B 'lebron':2736B 'legaci':1434B 'legal':213B 'legendari':42B,422B 'length':1689B 'less':602B 'let':101B,708B,2667B 'lewi':1169B 'light':500B 'like':255B,698B,822B,861B,907B,1026B,1098B,1210B,2072B,2253B,2793B 'limit':988B 'limited-releas':987B 'listen':578B 'littl':502B,2831B 'live':126B,1924B,2644B 'local':1323B 'locat':2394B 'lofti':2710B 'logan':2638B 'long':2257B 'longer':2590B 'longtim':2465B 'look':454B,479B,494B,1320B,2057B 'loop':1876B 'lot':505B,1301B,1432B,1986B 'love':1246B,1632B,1953B,2913B,3040B 'lumpen':2554B 'machin':1015B,1151B 'mackenzi':35B,122B 'mad':1087B 'made':963B,1944B 'magazin':627B 'magic':1802B 'mail':1989B 'mainstay':1968B 'maintain':2403B 'make':251B,291B,669B,697B,1466B,1844B,2538B 'malm':2910B 'manag':998B 'mani':659B,1308B,2435B 'mark':424B,463B,1195B,1238B 'marri':182B 'marriag':149B 'marshal':2210B 'marszewski':2552B 'massiv':383B,2695B 'mat':2382B 'matter':2815B 'mayb':464B,2819B,2895B 'mca':1177B,2149B,3015B 'mean':1797B,1846B,2011B,2790B,2799B 'meant':198B,1049B,2007B 'measur':2045B 'media':1702B,1758B 'meet':228B 'meg':2479B 'merch':2730B 'mesh':1011B 'messi':2094B 'met':2333B 'metric':2409B 'miami':2846B 'mic':943B 'michell':240B 'midwest':1318B 'mike':2477B 'mileston':2887B 'miller':2902B 'minim':920B 'minut':899B 'miracl':2681B 'model':618B,1282B,1422B,1435B 'modern':893B 'moment':384B,1914B 'mottley':2498B 'mp3s':261B 'much':764B,1106B,1404B,1772B 'muppet':1830B 'must':684B 'naiveti':449B 'name':119B,412B,489B,1896B 'narrat':353B 'natur':1208B,1211B 'need':947B,1437B,1458B,1664B,1761B,1817B 'neighbor':2958B 'network':1281B 'never':644B,1035B,1727B,1796B,1859B,2666B,2798B 'new':1573B 'newli':1607B 'news':2459B 'next':2515B,2886B 'night':2849B 'nobodi':451B 'non':1331B 'non-profit':1330B 'none':280B 'north':3052B 'note':1888B 'notion':810B 'number':279B,2117B 'ny':2365B 'nyc':1267B,1600B,1646B,2249B,2304B,2324B 'object':2086B 'oblig':214B 'obvious':309B,442B,2456B 'octob':3011B 'often':1410B 'oil':1014B,1150B 'one':542B,1032B,1120B,1143B,1776B,2158B,2228B,2317B,2356B,2506B,2614B,2660B,2716B,2848B,2865B,2918B,3025B 'open':2631B,2703B 'organ':821B 'origin':143B,809B 'other':1274B 'outsid':1570B 'outstand':874B 'overwhelm':1411B 'part':15B,1674B,2599B 'part-tim':1673B 'partner':819B,2119B 'pascal':425B 'peopl':249B,1699B,2247B 'per':273B 'perman':2906B 'person':2452B 'perspect':2817B 'peter':2901B 'philosophi':321B 'phone':1118B 'pick':1115B,2156B 'pilot':960B 'pitch':2258B 'place':833B,1529B,2314B 'plain':2789B 'plan':646B 'platform':2449B 'plus':1837B 'pocket':2001B 'podcast':10A,44B,87B,2400B,2685B,2740B 'point':917B,2481B 'pong':2340B 'pr':2504B 'practic':589B,824B,1043B,2938B 'preced':2059B 'prefer':1009B 'present':3009B 'preserv':2752B 'press':374B 'press-gang':373B 'pretens':531B 'print':433B 'product':2099B 'profit':1332B 'program':257B,294B 'project':660B,710B,995B,1127B,2525B,2588B,2674B 'propos':150B 'public':1334B 'pull':746B 'punch':2143B,2804B,2806B 'purchas':22B 'put':982B 'quarter':194B 'question':1489B,2179B 'quiet':217B 'quirk':1936B 'quit':2028B 'radio':252B,622B,2555B,2633B 'rafacz':2574B 'ran':368B 'rare':2107B 'rashid':2837B,2843B 'raw':730B,2022B 'reach':2428B 'react':2068B,2078B 'reaction':2025B 'real':132B,503B,2024B,2930B,2954B 'realiz':218B 'realli':632B,1036B 'reason':2081B 'reassess':1440B 'recept':323B 'recogn':1603B 'record':364B,896B,991B,1180B,2293B,3018B 'reissu':950B 'relationship':2549B 'releas':989B 'reluct':938B 'remain':2608B 'rememb':60B,1906B,2244B,2840B 'remov':306B 'repeat':1893B 'repel':509B 'repetit':591B 'reput':2052B 'requir':590B,1759B 'reshap':807B 'resolv':226B 'resourc':2473B 'retain':203B 'rethink':1460B 'retrospect':2811B 'reveal':2216B 'review':719B,2032B,2034B,2145B 'revisit':85B 'richard':36B,146B,157B,360B,490B,569B,909B,2925B,2951B,2995B 'room':2357B 'root':2578B 'rubi':2835B 'rule':2406B 'run':2472B,2604B 'ryan':2900B 'safe':1485B 'saic':428B 'said':458B,1743B,2004B,2115B,2419B,2639B,2809B 'sale':1682B 'san':400B 'savvi':2230B 'say':1644B 'scene':56B,600B,1565B,1628B,1681B,2570B 'school':1328B,2325B 'score':2586B 'season':2713B,2715B,3024B 'second':945B 'see':772B,1634B,2425B,2520B 'seem':1745B,2133B 'seen':757B 'seminar':420B,630B 'sent':2342B 'serendip':386B 'seri':2300B 'serious':1161B 'session':1181B 'set':403B,497B 'sever':409B 'sf':814B,1262B 'sg':550B,713B,825B,992B,1184B,1319B,1559B,1685B,1778B,1866B,1959B,2150B,2277B,2387B,2447B,2545B,2670B,2733B,2767B,2882B,2924B 'shame':1909B 'share':1286B 'sharp':65B 'shift':1973B 'shouldn':1519B 'show':166B,254B,721B,737B,961B,1040B,1130B,1881B,1887B,2431B 'show-lik':253B 'signific':2167B 'simpli':717B 'singl':1912B,2159B 'sioux':842B 'sit':2036B 'six':3021B 'size':2977B 'skewer':533B 'sky':1447B 'slight':2195B 'smack':752B 'small':1003B 'social':1757B 'someon':1810B,1849B,2396B,2778B 'someth':576B,906B,1377B,1801B,1854B 'sometim':1068B,1073B,2016B 'somewher':1725B 'sorri':1904B 'space':1335B,1480B,1486B,1502B,2066B,2289B 'speak':2892B 'spectacular':2980B 'spent':2438B 'sperandio':957B 'spoke':81B 'sport':3A,47B,114B,138B,391B,471B,546B,925B,1786B,2965B 'stabl':1421B 'staff':1197B 'staff-brandl':1196B 'stall':2320B 'stand':1492B 'start':144B,705B,770B,2620B 'station':2634B 'status':325B 'stay':1670B,2947B 'step':1788B 'sterl':2834B,2853B 'stick':1452B 'still':638B,1137B,1580B,2946B 'stop':1731B 'stori':133B,415B 'stray':165B 'strict':2405B 'studio':584B,625B,703B,2940B 'style':2381B 'subject':350B 'subscrib':26B 'suburban':152B,243B 'super':2385B,2702B 'support':1626B,2612B 'suppos':299B 'sure':3005B 'susan':28B,99B 'system':324B 'take':188B,832B,1490B 'taken':1375B 'talent':1662B 'talk':626B,751B,1823B 'tape':2722B 'task':592B 'tast':1615B 'taxi':2354B 'teach':1676B 'team':2899B 'teas':1890B 'terrac':1174B 'theatric':456B 'thing':141B,288B,296B,310B,338B,666B,682B,695B,1381B,2417B,2509B,2532B,2540B 'think':979B,1021B,1077B,1587B,1619B,2104B,2795B 'thought':743B,2825B 'threaten':2122B 'three':2375B,2945B 'threewal':2577B 'time':540B,585B,1675B,1777B,2204B,2439B,2988B,3001B 'today':98B,1703B 'togeth':116B,2571B,2719B,2999B 'tone':499B 'toni':1168B,2187B,2197B 'total':1718B 'touch':2949B 'toward':2484B 'trace':91B,796B 'track':2991B 'trade':2927B 'train':1657B 'transitori':2313B 'travel':2563B 'tri':186B,573B,653B,886B,1277B,1707B 'trio':62B 'trip':2922B 'trust':1967B,2476B 'turn':49B,2453B 'two':2138B,2319B,2336B,2353B,2714B 'twofold':568B 'uncool':2871B 'underfund':1413B 'understand':95B,1583B 'understood':2113B 'unexpect':2392B 'unhappi':968B 'uniqu':2282B 'unknown':1510B,1513B 'unpopular':1491B 'upset':2864B 'us':379B,446B,712B,789B,1084B,1096B,1146B,1240B,1517B,1635B,2123B,2140B,2441B,2482B,2592B,2636B,2662B,2668B,2867B 'valu':1462B,1991B 've':1961B,2170B 'venu':2047B 'veren':1880B 'vibe':2089B 'vibe-check':2088B 'video':1765B 'viewer':322B 'vinyl':990B 'violenc':2126B 'viscer':2079B 'visual':302B 'visualist':2462B 'vital':2598B 'voic':1054B,1805B 'volta':2364B 'walk':358B 'want':526B,596B,1252B,1598B,1728B,1735B,2411B,3059B 'wasn':473B,2821B 'way':333B,1227B,1303B,1951B,2521B,2862B 'websit':1193B,1237B 'week':394B 'weekend':759B 'welcom':1138B 'well':1013B,1149B,1568B 'well-oil':1012B,1148B 'went':2783B,2858B 'weren':1996B,2013B 'west':1875B 'western':2575B 'whenev':3000B 'whimsic':287B 'whole':778B,1357B 'whose':551B 'wider':729B 'without':1610B 'wlpn':2621B 'won':1650B 'work':220B,230B,235B,671B,672B,679B,685B,689B,1082B,1094B,1270B,1305B,1609B,1821B,2039B,2071B,2413B 'world':727B,780B,802B,1058B,1292B 'wors':1346B 'would':513B,581B,745B,1144B,1631B,1683B,1768B,1787B,2174B,2307B 'wrangl':1774B 'write':2031B 'writer':2055B 'wrong':1855B,2015B 'year':410B,432B,483B,562B,1309B,1693B,1754B,1919B,2223B,2446B,2678B 'yes':847B,1900B 'yoko':2380B 'york':1574B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1788494405/ug0zkvtzlwkyf5mz0ptr.jpg","editor_pick":true,"category_name":"Interviews"},"related":[{"id":13767,"title":"Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Nikko Washington","excerpt":"","body":"

Fall offers a full slate of exhibitions across galleries and museums throughout the Midwest. Behind the scenes, many people in the community are working tirelessly to support artists and bring fresh perspectives to the public. We spoke with five insiders about what excites them now and what they anticipate next.


The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in CGN's Fall 2026 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition click here.





Nikko Washington – 

Artist


“I’m thrilled to further expand my artistic and design practice by introducing other mediums into the mix. I’m looking forward to watching the seasons change and devoting a lot of time in the studio as well. Fall/winter is my favorite time to create new works. 


I have an upcoming solo show with VSG Contemporary that I am excited about. The work will delve further into the topics of cultural mythology and how these tales and narratives have helped shape my worldview. 


Also, it wouldn’t be right if I left out my excitement for this upcoming season of Chicago sports.”


Nikko Washington


","published_at":"2026-09-11 00:30:00","state":"published","slug":"anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-nikko-washington","type":null,"meta_description":"","text":null,"created_at":"2026-09-16 00:13:58.216","updated_at":"2026-09-16 00:13:58.216","category_id":3,"highlighted":false,"searchable":"'2026':76B 'across':19B 'also':174B 'anticip':1A,60B 'appear':71B 'art':5A 'artist':39B,90B,98B 'behind':26B 'bring':41B 'cgn':73B 'chang':117B 'chicago':191B 'click':86B 'communiti':33B 'contemporari':146B 'convers':69B 'copi':81B 'creat':135B 'cultur':161B 'delv':155B 'design':100B 'devot':119B 'edit':85B 'excit':54B,150B,185B 'exhibit':18B 'expand':96B 'fall':12B,75B 'fall/winter':129B 'favorit':132B 'five':6A,50B,68B 'follow':63B 'forward':112B 'fresh':42B 'full':15B 'galleri':20B 'help':170B 'insid':51B 'introduc':103B 'left':182B 'look':111B 'lot':121B 'm':92B,110B 'magazin':77B 'mani':29B 'medium':105B 'midwest':25B 'mix':108B 'museum':22B 'mytholog':162B 'narrat':168B 'new':136B 'next':61B 'nikko':10A,88B,193B 'offer':13B 'one':66B 'peopl':30B 'perspect':43B 'practic':101B 'preview':64B 'print':84B 'public':46B 'receiv':79B 'right':179B 'scene':28B 'season':3A,116B,189B 'shape':171B 'show':143B 'slate':16B 'solo':142B 'spoke':48B 'sport':192B 'studio':126B 'support':38B 'tale':166B 'talk':8A 'thrill':93B 'throughout':23B 'time':123B,133B 'tireless':36B 'topic':159B 'upcom':141B,188B 'vsg':145B 'washington':11A,89B,194B 'watch':114B 'well':128B 'work':35B,137B,153B 'worldview':173B 'wouldn':176B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1788406360/ujd84dhihjroxqjs9izj.jpg","editor_pick":true},{"id":13930,"title":"Andi Crist: The Art of The Pun","excerpt":null,"body":"

Andi Crist, Extension Cords, Glazed stoneware, chrome, Sizes vary 2021-present. Photo: Mikey Mosher




This interview is part of CGN's Fall 2026 issue. Purchase a copy or subscribe.




Andi Crist



BY ALISON REILLY


Andi Crist’s warm, engaging demeanor is evident in the first few minutes of our conversation. Generous with her time and forthcoming in her observations, she cares deeply about building relationships through her art making. Crist grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, devoured art classes, wrote songs and played music in high school, and moved to Chicago to study visual art at Columbia College. In 2024, she received her MFA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is a woodworker, sculptor, ceramicist, and conceptual artist, and she teaches at Illinois Institute of Technology. We discussed her multidisciplinary practice, her experience working as an art handler, preparator, and fabricator, and how she thinks about labor, creativity, and value in the art world. 



CGN: You grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. How did that environment shape your point of view as an artist?


Andi Crist: That’s such a funny question. Nobody’s ever really asked.


CGN: Oh, really?


AC: Yeah, maybe because I never was super connected with the arts community down in Birmingham. I moved to Chicago in 2007, so it’s been 20 years since I lived in the South. I was definitely one of those art kids—one art credit was required in high school, and I graduated with like seven. I was surrounded by artists who had a big impact on me, because they were working artists. All my art teachers were trained in Alabama and then continued to teach and work in Alabama, which gave me this desire to try to expand my community outside of what I was familiar with.


CGN: Do you identify as a Chicagoan?


AC: My family still lives in Alabama, and I go back every year. I love being in Alabama. Maybe now being in Chicago for almost 20 years, I identify as a southerner living in the city. I carry on the social qualities of a friendly southern person [laughs]. 


CGN: You have a varied art practice—woodwork, ceramics, mold making. What drew you to those types of fabrication methods and that type of art making?


AC: My dad is a carpenter and a hobbyist woodworker, but his career was psychology, and my mom was a professor and an incredible craftswoman. I absorbed my mom’s model of creativity, which is to try a bunch of different things and not necessarily finish them but to try to learn as much as I can by just going for it. My practice over the years has become an exploration of conceptual elements of what makes art art and not just craft. Do you have to be a master craftsperson or a professional artist in order to make something that resonates with people?


I make a lot of work that references the mode of making and requires a variety of different media. I just finished teaching a ceramics production class where students learned how to produce molds, think about positives and negatives, and get into a level of production rather than just handicraft as a way to multiply their output.


I got into fabrication because I’ve always liked working with other artists. I have a background in theater and gallery work. I’m a voracious learner, and I like being able to share those skills with my community. Then I end up making work about that. It’s a self-feeding cycle.


Andi Crist, Artist’s Ladder, 2023. Photo: Jeff Perlman



CGN: Thinking about your background as an art handler and preparator—how did you get to the point where you were making work about that experience?


AC: In 2010, right before I graduated from Columbia, I was living in a storefront in West Logan Square with my partner at the time. We started a gallery called Autotelic in the space and had to build it out using the worst tools with very minimal resources. Then we started curating shows there and that meant helping other artists figure out how to install their work in our unusual space. Eventually, I gained the reputation for knowing how to do that type of work. I started getting invited to work in museums and galleries. 


The Holocaust Museum was the first museum I worked at, and as difficult as that subject matter is, that experience was really important to me because I was learning more about the larger world of gallery work. As an artist working as a preparator, you’re straddling both sides of that space. You’re really seeing how the sausage is made. You’re hearing all the conversations about artists, curators, the process of exhibition making. There is a lot of information you can gather about the economics of the art world by just being the person that has the know-how to touch and handle artwork. Eventually that started feeding into my art practice because I wanted to make work that was contributing to a conversation around art as a type of job. It fueled a methodology of seeing everything in the world as the result of a long line of processes that required effort and thoughtfulness by many hands.



Andi Crist, Fair Warning, 2025.



CGN: The title of your recent exhibition at the Cleve Carney Museum—Live, Laugh, Lo—sorry, not Live, Laugh, Love—Live, Laugh, Labor.


AC: [Laughs] That’s what everybody does.


CGN: I love the title—it’s perfect. You incorporate humor along with thoughtful critiques about labor and value in your work. What role does humor play? How does it help you connect with your audience?


AC: One of my biggest criticisms of art with a capital A is how easily it can be overly intellectualized. I think that’s why I end up making a lot of work that references things that already exist or have some kind of real purpose. It’s important to give people a foothold so there’s an obvious place to board that train of thought. As an artist—maybe this is me getting into a sweeping argument about what artists should be—but I personally believe in intellectual accessibility. Humor is a swift way to drop defenses and allow people to come in without feeling like they are not getting the joke or not understanding. I like to make work that can hold both of those things at the same time—it’s funny on the surface level, it’s kind of cheeky, but there’s also another way to look at it that is intellectually clever. There is a joy in the attempt to “get it”. Like the satisfaction of grasping how a crossword puzzle actually works.


It’s also so much a part of my personality. I take myself seriously as an artist, but my ego isn’t at the heart of it. It’s really something that I do because I love to make things, and I love to connect with other people. My parents raised me on puns, creating those language relationships between things and people and space. Understanding a joke is the same way that we understand art, and while neither of my parents would consider themselves artists, they taught me how to think about art.



Andi Crist, 69 Bananas




CGN: Your work, Artist’s Ladder, explores hierarchies, workplace cultures, and institutional values. What experiences shaped your reflections on these themes?

 

AC: The ladder piece distinctly represents the complicated relationship between front of house, back of house, and the hierarchy of labor. Who is the artist in those relationships? How much does another person’s knowledge and expertise contribute to the success of another artist?


There are enormous, industrialized art practices out there, warehouses full of people making things, and those people are also artists. When you make work that involves other people, it’s important to acknowledge their contributions. I’ve had complicated interactions with other artists who are like, ‘Hey, do you want to collaborate with me on this thing?’ but really they just want me to make their idea. I made Artist’s Ladder while I was in grad school at UIC, and it really represented my relationship with a lot of other artists, because I could be an actual support structure for them. Then it turned into this absurd physical thing. It’s extremely overbuilt with inlaid racing stripes made of exotic hardwood, and a butcher’s block-style plaid top. It’s not really like an FU as much as it is asking for acknowledgement of my skills and the essential support structures that exist.

 

CGN: I want to ask you about another piece, Five O’Clock Somewhere, a wool rug that resembles a children’s play mat. I work at a library, and it reminded me of rugs I see all the time. It’s a peaceful image of an office park with a large fountain surrounded by a parking lot. I’m curious why you chose a rug as the medium to depict that image.

 

AC: To me the heart of that joke was that it was a landscape. I wanted it to be physically traversable. And that was, I don’t want to say controversial, but it was something that I had to talk about a lot. The critique of that work was the fact that I didn’t want to hang it on the wall and turn it into a tapestry. I really wanted it to be a rug that people could walk on. When I showed that work at Chicago Artists Coalition for the New City Breakout Artists show. There was a lot of pushback about having it on the floor and allowing people to walk on it.

 

That, to me, was such an important conversation, because, in my mind, the fact that you could walk across it and traverse it was part of how I was thinking about the object. Rugs are utilitarian–they are floor coverings. When you make art that doesn’t do anything, you don’t get to participate in that part of the conversation.

 

I enjoy sparring around art like that. I am totally tickled by the pushback. The critique of display is exciting, and sorting through the politics of utilitarianism in art spaces is fun to me. And then—it was so crazy—we ended up showing it halfway on the wall and halfway on the ground. 


Andi Crist, Five O’Clock Somewhere, on display at Live, Laugh, Labor: Thoughts on Usefulness and Other Myths at The Cleve Carney Museum of Art, 2025.



CGN: Oh, wow.


AC: I was like, this is the epitome of compromise! I had to build a structure so that it could hang that way safely. 

 

CGN: I would say just put it on the ground if that’s what you want to do. It’s interesting that there are still very fixed ideas about the way that art should be displayed.

 

AC: That preparator part of it, that’s what I’m all about. I was having that conversation about what physically supports the work or what conceptually supports it in the way that it’s shown. 

 

CGN: Have you always been a writer? How do your art and writing practices work together? 


AC: I can’t say that I’m a writer, it’s probably the same way that it can feel weird to call yourself an artist. But I feel like I’ve always been relatively good at writing. The first time I ever did any kind of professional writing was contributing, a long time ago, to a website called eHow. The editors would send me a title, and then I would have to research how to do that thing. Then I would write out step-by-step instructions for how to do that. 


I think that’s how I had to make myself think through my conceptual practice—I had to do the research, coagulate that into some kind of document, and then I would have stream-of-consciousness conversations with myself. “Why are we interested in this? Why would we make it this way? What would I want to talk about if someone were to ask me about this?” It’s almost like I was pre-interviewing myself. 


I think the writing is just another way for me to process that idea before I put in all of the time and energy to actually accomplish it. 


CGN: What are you working on right now? What projects do you have coming up?


AC: The biggest project that I have right now is my house. My family and I suffered a major house fire on New Year’s Day. We’ve been displaced since then and are navigating rebuilding our house. It was a total loss. 



Andi Crist, Single-Use Fireplace, 2025. Photo: Mikey Mosher.


 

CGN: I’m so sorry to hear that. 


AC: Thank you. We’re all okay, but it’s been a really tumultuous year. I moved my studio into a storefront last summer, and so most of my, at least relatively recent, work is safe, and I still have all of my materials, but my home life is starting over. I just had my first full year at this space, and it’s got a little gallery built out in the front called Coming Soon. It’s beautiful with floor-to-ceiling windows on Division and Central Park. I’ve been inviting people into the space to try things out.

 

After teaching the ceramics class, I came into a bunch of nice slip casting molds, and I’m making some really playful, weird, ceramic stuff. I want to be open and not put too much pressure on myself. Having a big studio by myself is very expensive, so it’s easy to want to make it feel like it’s worth it. But if for now all I can do is make it a resource for other people, then that will be the thing I do. Be less selfish, but more selfish with my time. Saying I can’t do that, or I don’t want to do that. It’s not my nature to say no—I’m such a yes man. I’m learning how to be a yes man for myself. 


CGN: That makes sense after going through something so traumatic.

 

AC: I have an amazing support system. Our friends started a GoFundMe. It was incredible. I’m so humbled and floored by how held I felt by Chicago. I can’t help but throw a little shout out to my Chicago people. I can see how people’s lives get totally ruined by this kind of tragedy. I feel so lucky. Chicago definitely showed its love back. 


CGN: For your project Coming Soon, are you bringing in other artists?


AC: My philosophy is that I want to be involved as little as possible. I am thinking about it more as a hosted than curated space. I’m actively soliciting proposals or ideas for workshops, meetings, book clubs—I’m down for making it a resource, whatever that means. I don’t want to over-think it, I want it to be an intuitive and organic thing, which is why I call it Coming Soon—it can be a placeholder for anything. It’s exciting. Taking my hands off the reins is a good exercise for me.


andicrist.com



Andi Crist, Extension Cords, Glazed stoneware, chrome, Sizes vary 2021-present. Photo: Mikey Mosher



","published_at":"2026-09-10 01:00:00","state":"published","slug":"andi-crist-the-art-of-the-pun","type":null,"meta_description":"","text":null,"created_at":"2026-09-09 13:50:32.441","updated_at":"2026-09-09 13:50:32.441","category_id":3,"highlighted":false,"searchable":"'20':224B,338B '2007':219B '2010':639B '2021':17B,2614B '2023':607B '2024':106B '2025':897B,1789B,2169B '2026':30B '69':1238B 'abl':579B 'absorb':413B 'absurd':1412B 'ac':198B,313B,387B,637B,921B,964B,1261B,1533B,1793B,1853B,1905B,2120B,2181B,2427B,2506B 'access':1053B 'accomplish':2103B 'acknowledg':1337B,1450B 'across':1667B 'activ':2534B 'actual':1141B,1402B,2102B 'ago':1959B 'alabama':82B,169B,278B,287B,319B,330B 'alison':40B 'allow':1063B,1643B 'almost':337B,2069B 'along':939B 'alreadi':1001B 'also':1111B,1145B,1323B 'alway':555B,1892B,1937B 'amaz':2431B 'andi':1A,8B,37B,42B,182B,602B,893B,1236B,1764B,2163B,2605B 'andicrist.com':2604B 'anoth':1112B,1292B,1303B,1468B,2083B 'anyth':1697B,2588B 'argument':1041B 'around':859B,1713B 'art':4A,75B,84B,101B,145B,161B,209B,238B,241B,273B,366B,385B,464B,465B,618B,821B,845B,860B,971B,1217B,1235B,1309B,1692B,1714B,1738B,1788B,1849B,1899B 'artist':126B,181B,258B,270B,481B,560B,604B,696B,771B,800B,1032B,1044B,1159B,1227B,1243B,1285B,1304B,1324B,1347B,1374B,1396B,1621B,1628B,1930B,2505B 'artwork':838B 'ask':194B,1448B,1465B,2063B 'attempt':1128B 'audienc':963B 'autotel':667B 'back':323B,1274B,2493B 'background':564B,615B 'banana':1239B 'beauti':2259B 'becom':455B 'believ':1050B 'big':262B,2323B 'biggest':968B,2122B 'birmingham':81B,168B,213B 'block':1432B 'block-styl':1431B 'board':1025B 'book':2542B 'breakout':1627B 'bring':2502B 'build':71B,674B,1806B 'built':2249B 'bunch':425B,2292B 'butcher':1429B 'call':666B,1927B,1963B,2254B,2578B 'came':2289B 'capit':974B 'care':68B 'career':399B 'carney':908B,1785B 'carpent':392B 'carri':350B 'cast':2296B 'ceil':2264B 'central':2269B 'ceram':369B,515B,2286B,2306B 'ceramicist':123B 'cgn':27B,163B,195B,306B,361B,611B,898B,928B,1240B,1461B,1790B,1817B,1889B,2105B,2173B,2417B,2494B 'cheeki':1107B 'chicago':97B,117B,217B,335B,1620B,2454B,2467B,2488B 'chicagoan':312B 'children':1480B 'chose':1523B 'chrome':14B,2611B 'citi':348B,1626B 'class':85B,517B,2287B 'cleve':907B,1784B 'clever':1121B 'clock':1472B,1768B 'club':2543B 'coagul':2020B 'coalit':1622B 'collabor':1356B 'colleg':104B 'columbia':103B,645B 'come':1066B,2118B,2255B,2498B,2580B 'communiti':210B,298B,586B 'complic':1268B,1343B 'compromis':1802B 'conceptu':125B,459B,1879B,2012B 'connect':206B,960B,1187B 'conscious':2035B 'consid':1225B 'continu':281B 'contribut':855B,1298B,1339B,1955B 'controversi':1563B 'convers':57B,798B,858B,1656B,1709B,1870B,2036B 'copi':34B 'cord':11B,2608B 'could':1399B,1611B,1665B,1812B 'cover':1688B 'craft':469B 'craftsperson':477B 'craftswoman':411B 'crazi':1749B 'creat':1197B 'creativ':156B,419B 'credit':242B 'crist':2A,9B,38B,43B,77B,183B,603B,894B,1237B,1765B,2164B,2606B 'critic':969B 'critiqu':942B,1577B,1725B 'crossword':1139B 'cultur':1249B 'curat':688B,801B,2530B 'curious':1520B 'cycl':601B 'dad':389B 'day':2145B 'deepli':69B 'defens':1061B 'definit':234B,2489B 'demeanor':47B 'depict':1530B 'desir':292B 'devour':83B 'didn':1586B 'differ':427B,508B 'difficult':744B 'discuss':136B 'displac':2149B 'display':1727B,1771B,1852B 'distinct':1265B 'divis':2267B 'document':2026B 'doesn':1694B 'drew':373B 'drop':1060B 'easi':2333B 'easili':978B 'econom':818B 'editor':1966B 'effort':887B 'ego':1162B 'ehow':1964B 'element':460B 'end':589B,990B,1751B 'energi':2100B 'engag':46B 'enjoy':1711B 'enorm':1307B 'environ':173B 'epitom':1800B 'essenti':1456B 'eventu':708B,839B 'ever':192B,1947B 'everi':324B 'everybodi':926B 'everyth':872B 'evid':49B 'excit':1729B,2591B 'exercis':2601B 'exhibit':805B,904B 'exist':1002B,1460B 'exot':1425B 'expand':296B 'expens':2329B 'experi':141B,636B,751B,1254B 'expertis':1297B 'explor':457B,1246B 'extens':10B,2607B 'extrem':1417B 'fabric':149B,379B,551B 'fact':1583B,1662B 'fair':895B 'fall':29B 'famili':315B,2133B 'familiar':304B 'feed':600B,842B 'feel':1069B,1924B,1933B,2339B,2485B 'felt':2452B 'figur':697B 'finish':432B,512B 'fire':2140B 'fireplac':2168B 'first':52B,737B,1944B,2236B 'five':1470B,1766B 'fix':1843B 'floor':1641B,1687B,2262B,2447B 'floor-to-ceil':2261B 'foothold':1017B 'forthcom':63B 'fountain':1512B 'friend':357B,2435B 'front':1271B,2253B 'fu':1442B 'fuel':867B 'full':1314B,2237B 'fun':1741B 'funni':188B,1098B 'gain':710B 'galleri':568B,665B,731B,767B,2248B 'gather':815B 'gave':289B 'generous':58B 'get':531B,625B,724B,1037B,1074B,1130B,1701B,2476B 'give':1014B 'glaze':12B,2609B 'go':322B,446B,2422B 'gofundm':2438B 'good':1940B,2600B 'got':549B,2245B 'grad':1381B 'graduat':250B,643B 'grasp':1136B 'grew':78B,165B 'ground':1763B,1826B 'halfway':1755B,1760B 'hand':892B,2594B 'handicraft':540B 'handl':837B 'handler':146B,619B 'hang':1590B,1813B 'hardwood':1426B 'hear':795B,2179B 'heart':1167B,1537B 'held':2450B 'help':694B,958B,2458B 'hey':1351B 'hierarchi':1247B,1279B 'high':92B,246B 'hobbyist':395B 'hold':1087B 'holocaust':733B 'home':2227B 'host':2528B 'hous':1273B,1276B,2131B,2139B,2157B 'humbl':2445B 'humor':938B,953B,1054B 'idea':1371B,1844B,2090B,2538B 'identifi':309B,341B 'illinoi':115B,131B 'imag':1504B,1532B 'impact':263B 'import':754B,1012B,1335B,1655B 'incorpor':937B 'incred':410B,2441B 'industri':1308B 'inform':812B 'inlaid':1420B 'instal':701B 'institut':132B,1251B 'instruct':1993B 'intellectu':983B,1052B,1120B 'interact':1344B 'interest':1837B,2042B 'interview':23B,2075B 'intuit':2570B 'invit':725B,2274B 'involv':1330B,2515B 'isn':1163B 'issu':31B 'jeff':609B 'job':865B 'joke':1076B,1209B,1540B 'joy':1125B 'kid':239B 'kind':1006B,1105B,1950B,2024B,2481B 'know':714B,832B 'know-how':831B 'knowledg':1295B 'labor':155B,920B,944B,1281B,1775B 'ladder':606B,1245B,1263B,1376B 'landscap':1546B 'languag':1199B 'larg':1511B 'larger':764B 'last':2203B 'laugh':360B,911B,916B,919B,922B,1774B 'learn':438B,520B,760B,2408B 'learner':574B 'least':2211B 'less':2370B 'level':534B,1102B 'librari':1488B 'life':2228B 'like':252B,556B,577B,1070B,1081B,1132B,1350B,1440B,1715B,1796B,1934B,2070B,2340B 'line':882B 'littl':2247B,2462B,2517B 'live':228B,317B,345B,648B,910B,915B,918B,1773B,2475B 'lo':912B 'logan':654B 'long':881B,1957B 'look':1115B 'loss':2162B 'lot':494B,810B,994B,1393B,1517B,1575B,1633B 'love':327B,917B,930B,1179B,1185B,2492B 'lucki':2487B 'm':571B,1519B,1863B,1912B,2175B,2300B,2401B,2407B,2443B,2533B,2545B 'made':792B,1373B,1423B 'major':2138B 'make':76B,371B,386B,463B,485B,492B,502B,591B,632B,806B,851B,992B,1083B,1181B,1317B,1327B,1369B,1691B,2007B,2048B,2301B,2337B,2354B,2419B,2548B 'man':2405B,2414B 'mani':891B 'master':476B 'mat':1483B 'materi':2224B 'matter':748B 'mayb':200B,331B,1033B 'mean':2554B 'meant':693B 'media':509B 'medium':1528B 'meet':2541B 'method':380B 'methodolog':869B 'mfa':110B 'mikey':20B,2171B,2617B 'mind':1660B 'minim':683B 'minut':54B 'mode':500B 'model':417B 'mold':370B,524B,2297B 'mom':404B,415B 'mosher':21B,2172B,2618B 'move':95B,215B,2197B 'much':440B,1147B,1290B,1444B,2317B 'multidisciplinari':138B 'multipli':545B 'museum':729B,734B,738B,909B,1786B 'music':90B 'myth':1781B 'natur':2396B 'navig':2154B 'necessarili':431B 'negat':529B 'neither':1220B 'never':203B 'new':1625B,2142B 'nice':2294B 'nobodi':190B 'o':1471B,1767B 'object':1681B 'observ':66B 'obvious':1022B 'offic':1507B 'oh':196B,1791B 'okay':2187B 'one':235B,240B,965B 'open':2312B 'order':483B 'organ':2572B 'output':547B 'outsid':299B 'over':982B 'over-think':2560B 'overbuilt':1418B 'parent':1192B,1223B 'park':1508B,1516B,2270B 'part':25B,1149B,1673B,1706B,1856B 'particip':1703B 'partner':658B 'peac':1503B 'peopl':490B,1015B,1064B,1190B,1204B,1316B,1321B,1332B,1610B,1644B,2275B,2360B,2468B,2473B 'perfect':935B 'perlman':610B 'person':359B,827B,1049B,1152B,1293B 'philosophi':2508B 'photo':19B,608B,2170B,2616B 'physic':1413B,1552B,1873B 'piec':1264B,1469B 'place':1023B 'placehold':2586B 'plaid':1434B 'play':89B,954B,1482B,2304B 'point':176B,628B 'polit':1734B 'posit':527B 'possibl':2519B 'practic':139B,367B,450B,846B,1310B,1902B,2013B 'pre':2074B 'pre-interview':2073B 'prepar':147B,621B,775B,1855B 'present':18B,2615B 'pressur':2318B 'probabl':1917B 'process':803B,884B,2088B 'produc':523B 'product':516B,536B 'profession':480B,1952B 'professor':407B 'project':2114B,2123B,2497B 'propos':2536B 'psycholog':401B 'pun':7A,1196B 'purchas':32B 'purpos':1009B 'pushback':1635B,1723B 'put':1822B,2093B,2315B 'puzzl':1140B 'qualiti':354B 'question':189B 'race':1421B 'rais':1193B 'rather':537B 're':777B,785B,794B,2185B 'real':1008B 'realli':193B,197B,753B,786B,1172B,1363B,1387B,1439B,1602B,2193B,2303B 'rebuild':2155B 'receiv':108B 'recent':903B,2213B 'refer':498B,998B 'reflect':1257B 'reilli':41B 'rein':2597B 'relat':1939B,2212B 'relationship':72B,1200B,1269B,1288B,1390B 'remind':1491B 'repres':1266B,1388B 'reput':712B 'requir':244B,504B,886B 'research':1978B,2019B 'resembl':1478B 'reson':488B 'resourc':684B,2357B,2551B 'result':878B 'right':640B,2111B,2127B 'role':951B 'rug':1476B,1494B,1525B,1608B,1682B 'ruin':2478B 'safe':1816B,2216B 'satisfact':1134B 'sausag':790B 'say':1562B,1820B,1909B,2378B,2398B 'school':93B,247B,1382B 'sculptor':122B 'see':787B,871B,1496B,2471B 'self':599B 'self-feed':598B 'selfish':2371B,2374B 'send':1968B 'sens':2420B 'serious':1156B 'seven':253B 'shape':174B,1255B 'share':581B 'shout':2463B 'show':689B,1616B,1629B,1753B,2490B 'shown':1888B 'side':780B 'sinc':226B,2150B 'singl':2166B 'single-us':2165B 'size':15B,2612B 'skill':583B,1453B 'slip':2295B 'social':353B 'solicit':2535B 'someon':2060B 'someth':486B,1173B,1567B,2424B 'somewher':1473B,1769B 'song':87B 'soon':2256B,2499B,2581B 'sorri':913B,2177B 'sort':1731B 'south':231B 'southern':344B,358B 'space':670B,707B,783B,1206B,1739B,2241B,2278B,2531B 'spar':1712B 'squar':655B 'start':663B,687B,723B,841B,2230B,2436B 'step':1990B,1992B 'step-by-step':1989B 'still':316B,1841B,2219B 'stonewar':13B,2610B 'storefront':651B,2202B 'straddl':778B 'stream':2033B 'stream-of-consci':2032B 'stripe':1422B 'structur':1404B,1458B,1808B 'student':519B 'studi':99B 'studio':2199B,2324B 'stuff':2307B 'style':1433B 'subject':747B 'subscrib':36B 'success':1301B 'suffer':2136B 'summer':2204B 'super':205B 'support':1403B,1457B,1874B,1880B,2432B 'surfac':1101B 'surround':256B,1513B 'sweep':1040B 'swift':1057B 'system':2433B 'take':1154B,2592B 'talk':1572B,2057B 'tapestri':1600B 'taught':1229B 'teach':129B,283B,513B,2284B 'teacher':274B 'technolog':134B 'thank':2182B 'theater':566B 'theme':1260B 'thing':428B,999B,1091B,1182B,1202B,1318B,1361B,1414B,1983B,2281B,2366B,2573B 'think':153B,525B,612B,985B,1233B,1678B,2000B,2009B,2078B,2522B,2562B 'thought':889B,941B,1029B,1776B 'throw':2460B 'tickl':1720B 'time':61B,661B,1095B,1499B,1945B,1958B,2098B,2377B 'titl':900B,932B,1971B 'togeth':1904B 'tool':680B 'top':1435B 'total':1719B,2161B,2477B 'touch':835B 'tragedi':2483B 'train':276B,1027B 'traumat':2426B 'travers':1553B,1670B 'tri':294B,423B,436B,2280B 'tumultu':2194B 'turn':1409B,1596B 'type':377B,383B,719B,863B 'uic':1384B 'understand':1079B,1207B,1216B 'univers':113B 'unusu':706B 'use':677B,1778B,2167B 'utilitarian':1684B,1736B 'valu':158B,946B,1252B 'vari':16B,365B,2613B 'varieti':506B 've':554B,1341B,1936B,2147B,2272B 'view':178B 'visual':100B 'voraci':573B 'walk':1612B,1646B,1666B 'wall':1594B,1758B 'want':849B,1354B,1366B,1463B,1548B,1560B,1588B,1603B,1832B,2055B,2309B,2335B,2388B,2512B,2558B,2565B 'warehous':1313B 'warm':45B 'warn':896B 'way':543B,1058B,1113B,1213B,1815B,1847B,1884B,1920B,2051B,2084B 'websit':1962B 'weird':1925B,2305B 'west':653B 'whatev':2552B 'window':2265B 'without':1068B 'woodwork':121B,368B,396B 'wool':1475B 'work':142B,269B,285B,496B,557B,569B,592B,633B,703B,721B,727B,740B,768B,772B,852B,949B,996B,1084B,1142B,1242B,1328B,1485B,1580B,1618B,1876B,1903B,2109B,2214B 'workplac':1248B 'workshop':2540B 'world':162B,765B,822B,875B 'worst':679B 'worth':2343B 'would':1224B,1819B,1967B,1975B,1986B,2030B,2046B,2053B 'wow':1792B 'write':1901B,1942B,1953B,1987B,2080B 'writer':1895B,1914B 'wrote':86B 'yeah':199B 'year':225B,325B,339B,453B,2143B,2195B,2238B 'yes':2404B,2413B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1788961816/q8i9yimdkrhqptwlczmp.jpg","editor_pick":true},{"id":13766,"title":"Anticipating a Season of Art: Five to Talk to – Debra Kerr","excerpt":"","body":"

Fall offers a full slate of exhibitions across galleries and museums throughout the Midwest. Behind the scenes, many people in the community are working tirelessly to support artists and bring fresh perspectives to the public. We spoke with five insiders about what excites them now and what they anticipate next.


The following preview is one of five conversations that appear in CGN's Fall 2026 magazine. To receive a copy of the print edition click here. 




Debra Kerr – 

CEO, Intuit Art Museum


“Intuit Art Museum’s renovated, expanded spaces give audiences the chance to connect with art through daily art-making, third Thursday Art After Work, group Slow Looks designed to provide a mindful experience with a single work and upcoming conversations with sculptor Bill Brady (Oct. 3) and Dr. Mary Trent (Oct. 15), who curated our current exhibition on the role of scrapbook-making in Henry Darger’s art. 


On view is the thought-provoking Monumental: The Sculpture of Dr. Charles Smith, which encourages guests to consider the lack of historical representation of African Americans and Black people in America. Dr. Smith’s memorials champion Black history and stories of everyday life he sees missing in mainstream narratives. 


This fall we’re opening an exhibition of paintings by Karla Wong, an artist who immigrated from Oaxaca and who explores themes of life and death, gender identity and self-discovery.”


Intuit Art Museum

","published_at":"2026-09-09 00:30:00","state":"published","slug":"anticipating-a-season-of-art-five-to-talk-to-debra-kerr","type":null,"meta_description":"","text":null,"created_at":"2026-09-15 23:59:29.662","updated_at":"2026-09-15 23:59:29.662","category_id":3,"highlighted":false,"searchable":"'15':146B '2026':76B '3':140B 'across':19B 'african':189B 'america':195B 'american':190B 'anticip':1A,60B 'appear':71B 'art':5A,92B,95B,108B,112B,116B,163B,247B 'art-mak':111B 'artist':39B,227B 'audienc':102B 'behind':26B 'bill':137B 'black':192B,201B 'bradi':138B 'bring':41B 'ceo':90B 'cgn':73B 'champion':200B 'chanc':104B 'charl':176B 'click':86B 'communiti':33B 'connect':106B 'consid':182B 'convers':69B,134B 'copi':81B 'curat':148B 'current':150B 'daili':110B 'darger':161B 'death':239B 'debra':10A,88B 'design':122B 'discoveri':245B 'dr':142B,175B,196B 'edit':85B 'encourag':179B 'everyday':206B 'excit':54B 'exhibit':18B,151B,220B 'expand':99B 'experi':127B 'explor':234B 'fall':12B,75B,215B 'five':6A,50B,68B 'follow':63B 'fresh':42B 'full':15B 'galleri':20B 'gender':240B 'give':101B 'group':119B 'guest':180B 'henri':160B 'histor':186B 'histori':202B 'ident':241B 'immigr':229B 'insid':51B 'intuit':91B,94B,246B 'karla':224B 'kerr':11A,89B 'lack':184B 'life':207B,237B 'look':121B 'magazin':77B 'mainstream':212B 'make':113B,158B 'mani':29B 'mari':143B 'memori':199B 'midwest':25B 'mind':126B 'miss':210B 'monument':171B 'museum':22B,93B,96B,248B 'narrat':213B 'next':61B 'oaxaca':231B 'oct':139B,145B 'offer':13B 'one':66B 'open':218B 'paint':222B 'peopl':30B,193B 'perspect':43B 'preview':64B 'print':84B 'provid':124B 'provok':170B 'public':46B 're':217B 'receiv':79B 'renov':98B 'represent':187B 'role':154B 'scene':28B 'scrapbook':157B 'scrapbook-mak':156B 'sculptor':136B 'sculptur':173B 'season':3A 'see':209B 'self':244B 'self-discoveri':243B 'singl':130B 'slate':16B 'slow':120B 'smith':177B,197B 'space':100B 'spoke':48B 'stori':204B 'support':38B 'talk':8A 'theme':235B 'third':114B 'thought':169B 'thought-provok':168B 'throughout':23B 'thursday':115B 'tireless':36B 'trent':144B 'upcom':133B 'view':165B 'wong':225B 'work':35B,118B,131B","thumbnail":"https://res.cloudinary.com/dfafo598z/image/upload/v1788406120/wgkj5rkg0rq42watsxad.jpg","editor_pick":true}]}