Cover designed by Arianna Patterson (’24)

The Escalette Collection of Art is thrilled to share the second season of “The Artist is Present,” a mini podcast series hosted by Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast. In this series, students interview Escalette Collection artists, asking questions about their artwork, career, and interests. You can find “The Artist is Present” wherever you listen to podcasts – just search “Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, ITunes, Spotify, etc. You can also find them on the Catalyst website. 

This season was hosted and produced by Abigail Stephens (History and Journalism ’26). Speaking about her experience creating “The Artist is Present,” Stephens said “creating this podcast was such a fulfilling experience from start to finish, however I’d have to say that my favorite part of the process was the most fundamental: simply sitting down and having a conservation with the artist… I am so grateful to get to know these artists as humanistic individuals.” Stephens wanted the podcast episodes this season to capture elements of the artists’ environments. She describes how “It was extra special to speak with our guests in spaces that meant a lot to them, from community workshops they were leading to personal studios, allowing me, and the listeners, to step into their world and become fully immersed.”

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“The Artist is Present” is a special series which is being hosted under the Catalyst: A Creative Industries Podcast of the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries. “The Artist is Present” was developed under the direction of the Phyllis and Ross Escalette Permanent Collection of Art’s Director, Fiona Shen, and Registrar, Jessica Bocinski, so that a wider audience would have the opportunity to hear directly from the artists in the Escalette Collection at Chapman University. The Collection is fortunate to include artists from diverse backgrounds whose work fosters new and interesting ways of knowing the world. In listening to these perspectives, we hope that “The Artist is Present” serves as an educational resource and an enjoyable reminder of how art shapes our understanding of the past, present, and who we might become in the future.