Future Prairie Radio

Musician, labor organizer, and Oregon state legislator Rob Nosse on Portland, politics, and what we need to thrive.

Drummer Mel Brown on art, life, and legacy in Portland, Oregon.

Multidisciplinary artist Vaughn Kimmons on celebrating Blackness and the sacred through music, digital collage, video, and visual art.

Musician Stephen Nance on creating poetic piano pop inspired by birds and winning an artist grant from Regional Arts and Culture Council.

Gospel music director Derrick McDuffey on ministering and teaching in Portland, Oregon.

Photographer Ricardo Nagaoka on his process and 2022 solo show in Portland, Oregon.

Singer Alonzo Chadwick on finding peace through music, his work with the Grammy-nominated Oregon Symphony, and managing BRAVO Youth Orchestras, a nonprofit that teaches children to play classical music with free violin, string, and choral classes.

Rapper Libretto on getting his first record deal with BSI Records, his journey in hip hop, and making art after incarceration.

Curator Stephanie Chefas on bringing local, national, and international artists to Portland.

Filmmaker Miriam Gossing on making art with her BFF, showing queer work at international film festivals and exhibitions, and making a feature-length movie about mermaids.

Photographer Jennifer Timmer Trail on relationship-based art, curation, and parenting.

Writer Wendy Noonan and visual art collaborator Kirsten Driggers discuss their oracle deck, 'Monstrous, Feminine,' which explores feminine and genderqueer demons, witches, and other mythical creatures.

Author Michelle Ruiz Keil on developing her critically acclaimed young adult novels, the importance of being cared for as a creative, and her Regional Arts and Culture Council-sponsored research trip for her first novel for adults.

Jazz pianist, composer, and educator Kerry Politzer on creating a driveway jazz series to offer a COVID-safe way for the Portland jazz community to celebrate local musicians.

Layna Lewis, director of Viva La Free, explores how art and activism can come together to create change in our communities, such as at her trauma-informed approach to art for 9th-grade students at Portland's Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School.

Musician Ashleigh Flynn on creating a band of female musicians over 40 paying a musical homage to “Rosie the Riveter,” whose brand inspired a social movement putting women to work in America.

Multidisciplinary creative David Shirkhani on creating Black & Gifted, his art collective exploring mental health.

Performance artist Mami Takahashi on sculptural explorations of being Asian and a woman living outside her home country while working towards US citizenship.

Artist Alexandra Loves Lewis on storytelling from Africa and her diaspora.

Pyrographer Lisa Cox on finding her artistic voice and life as a woman in woodworking.