Happening Type: Podcast

Now in its sixth season, SFMOMA’s podcast Raw Material explores modern and contemporary art through the voices of artists and creative thinkers from around the world. Every season is produced in partnership with a new podcaster-in-residence, with audio producer Sayre Quevedo recently investigating the connections between artists in a series of interviews. Previous seasons have tackled the relationship artists have with the landscapes of California, intersections between art and social justice, and artists engaging with the unknown, all thoughtfully crafted to offer insight and spark dialogue about the process of creative expression.

There are millions of objects, artworks, and specimens in the Smithsonian collections, a fraction of which are on public view in its museums. Sidedoor takes listeners into these unseen archives to investigate stories about history, art, science, and what these objects and records reveal about our shared humanity. With five seasons of episodes, the podcast has in-depth insights from Smithsonian curators and researchers on everything from the secrets of the world’s oldest known winery to a video game that was so bad it was buried in the desert.

Hosted by Tamar Avishai, The Lonely Palette is an accessible dive into some of the world's most important works of art. The podcast mixes casual interviews with museum visitors on their impressions of how, where, why, and when the art was made. From a close look at why the pointillist dots of Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884-86) were so innovative, to the way Claes Oldenburg's 1964 Giant Toothpaste Tube elevates the ordinary, each episode makes art history approachable by highlighting the human experience behind every creative expression. Episodes are ongoing and can be found on all audio streaming platforms.

When art historian Linda Nochlin asked in 1971 “Why have there been no great women artists?,” she was not questioning the talent of women but how the art world and art history had neglected them. The Great Women Artists Podcast now elevates the voices of women artists and art historians. Launched by Katy Hessel of the popular @thegreatwomenartists Instagram account, the conversations focus on historical and contemporary artists, including interviews with Shirin Neshat, Cornelia Parker, Howardena Pindell, and Deborah Roberts. Curators and historians consider the practices and impact of women artists, such as art historian Jo Applin on the bristling femininity of Louise Bourgeois and curator Letizia Treves on Artemisia Gentileschi, who broke the baroque glass ceiling.