Culture Matters in Malden

Culture Matters in Malden host Ose Schwab converses with musicians Greg Cherone and Robert Clapp, Jr. about "Shakespeare’s MacBeth, a rock opera,” produced in collaboration with John Bettencourt. Cherone and Clapp share about the origins of this idea, how it came together, and snippets of the music featuring an impressive roster of local and international performing artists. Their hope is to works...

Executive Director and Founder Jennifer Kuhnberg and Board Member Jessica Taddeo of OnStage Dance Company have lots to say about building community through dance. Kuhnberg formed the company to stay active as a serious dancer and invited others to do the same. Over the years, the company has learned how to implement inclusive and dynamic community. OnStage is a model of connection to learn from. T...

A thought-provoking conversation with neuroscientist, artist, and writer Joshua Sariñana unwrapping the journey of creative thought and scientific exploration that led to his project Mental Mapping: The Art of Exploring Connections. Though equipped with a robust understanding about how the mind works through his training in neuroscience, Joshua understands that science alone cannot fully explain t...

In this podcast, artist, educator, and choreographer Laura Sánchez describes her journey with flamenco dance navigating lifes challenges as an immigrant, artist, and mother of a child with multiple disabilities. The conversation reveals a vulnerability that draws in the listener to Sánchez's world of Expressive Flamenco Dance, a modality of expressive art therapy she innovated, practices and s...

Fern Remedi-Brown dives into how and why she founded the Malden-based nonprofit Sowing Opportunities Inc. , an organization dedicated to helping remote indigenous communities in rural Guatemala gain access to clean water and build life-saving agricultural infrastructure through greenhouse farming programs. In this conversation, Fern weaves a web of deeply personal narratives about family, faith, a...

This guest episode is a conversation with young filmmaker, ShiJie Weng. On November 5th, 2022, he traveled to Boston from Spain to accept an award for Best of Festival in the High School Student Filmmaker category at the Arlington International Film Festival. Winning filmmakers from all around the world presented their work and met with industry professionals at the Voices of Youth screening and a...

Mikaela Bartels, a Child Life Specialist at Boston Children's Hospital, started Yarnbug Hand-knits as a way to reclaim her creativity. Mikaela began knitting at the age of ten. It has always been a part of her life and a source of joy. When the pandemic hit, she stopped. Work rendered her exhausted and unable to create. Though the stress at work only continued, a few small changes allowed Mikaela...

Third of three episodes in a series entitled LOOKING UP, hosted by Gillian Hodgden Ep.3 Chris Burgan of Full Heart Tarot is a tarot reader, meditation guide, and spirit connection seeker. Burgan’s work is unique in the way that it is not affiliated with any specific faiths or spiritualities, but instead his services pull from various places to create a space of self growth and reflection. Burgan s...

Second of three episodes in a series entitled LOOKING UP, hosted by Gillian Hodgden Ep.2 Josephine Royal, podcaster and office manager at Urban Media Arts, is a member of Calvary Christian Church. Faith is at the center of Royal’s life–through all moments, she has felt God by her side. Royal takes us through the struggles and triumphs of her life, and how all of it circled back to her faith. ...

First of three episodes in a series entitled LOOKING UP, hosted by Gillian Hodgden Ep.1 Dave Weigert, a retired Berklee College of Music professor, has been a member of the Baha’i faith for over 40 years. Weigert is also the caretaker of the Wilson House of Visitation which was visited by Abdu’l Baha, the son of Baháʼu'lláh, in 1912. In this episode Dave explains what the Baha’i faith is, it’s imp...

At a time when so many people in the the world are in crisis, it is hard to know what to do and how to help. Malden resident Julio Salado reflects on his week in Przemyśl , Poland as part of a ragtag team of international volunteers aiding Ukrainian refugee children and adults who crossed the border to flee the Russian invasion. Julio guides us through the steps he made to put his desire to h...

This interview was originally recorded in May 2021. Local artists Nathaniel Burks and Clint Baclawski talk about their process, inspiration, and innovative approaches to creating beyond traditional medium and expectation. This conversation explores the subjects of artistic authenticity and the role of light and space in how we create or present art. Although their artwork is very different, t...

Sneaker culture, the allure of drip, is Gabe Toribio's language. His small business, Laa Tiendaa, a street-style minded haunt on Lebanon Street in the heart of Maplewood Square, is the culmination of a years-long journey of studying, appraising, reselling and selling sneakers that began with the first pair of kicks Toribio bought at a premium from his brother.  What began as an amateur websit...

By way of Latvia, Natalja Sticco brings to Malden her beautiful executed and rare craft: opera singing. Natalja has managed to bridge her musical artistry with a career in information technology, or IT, and she is continuously bridging cultures and languages in both her marriage and her residence in one of the most diverse cities in the state of Massachusetts. Her husband Gene joins us to discuss...

Formerly recorded as part of the Inside Malden Ideas and Stories that Inspire series produced as a video and podcast show, this conversation is pertinent to our ongoing challenge to be united though we are different.  In a day of troubling reports of terrorist attacks around the world, refugee crisis in Europe and the US, war, and the trends of racial and ethnic profiling, Souad Akib, a nativ...

Art is Lisa Tiemann's tool to piece together our fragmented sense of self, that for some feels outside of nature. Appropriately, her artforms are stained glass, dance, and mosaics. She teaches dance and is very excited about facilitating community projects like the "Green Man" Mosaic, recently completed by a number of amateur and professional artists to be installed in a community park. From first...

Eli and Hudson are two middle schoolers with sharp minds and a deep concern about what is happening around them. They care about society, global warming, energy efficiency, and equity for all. It matters to them how we handle systemic racism and crime or how much fossil fuel we use for even things like solar panels. They want to be challenged in the classroom and have ideas on how to make things b...

What is possible when a team of  artists running a community enterprise let "YES" be the dominant force in navigating challenges? Leaders from The Gallery@57 , an artist-run community enterprise in Malden, talk about the challenges of closing down during the COVID-19 pandemic. They share some of the key elements of their persistence and why they believe that YES, they will succeed! The Galler...

With the Covid-19 pandemic  still running its course in the world and protests around the US calling for an end to systemic racism, speaking with Jean Appolon is an oasis of hope and healing. In this conversation by Zoom, Appolon shares snippets from his own journey with dance, a lifesaving passion that helped him process his own trauma of his father's brutal murder.  He also speaks abou...

A conversation with Artistic Director of Monkeyhouse, the innovative Karen Krolak, about the power of inquiry and articulate movement to help communities find more cohesiveness and compassion. In collaboration with groups and fellow artists, Krolak masterminds caring innovations that employ movement, words, and curiosity as key ingredients. She describes her creative forays, stories, and thought p...

“It’s time to pull out all the stops, time for us to do what we do with more ferocity and more purpose than ever before. Time for us to create like our lives depend on it, like someone else’s life depends on it. In times of crisis, the arts rise up out of our collective souls because they are necessary. Like the quarantined singers in Italy, I have no doubt we too will find ways to do the same.” F...

For more than two years IamBecuzWeAre the Co11ective took Boston by storm with a mission to shift culture in Boston. Four friends connected by an interest in the arts, entrepreneurship, and making a difference in the world were influenced by various cultural origins: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Sudan. Sitting on a rooftop in their Boston neighborhood one day, they schemed an idea that wou...

A trip to Rwanda offers a Malden High alum Justine Rose joy and learning for the future. Raised by culturally curious parents and surrounded by classmates from around the world, it may be that Justine Rose’s craving for travel was born in Malden. Whatever its origin, she feeds this desire whenever she can: during vacation, college internships, and most recently as a biomedical equipment technician...

This (updated) version of a podcast conversation with David Arteaga includes more of his music. The conversation winds through Arteaga's thoughts and feelings about music, arts, and humanity in between excerpts of his original compositions. Arteaga is well versed in philosophy, classical music, jazz, and art of all kinds. He plays and composes music the way he lives – with generosity, integrity, h...