Art Works

Series produced by National Endowment for the Arts

Series image
Image by: Kelli Rogowski for the National Endowment for the Arts 

Art Works is the weekly program produced by the National Endowment for the Arts. It goes behind the scenes with some of the nation's great artists to explore how art works. New shows are posted on Tuesdays. Find out more at arts.gov

Art Works is the weekly program produced by the National Endowment for the Arts. It goes behind the scenes with some of the nation's great artists to explore how art works. Guests have included the co-founder of Los Lobos Louie Pérez, National Medal of the Arts winner and the man behind Marvel comics, Stan Lee, Mohegan theater artist Madeline Sayet, National Book Award Winner Charles Yu, and NEA Jazz Master Grammy Award winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. You can find the current and archived programs at https://www.arts.gov/stories/podcast or by subscribing to Apple podcasts

Thanks for listening!


564 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Meet Dan Sheehy who has spent his life in folk and traditional arts.
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Dan Sheehy, Credit: Ashlee Duncan
He helped develop the Folk Arts program at the National Endowment for the Arts and he's been head of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. Now, Dan Shee...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WABE, KPVL, and WNJR


  • Added: Sep 11, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
Poet and Playwright Claudia Rankine has us board the bus for the Bronx
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Claudia Rankine
Claudia Rankine discusses her play The Provenance of Beauty: A South Bronx Travelogue

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KPVL, WNJR, and KPIP-LP


  • Added: Aug 14, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 4
Simon Shaheen: Making Musical Bridges
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Simon Shaheen
Violinist and oud player Simon Shaheen discusses his merging of Arab and western musical traditions.

Bought by KPVL and WNJR


  • Added: Aug 14, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 2
Director Sara Colangelo: Getting an Indy Film Together
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Little Accidents, Credit: Rachel Morrison
Director and screenwriter Sara Colangelo's debut feature film Little Accidents takes us into the heart of a coal-mining town.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WXAV 88.3FM Chicago, KPIP-LP, KPVL, and WABE


  • Added: Aug 21, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Vicente Gutierrez, the publisher and editor of Highway: Making it Work
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Piece image
Here's how a writer created the music magazine he wanted to read.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KPIP-LP, WNJR, KPVL, and WABE


  • Added: Aug 14, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Howard Herring: Reimagining the presentation of classical music.
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: New World Symphony, Credit: Courtesy of New World Symphony
The CEO of The New World Symphony creates music presentations for the 21st century.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KPIP-LP, WNJR, WABE, and KPVL


  • Added: Aug 11, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Squonk Opera Revealed!
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: "Pneumatica" created and performed by Squonk Opera, Credit: John Altdorfer
Find out about the artistic exuberance that is Squonk Opera with artistic directors and founders, Jackie Dempsey and Steve O'Hearn.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WNJR, KPVL, WABE, and KPIP-LP


  • Added: Jul 31, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Disability/Arts Advocate Simi Linton talks about the arts and ADA
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Simi Linton
This week, we mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act with Simi Linton: She wants Equality, Justice, and a Place on the Danc...

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., KPIP-LP, WNJR, WABE, and KPVL


  • Added: Jul 28, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Novelist Rebecca Makkai: Writing, Art, and Families
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Author Rebecca Makkai, Credit: Philippe Matsas
From beautifully-crafted short fiction to page-turning gothic novels, Rebecca Makkai puts art at the heart of her work.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WNJR, WABE, KPIP-LP, and KPVL


  • Added: Jul 21, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 5
Wayne Henderson: Making and Playing Guitars
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Wayne Henderson, Credit: Tom Pich
Luthier, guitarist and 1995 national Heritage Fellow Wayne Henderson discusses his distinctive guitars and his distinctive sound.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash., WABE, WNJR, KPVL, and KPIP-LP


  • Added: Jul 09, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
A conversation with a Singing Sergeant
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: FormerSinging Sergeant Ann Meier Baker
Ann Meier Baker crawled under barbed to get a chance to perform professionally.

Bought by KMRE-LP Bellingham, Wash. and WNJR


  • Added: Jul 08, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 2
Director Donald Sanders--Making a Life on the Stage
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Piece image
Ensemble for the Romantic Century blends chamber music with fully staged dramas and changes both theater and concerts in the process. Don Sanders i...

Bought by WABE, WNJR, KPIP-LP, and KPVL


  • Added: Jul 01, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 4
Filmmaker Jilann Spitzmiller documents the magic of creativity at the Lillian Booth Actors’ Home
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Jilann Spitzmiller, Credit: Genevieve Russell
In her documentary, Still Dreaming, Jilann Spitzmiller films octogenarian actors taking on a full production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's D...

Bought by KPIP-LP, WNJR, and WABE


  • Added: Jun 23, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 3
Oud-player and composer Rahim AlHaj prisoner, exile, and brilliant musician
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Rahim AlHaj, Credit: Dan Merlo
Rahim AlHaj is quite simply one of the best oud players in the world. In this broadcast, Rahim performs and shares his story of leaving Iraq and c...

Bought by KUPR low power FM, WABE, WMMT, WNJR, and KPIP-LP


  • Added: Jun 12, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 5
Author and MacArthur Fellow Edwidge Danticat talks about her memoir
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Edwidge Danticat, Credit: Jonathan Demme
In this conversation, Edwidge explores the writing of her powerful memoir, Brother, I’m Dying.

Bought by KPIP-LP, WABE, and WNJR


  • Added: Jun 09, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 3
The late Joe Wilson--the great friend of American folk culture
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Joe Wilson at the Henderson Festival, 2014, Credit: Ginger Correll
2001 National Heritage Fellow Joe Wilson weaves his storytelling spell into the history of Blue Ridge Mountain culture.

Bought by WNJR, WABE, WMMT, and KPIP-LP


  • Added: May 29, 2015
  • Length: 28:31
  • Purchases: 4
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: A Year in Detroit
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Frieda and Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, 1931, oil on canvas, , Credit: , San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Albert M. Bender Collection, Gift of Albert M. Bender © 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. A
Director of the Detroit Institute of Arts Graham Beal takes us behind the scenes of the new exhibit Frida Kalho and Diego Rivera in Detroit

Bought by KPIP-LP and WABE


  • Added: May 26, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 2
Documentary filmmaker Ric Burns discovers ballet.
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Hee Seo and Cory Stearns in ABT's Romeo and Juliet, Credit: Buddy Squires, ASC
The new Ric Burns documentary celebrates the 75th anniversary of American Ballet Theater and dance.

Bought by KPIP-LP and WABE


  • Added: May 15, 2015
  • Length: 28:30
  • Purchases: 2
Ukrainian folk textile artist Vera Nakonechny traces her artistic journey.
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Caption: Vera Nakonechny, Credit: Yury Nakonechny
Ukrainian embroiderer, weaver and bead worker Vera Nakonechny keeps a traditional culture alive.

Bought by KPIP-LP and WNJR


  • Added: May 12, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 2
Poet Dan Vera translates the immigrant experience
From: National Endowment for the Arts
Series: Art Works
Piece image
In his recent book, Speaking Wiri Wiri, poet Dan Vera brings light and often laughter to the immigrant experience.

Bought by KPIP-LP, WABE, and WNJR


  • Added: May 05, 2015
  • Length: 28:29
  • Purchases: 3

Playlists That Feature This Series: