What's Up?: Art NOW at moCa Cleveland

What's Up? w/ Maggie Menghan Chen

34 min. Artist Maggie Menghan Chen's exhibition Body Building Exercise is at moCa Cleveland through January 4, 2026. In this podcast, Maggie talks about collaborating during a pandemic, her creative process, and her journey to becoming an artist. Episode Guest: Maggie Menghan Chen Maggie Menghan Chen (b. 1998, Beijing) lives and works in Beijing and London. She obtained her MA degree in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts following her BA degree in Art History at New York University. Episode Host: DJ Hellerman DJ Hellerman is the Deputy Director & Senior Curator at moCa Cleveland. A Northeast Ohio native, Hellerman holds an M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and began his career at the Progressive Art Collection. Prior to his work at moCa, he held the positions of Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA, Curator at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, Curator of Arts & Programs at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, and Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Burlington City Arts in Burlington, Vermont. This episode is hosted by DJ Hellerman. Produced by DJ Hellerman and Tom Poole. Edited by Tom Poole. Consulting Producer and Audio Engineering by Adam Zucarro. Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or moCa Cleveland.

What's Up? w/ Erykah Townsend

Artist Erykah Townsend's exhibition "Happy" Holidays is at moCa Cleveland through January 4, 2026. In this podcast, Townsend talks about the pressures of the holidays, the significance of handmade experiences, and how pop culture reveals the parts of life we sometimes ignore. Episode Guest: Erykah Townsend Erykah Townsend [https://erykahtownsend.com/], also known as E.T., is a conceptual artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Her art boldly confronts and questions the role of pop culture in our lives. She states, "I use pop culture as a medium itself—exploring the spaces it fills in our lives and the inquiry of how real are the imaginary." Through reflective and humorous narratives, Townsend references art history and critiques consumerism and western culture, using characters, cultural icons, and objects as allegories for her criticism. In addition, her work includes elements from their original sources, providing the audience with a fresh and sentimental encounter. Townsend received her BFA in painting from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020. Episode Host: DJ Hellerman DJ Hellerman is the Deputy Director & Senior Curator at moCa Cleveland. A Northeast Ohio native, Hellerman holds an M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and began his career at the Progressive Art Collection. Prior to his work at moCa, he held the positions of Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA, Curator at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, Curator of Arts & Programs at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, and Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Burlington City Arts in Burlington, Vermont. What's Up? is a presentation of moCa Media. Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved. This episode was hosted by DJ Hellerman. And produced by DJ Hellerman and Tom Poole. Special thanks to Adam Zucarro for consulting production and audio engineering. Erykah Townsend: "Happy" Holidays supported by Margaret Cohen & Kevin Rahilly and The Satellite Fund, administered by SPACES and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program. Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or moCa Cleveland. Thanks for listening.

What's Up? w/ Kelli Connell

Artist Kelli Connell's exhibition Double Life is at moCa Cleveland through January 4, 2026. In this podcast, Connell talks about the technical and compassionate aspects behind the making of her work, the relationship built working with long-time Double Life model Kiba Jacobson, and the way that a project's meaning can evolve over a 20-year timeframe. Episode Guest: Kelli Connell Kelli Connell's work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, J Paul Getty Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, among others. Publications include Kelli Connell: Pictures for Charis (Aperture and Center for Creative Photography, March 2024), PhotoWork: Forty Photographers on Process and Practice (Aperture), Photo Art: The New World of Photography (Aperture), and the monograph Kelli Connell: Double Life (DECODE Books). Connell has received fellowships and residencies from The Guggenheim Foundation, MacDowell, PLAYA, Peaked Hill Trust, LATITUDE, Light Work and The Center for Creative Photography. Connell is a professor at Columbia College Chicago. Episode Host: DJ Hellerman DJ Hellerman is the Deputy Director & Senior Curator at moCa Cleveland. A Northeast Ohio native, Hellerman holds an M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and began his career at the Progressive Art Collection. Prior to his work at moCa, he held the positions of Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA, Curator at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, Curator of Arts & Programs at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, and Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Burlington City Arts in Burlington, Vermont. This episode is hosted by DJ Hellerman. Produced by DJ Hellerman and Tom Poole. Edited by Tom Poole. Consulting Producer and Audio Engineering by Adam Zucarro.

What's Up? w/ Clotilde Jiménez

Artist Clotilde Jiménez's exhibition Shapeshift is at moCa Cleveland through January 4, 2026. In this podcast, Jiménez talks about the evolution of his work, the use of color in his collages (and on the set of Seinfeld), the legacies impacting him, and the ones he wants to create moving forward. Episode Guest: Clotilde Jiménez Born in 1990 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Clotilde Jiménez now lives and works in Mexico City. He earned his MFA from The Slade School of Fine Art and his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Episode Host: DJ Hellerman DJ Hellerman is the Deputy Director & Senior Curator at moCa Cleveland. A Northeast Ohio native, Hellerman holds an M.A. in Art History from Case Western Reserve University and began his career at the Progressive Art Collection. Prior to his work at moCa, he held the positions of Chief Curator & Director of Curatorial Affairs at The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia, PA, Curator at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, Curator of Arts & Programs at the Everson Museum in Syracuse, New York, and Chief Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Burlington City Arts in Burlington, Vermont. This episode is hosted by DJ Hellerman. Produced by DJ Hellerman and Tom Poole. Edited by Tom Poole. Consulting Producer and Audio Engineering by Adam Zucarro. Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or moCa Cleveland.

What's Up?: TRAILER

What's Up? focuses on ART NOW: Conversations with artists about art, ideas, and why making matters. Hosted by DJ Hellerman, moCa Cleveland Deputy Director & Senior Curator, What's Up? explores the art in moCa's galleries and the reasons that drive the artists to keep creating. For more information, visit https://www.mocacleveland.org [https://www.mocacleveland.org]or subscribe for upcoming conversations in your podcast provider.