Season 2: ArtStorming the Art of Remembrance
Most people leave their legacy to chance. At ArtBridge, we believe it can be designed.
This season, we explore the intersection of human survival and creative agency. We are standing in the clearings where fear and love share a chair, talking to the creatives, visionaries, and rebels who are stripping the pretense from mortality to build something durable. This is a radical permission slip to live how you want to live and die how you want to die. Through the lens of living and leaving, we investigate how the quiet rituals of today become the architecture of a lifetime. Stop avoiding the ending. Start shaping it.
Music for ArtStorming the Art of Remembrance was written and performed by John Cruikshank.
The song "For Myriam" was written to honor the memory of the South American wife of the composer's friend, Bruce Haley. Bruce, a recovering alcoholic, had found a new passion and purpose in photography. After his wife's tragic passing, he asked the composer to create music to accompany his exhibits. Titled "For Myriam" primarily for Bruce's sake, the piece serves as a beautiful and lasting reminder of the great love that was a central part of his life, created from a place of deep compassion for a grieving friend.
Harry Weil
Episode 13
A cemetery can be a punchline, a sanctuary, a history lesson, and a living arts venue all at once, if we let it. I’m joined by Harry Weil, vice president of education and public programs at Brooklyn’s historic Green-Wood Cemetery, to talk about how a place built for the dead is quietly becoming one of New York City’s most surprising spaces for culture, community, and honest conversations about mortality.
Concetta Abbate
Episode 12
What if a violin could steady a room full of grief and turn it into a space for deep remembering? We sit down with Concetta Abbate—violinist, composer, and death doula—to explore how music moves beyond entertainment to become ritual, care, and legacy.
André Is an Idiot
Special Episode
We sit down with Director Tony Benna and Producer Stelio Kitrilakis to unpack André Is an Idiot, the award-winning documentary that turns a terminal diagnosis into a riotous, deeply human portrait of intention, family, and art. What starts as an unthinkable pitch—make a comedy about stage four cancer—becomes a blueprint for living boldly and leaving a legacy that feels handmade.
Francisco Gella
Episode 10
What does legacy feel like when it breathes on stage? Choreographer Francisco Gella, director of Zeitgeist Dance Theater, discusses Lineage—a 42-minute work inspired by the artistry of Chimayó weaving. Discover how a human-scale loom, K-pop, and ancestral memory transform traditional craft into a living tapestry of community and grit.
Deb Todd Wheeler
Episode 9
What if a walk through the woods could hold your grief and hand it back as something living? We sit down with artist Deb Todd Wheeler to explore Radio Silence, a geolocated audio walk at Brookline’s Lost Pond that folds field recordings, original songs, and quiet conversation into a moving ritual of remembrance.
Mallory McDuff
Episode 8
If you’ve ever wondered how to align legacy with love for the earth and art infusing every step, this conversation offers a clear starting point and a lot of heart. We sit down with environmental educator and author Mallory McDuff to explore how end-of-life choices—green burial, aquamation, and human composting—can reflect our values, save money, and restore land.
D. Matthew Smith
Episode 7
In this episode we explore how photography shapes memory, culture, and legacy with visual effects veteran Matthew Smith, tracing a line from 19th‑century spirit photos to AI deepfakes. The camera doesn’t capture truth; it curates stories, and we can choose how to author ours.
Miranda Viscoli
Episode 6
What if a weapon could become a tool for growth, a song, or even a room you can step inside to remember a life? We sit down with Miranda Viscoli, executive director of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, to explore how Guns to Gardens turns surrendered firearms into shovels, sculptures, instruments, and a traveling installation built by teens who refuse to let grief be the final word.
Robert Washington-Vaughns
Episode 5
What if legacy isn’t a monument we leave behind, but a moment where someone finally feels seen? Today, we sit down with Robert Washington-Vaughns to trace his unlikely path from corporate burnout to the creation of the Black Man Flower Project, a movement that uses the simple, radical act of gifting bouquets to help men reclaim their vulnerability and humanity.
Chris Moench
Episode 4
Dive into the transformative journey of artist Chris Moench as he shares the story behind his stunning ceramic prayer wheels. From a tragic disaster to healing and remembrance, Chris's art extends beyond aesthetics—it's a powerful medium for connection and reflection.
Elizabeth Fergus-Jean
Episode 3
Stepping into Elizabeth Fergus Jean's studio—filled with suspended vessels, flickering shadows, and a labyrinth—we discovered a living bridge between ancestry, art-making, and the land, where a conversation about legacy quickly became a tender exploration of grief, presence, and life.
Eric Mingus
Episode 2
A chance visit, a hidden cemetery, and a song written on sacred ground. Eric Mingus shares how The Mill bridges race, history, and healing with help from Yo-Yo Ma. Listen and tell us: what does legacy mean to you?
