Event Link: https://soundcloud.com/eleven-warrior-arts
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Often people use the phrase “Think outside the box.” and I have to admit, I feel like it’s a phrase that feels empty maybe because it’s so overused…and not taken. But in March 2020 when the museum had to shutter its doors because of the pandemic I wanted to keep museum patrons engaged with Native American programming. I had an idea for an interview podcast but how do you apply an audio interview series in an organization that is primarily focused on the visual arts? Despite being at the museum for just over a year I had come to realize two blind spots in our exhibitions, we could provide great art, but limited information on the artist, the second is that we could at best provide two exhibitions a year which limits exposure to just a lucky few.
Therefore, the pandemic provided the opportunity for us to give a podcast a trial run, but I wanted to do one a week so we could connect with as many artists as I could. The hope is we could do this for six months maybe in 20 years an academic from a university would find this and do a study on artists from our era. But slowly I came to realize people were listening, especially college students. Then the New York Times contacted me for an interview. I assumed it was a phishing scam and ignored it for a few days until I researched the reporter and realized she was on staff. The interview was much larger and more expansive than what appeared in the Sunday edition on May 1, 2022, but it was clear there is interest in Native American stories and art. I asked the reporter how she heard about the podcasts and she said we’re the only podcast doing features on Native American artists.
We’ve doubled our listenership every year, and after three years we have nearly 20,000 downloads, not only demonstrating the interest in Native American art but also placing the podcast between the top 15%-10% or top podcasts weekly listenership. Finally, it feels good that Plains Art Museum is a national leader in showcasing Native American and Indigenous art at the high level it should be shown.
