You Can't Eat Art
You Can't Eat Art
Podcast Description
The title of this podcast, “You Can’t Eat Art,” comes from a conversation I had with a relative who disputes the relevance and value of art. He couldn’t see its purpose because in his mind it didn’t serve a tangible function nor did it have the ability to put food on the table. The artists who I interview have been in residence at the Lucas Artists Program at the Montalvo Arts Center; they represent a diverse range of mediums and practices, and each has a unique approach to the relationship between art and commerce. We'll explore why artists choose to make art and offer insight into how artists navigate the commodification of their work, and shed light on what shapes their creative processes. Ultimately,“You Can’t Eat Art” seeks to reaffirm art's role as an indispensable cultural force, one that fosters connection, introspection, and growth. You Can’t Eat Art challenges the reductive notion of art as a commodity, and invites listeners to reconsider how art can challenge, resist, redefine and shape society. The intention is for these conversations to spark an ongoing dialogue to counter prevailing misconceptions about art, and to bring about an understanding of art as what sculptor Anthony Gormley calls “an act of shared communication.”“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used withpermission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe / Mashibeats
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into themes of artistic practice, the commodification of art, and the cultural significance of creative work, with episodes exploring topics like the intersection of art and well-being, as well as innovative approaches to public performance, exemplified in discussions with guests like Ava Roy and Jenn Johns.
The title of this podcast, “You Can’t Eat Art,” comes from a conversation I had with a relative who disputes the relevance and value of art. He couldn’t see its purpose because in his mind it didn’t serve a tangible function nor did it have the ability to put food on the table.
The artists who I interview have been in residence at the Lucas Artists Program at the Montalvo Arts Center; they represent a diverse range of mediums and practices, and each has a unique approach to the relationship between art and commerce. We’ll explore why artists choose to make art and offer insight into how artists navigate the commodification of their work, and shed light on what shapes their creative processes.
Ultimately,“You Can’t Eat Art” seeks to reaffirm art’s role as an indispensable cultural force, one that fosters connection, introspection, and growth. You Can’t Eat Art challenges the reductive notion of art as a commodity, and invites listeners to reconsider how art can challenge, resist, redefine and shape society. The intention is for these conversations to spark an ongoing dialogue to counter prevailing misconceptions about art, and to bring about an understanding of art as what sculptor Anthony Gormley calls “an act of shared communication.”
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used withpermission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe / Mashibeats
In this episode of You Can’t Eat Art, Clara Kamunde is in conversation with literary artist Lyzette Wanzer. Lizette is a writer, editor, writing instructor and coach, and her work appears in over thirty literary journals, magazines, books and newspapers.
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About Lyzette Wanzer:
Lyzette Wanzer’s work appears in over thirty literary journals, books, and magazines. Library Journal named her book, TRAUMA, TRESSES, & TRUTH: Untangling Our Hair Through Personal Narratives (Chicago Review Press 2022), a Top 10 Best Social Sciences Book. Publishers Weekly featured the book in Fall 2022. Lyzette is a contributor to Lyric Essay as Resistance: Truth From the Margins (Wayne State University Press 2023), Civil Liberties United: Diverse Voices from the San Francisco Bay Area (Pease Press 2019), and the multi-award-winning The Chalk Circle: Intercultural Prizewinning Essays (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2012).
A National Writers’ Union and Authors Guild member, Lyzette’s work has been supported with grants from Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Black Artist Foundry, The Awesome Foundation, and California Humanities. Lyzette is founder of the Muses & Melanin Fellowship for BIPOC Creative Writers and she sits on the board of Intersection for the Arts. Her second book, Building a Career as a Literary Artist of Color, is in the works.
For more about Lyzette Wanzer, visit our webpage here and Lyzette’s website.
Follow https://shuffle.do/@lyzettewanzer
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About Clara Kamunde:
Clara Kamunde is an Oakland-based, Kenyan-born cultural worker practicing at the intersection of arts education and social justice. Her career began with the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles where, as a grantee for the Artist-In-The-Community program, she collaborated with community organizations to produce and present site-integrated programming in urban parks, recreation areas, historic sites, and schools located in underserved communities throughout Greater Los Angeles. For her contribution in supporting access to quality arts programming with DCA, she was awarded an Honorary Citation by the City of Los Angeles. She was formerly a fellow at the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State University where she earned a master’s degree in Creativity Studies.
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About the Lucas Artists Residency Program:
Established in 1939, Montalvo Arts Center is home to the third oldest residency program in the United States. In 2004, Montalvo re-committed to its support of artists by opening a new, state-of-the-art facility, relaunching as the Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program. The residency is dedicated to providing artists with a flexible and expansive space in which to create, encouraging the creative process, risk taking, collaboration, and cross-disciplinary investigation of contemporary issues. The LAP is a hybrid model that supports uninterrupted time to develop new work, while offering opportunities to share ideas and projects through public programming and partnerships.
For more info about the residency, visit our website.
Follow the LAP @lucasartres
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Credits:
Jenee Darden: Sights and Sounds, KALW Public Radio 91.7 FM
Credits:
“Syndrome” from the album Tide’s Arising Instrumentals (Mashibeats, 2024) used with permission of LAP 2023 CA Fellow Mark de Clive-Lowe; © Mark de Clive-Lowe/Mashibeats
Podcast cover art created by Olivia Esparza © Montalvo Arts Center, 2025
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