The Lisa D Show with Maggie Meiners, unedited

Excited to share my first interview with a WOMAN! Know that Maggie Meiners is more than just a woman, she’s a creative powerhouse with skills to get tremendous amounts of things done and a huge heart that enables her to provide mentoring to young creatives coming up the ladder. AND Maggie is a personal friend and cultural collaborator.

In this interview we discuss why Maggie takes the photos she does, specifically the latest installment of her body of work Revisiting Rockwell, a modern day take on the classic American paintings of Norman Rockwell circa 1925, "Freedom of Religion". Pictured below.

We also focus on how Maggie intends to connect the Chicago art scene from the Southside to Witchita, Kansas. Part of her intention is to make Evanston’s art scene stickier for collectors of fine art but also hipper for city folks in Chicago. Her efforts are manifested in Network North’s first gallery hop on Feb. 4 featuring art partners like the Block Museum at Northwestern and Wedge on Howard Ave. and Platform, Maggie’s art event space and studio where she works alongside her talented peer in the arts Justine Bianco.

Visit Maggie’s body of work at www.maggiemeiners.com

Artist Bio

Maggie Meiners (b.1972, Chicago) is an artist and photographer whose work investigates connection with herself, others and the world at large. In 2016, Maggie received Best in Show for Photo Emerge 2016 at Center Gallery-The Midwest Photography Center, Wichita, KS. In 2017 she will be exhibiting her series, Revisiting Rockwell,  at the Butler Institute for American Art and The Garner Center at the New England School of Photography.   

Her work has been widely exhibited and remain in the permanent collections of the Illinois Institute of Art, Wheaton College, Harrison Street Lofts, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Lowey, LLP and an extensive number of private collections. In addition, her work is on loan at the American Embassy in Uruguay through 2019.  

Maggie gives private lessons and critiques, teaches classes, and speaks regularly about her work.  Maggie currently serves on the Board of the Filter Photo Festival, is a member of the Advisory Committee at the Museum of Contemporary Photography and is a member of the photography group, f/8 Collective. Most recently, Maggie moved into a new studio space with the artist, Justine Bianco. Together they run, Platform, a non-commission based exhibition space for artists to show experiential work.

Maggie grew up outside of Chicago and has an affinity for all things Midwestern. She recently moved back to the small town where she grew up with her two sons and her husband, whom she likes to describe as a Renaissance man. She is devoted to lifelong learning and daily picture taking and making.

Maggie's work is represented by Anne Loucks Gallery in Glencoe, IL. 

The Lisa D Show is a podcast celebrates creatives. Listen to 20 minute, unedited conversations with host Lisa D. and the creatives who make our world a more connected, interesting and beautiful place to live. Podcasts will be posted on this blog and on Soundcloud.com

This podcast is recorded at 1100 Florence, an art event space in West Evanston, IL, owned and operated by Lisa Degliantoni and Dave Ford. It is a former Polish Grocery store, probably not the BEST place to record a podcast (boomy to say the least) but we're new and it will get better. Reach out to thelisadshow[at]gmail.com

The Lisa D Show with Ben Blount, unedited

Lisa Degliantoni and Ben Blount talk about his upcoming art exhibit Recollection which deals with race, memory and perception. 

Recollection examines the notions of race and culture we encounter growing up in the United States. Shared through reimagined learning tools and remembered narratives, this work explores how we collect these formative ideas about identity and commit them to memory. This collection of work from artist Ben Blount includes letterpress prints, handmade books, and various interactive elements.

Ben Blount is a printer who uses books, posters and installations to explore notions of race and identity in America. Shaped by two decades of experience in design and advertising, his work draws on a common cultural language of objects, stories and experiences to draw attention to the differences between what we see, and how we are seen. With a range of contemporary influences from Dave Chappelle and Kara Walker to Mos Def and Amos Kennedy, Blount’s work is often provocative and topical. He has taught book arts courses at The Cleveland Institute of Art and Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago. A native Detroiter, he earned an MFA in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts from Columbia College Chicago and currently lives in Evanston, IL. 

Image above: Spread from ABC: An Abecedarium of Black Culture

See more of Ben's work at benblount.com

The public is invited for the Opening Reception Saturday, Feb. 4, 6-9 p.m. 

The public is invited back Sunday, Feb. 12, 3-5 p.m. We'll host an artist talk and hear from Ben and his wife Melissa Blount on their work in social justice. Ben is a founding board member of OPAL (Organization for Positive Action and Leadership). He is interested in equity issues in Evanston and how we as a community can affect change through political participation. Seats are limited, please click here to RSVP on EventBrite. 

1100 Florence is a new art event space in West Evanston, IL, owned and operated by Lisa Degliantoni and Dave Ford.

The Lisa D Show is recorded in a former Polish Grocery Store in West Evanston, IL, this podcast celebrates creatives. Listen to 20 minute, unedited conversations with host Lisa D. and the creatives who make our world a more connected, interesting and beautiful place to live. Podcasts will be posted on this blog and on Soundcloud.com, https://soundcloud.com/lisa-degliantoni

The Lisa D Show with Ken Krimstein, Unedited

The Lisa D Show podcast features 20 minute, unedited conversations with creatives. 

Our guest Ken Krimstein is a Writer, Cartoonist, Right fielder, Professor in the College of Communications at DePaul University in Chicago, father, neighbor, husband, citizen and friend. 

We talk about Ken's work as a cartoonist for the New Yorker, one of the most competitive creative endeavors anyone can pursue. The cartoon below, published in the Harvard Business Review this month, is referred to in the interview and a strong example of Ken's talent.

Because this interview is unedited it plays like a live-radio interview, it's 100% authentic and flawed which is why we kept the part where Ken spilled hot coffee on his leg (7:59) and "yeows" really loud. 

See Ken's work at www.kenkrimstein.com

The Lisa D Show is recorded in a former Polish Grocery Store in West Evanston, IL, this podcast celebrates creatives. Listen to 20 minute, unedited conversations with host Lisa D. and the creatives who make our world a more connected, interesting and beautiful place to live. Podcasts will be posted on this blog and on Soundcloud.com, https://soundcloud.com/lisa-degliantoni

The Lisa D Show is Back!

Tuesday, March 11, 2011, was the last time I posted on this blog, telling fans that I would make a move to a new radio show platform. Since 2011 I've been "radio silent" and not doing anything in front of a microphone. Today I am excited to announce that "The Lisa D Show" is BACK in the form of a weekly podcast. 

For those of you meeting me for the first time, I'm a former radio talk show host. My work as a radio personality in El Paso, Texas, from 2005- 2011, was beyond enjoyable and rewarding; I was paid to talk to humans for 1-3 hours a day on live, call-in radio. My radio shows took many forms; political talk show host on a call-in station, lifestyle talk radio host for "Charlando con La Gringa" (translation: chit chat with the white girl) on airwaves out of Juarez, Mexico, and host of "The Lisa D Show" a weekday call-in talk radio show featuring guest interviews and cultural news of the day. "The Lisa D Show" was my longest run as a talk radio show host, honoring me with a slick logo!

When my family left El Paso, TX, for Evanston, IL, in 2011, I had intentions of setting up shop on a new platform ... it took me 6 years! Thank you returning fans for waiting for my voice to reappear and welcome new fans to my podcast, "The Lisa D Show." You can look forward to conversations with creatives, roughly 20 minutes in duration, posted on a weekly basis. I believe creatives (of all kinds) make our planet a more connected, interesting and beautiful place to live. My energy and enthusiasm for my guests will be consistent, I don't invite guests whose work I don't admire. This podcast will 100% FOTP (Focus on the Positive) and isn't a criticism-based platform. Don't be afraid to request to be on the show, email me at thelisadshow@gmail.com.

"The Lisa D Show" will be recorded in a former Polish Grocery Store at 1100 Florence Ave. in Evanston, IL. We welcome a live audience and will announce podcast recordings and guests using Facebook Live so you can stop by and see the podcast in action.

We will post new podcasts on this blog or you can listen on Sound Cloud

Before I forget I want to thank my supportive husband Dave Ford for nudging this project along and helping get me back in front of a microphone. Dave is very familiar with my love of conversating and thinks I do it very well, his enthusiasm is much appreciated!