PORTRAITS podcast

#Fine Arts #Society #Deborah Sisum #National Portrait Gallery #Arts

26:18

How do you know when it’s time to make your next big career move? With International Women’s Day around the corner, we are excited to feature Avni Patel Thompson, Founder and CEO of Milo. Avni is building technology that directly supports the often overlooked emotional and logistical labor that falls on parents—especially women. Milo is an AI assistant designed to help families manage that invisible load more efficiently. In this episode, Avni shares her journey from studying chemistry to holding leadership roles at global brands like Adidas and Starbucks, to launching her own ventures. She discusses how she approaches career transitions, the importance of unpleasant experiences, and why she’s focused on making everyday life easier for parents. [01:26] Avni's University Days and Early Career [04:36] Non-Linear Career Paths [05:16] Pursuing Steep Learning Curves [11:51] Entrepreneurship and Safety Nets [15:22] Lived Experiences and Milo [19:55] Avni’s In Her Ellement Moment [20:03] Reflections Links: Avni Patel Thompson on LinkedIn Suchi Srinivasan on LinkedIn Kamila Rakhimova on LinkedIn Ipsos report on the future of parenting About In Her Ellement: In Her Ellement highlights the women and allies leading the charge in digital, business, and technology innovation. Through engaging conversations, the podcast explores their journeys—celebrating successes and acknowledging the balance between work and family. Most importantly, it asks: when was the moment you realized you hadn’t just arrived—you were truly in your element? About The Hosts: Suchi Srinivasan is an expert in AI and digital transformation. Originally from India, her career includes roles at trailblazing organizations like Bell Labs and Microsoft. In 2011, she co-founded the Cleanweb Hackathon, a global initiative driving IT-powered climate solutions with over 10,000 members across 25+ countries. She also advises Women in Cloud, aiming to create $1B in economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs by 2030. Kamila Rakhimova is a fintech leader whose journey took her from Tajikistan to the U.S., where she built a career on her own terms. Leveraging her English proficiency and international relations expertise, she discovered the power of microfinance and moved to the U.S., eventually leading Amazon's Alexa Fund to support underrepresented founders. Subscribe to In Her Ellement on your podcast app of choice to hear meaningful conversations with women in digital, business, and technology.…

PORTRAITS

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Art, biography, history and identity collide in this podcast from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Join Director Kim Sajet as she chats with artists, historians, and thought leaders about the big and small ways that portraits shape our world.

82 episoade

PORTRAITS

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updated acum 24 zile

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82 episoade

#Fine Arts #Society #Deborah Sisum #National Portrait Gallery #Arts

Toate episoadele

PORTRAITS

1
The Vanishing Bison 30:58

acum 24 zile30:58

30:58

When William Temple Hornaday's exhibition of stuffed bison went on display at the Smithsonian Institution in 1888, it caused a sensation. Most visitors had never seen this majestic, hulking animal up close. And most probably thought it would be their only chance, since the bison had all but vanished from the wild. Some 140 years later, Kirk Johnson , director of the National Museum of Natural History, realized that the iconic display itself had vanished from the museum's collection. So he went on the road to see what had happened to it. In this episode, we trace the story of how the bison - or American buffalo - were driven right to the edge of extinction, severing a sacred relationship with Native people. Then we track how the species' catastrophic decline, as memorialized in a taxidermy masterpiece, gave rise to the early conservation movement that brought the bison back. With guest Rosalyn LaPier . See the artwork we discuss: William Temple Hornaday, by George Rufus Boynton Hornaday's taxidermy bison display Theodore Roosevelt, by Peter A. Juley Hornaday and Sandy Also referenced: The American Buffalo, a film by Ken Burns…

PORTRAITS

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Bonus: The Whole Truth 34:30

acum 7 weeks34:30

34:30

From the Smithsonian's Sidedoor podcast: sorting fact from fiction to find the real Sojourner Truth. As a prominent woman's rights activist and abolitionist, Sojourner Truth gave hundreds of speeches and sold countless images of herself. And yet the words that define her in our popular imagination - "Ain't I a woman?" - were actually made up. Host Lizzie Peabody went looking for the real Sojourner Truth and she found a woman with a much more complicated and fascinating life than any slogan can capture. Guests: Nell Irvin Painter, author of Sojourner Truth: a Life, a Symbol ; Edwards Professor of American History Emerita at Princeton University Ashleigh Coren, former content strategist for the Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racial Past initiative Kim Sajet , director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and host of the Smithsonian's Portraits podcast…

PORTRAITS

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Who Built This Place? 24:02

acum 9 weeks24:02

24:02

We follow a paper trail back in time to learn about the laborers -- some of them enslaved -- who put their backs into the graceful old building that now houses the National Portrait Gallery. When construction began on the building in the 1830s, Washington D.C. was in the midst of a mini building boom as a seat of freedom and democracy. Yet the city also had an active slave trade. By sifting through reams of microfilm and estate records, historian Michael Hussey was able to establish that at least 17 men who worked at this site were enslaved. His next step was to try to sketch a portrait, however faint, of one of their lives.…

PORTRAITS

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In Memoriam: Former President Jimmy Carter 21:01

acum 11 weeks21:01

21:01

We remember former President Jimmy Carter through a slightly different lens-- through the eyes of a longtime friend and through the portraits of Carter that are housed here at the National Portrait Gallery. Political aide Jack Watson met Carter 10 years before he became president. He found a farmer in work clothes driving a Chevy and quoting philosophy. Over their long friendship and while serving as chief of staff, Jack came to appreciate Carter as a man who was willing to take "bitter medicine" to do what he felt was right for the country. Jack describes a huge Polaroid portrait of Carter by the landscape photographer Ansel Adams, and he also explains why a softly lit painting depicting Carter in the Oval Office is not one of his favorites. See the portraits we discussed: Jimmy Carter, by Ansel Adams Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, by Ansel Adams Jimmy Carter, by Robert Templeton Other portraits in the collection: Jimmy Carter, by Richard Avedon Jimmy Carter, by Alan Reingold (Time magazine) Jimmy Carter, by Andy Warhol…

PORTRAITS

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Blink: Carter's Smile 7:16

acum 14 weeks7:16

7:16

In this mini 'Blink' episode, Kim asks political aide Jack Watson for his thoughts on a couple of Time magazine covers featuring his old boss, former President Jimmy Carter. One depicts the transition team that helped Carter sift through potential political appointees -- a team that Jack led. The other depicts Carter with his characteristic broad smile, which, Jack says, doesn't tell the whole story. See the artwork we discussed: The Great Talent Hunt , by Jack Davis Jimmy Carter , by Alan Reingold…

PORTRAITS

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From The Vault: Brilliant Exiles 27:29

acum 16 weeks27:29

27:29

Paris in the early 1900s was a magnet for convention-defying American women. It offered a delicious taste of freedom, which they used to explode the gender norms of their day, and to explore new kinds of art, literature, dance and design. In the process, they became arbiters of modernism. In this episode we revisit our interview with curator Robyn Asleson about the National Portrait Gallery’s “Brilliant Exiles” exhibition, which opened in April. It features 60 trailblazing women, including the dancer, singer and spy Josephine Baker, as well as the bookshop owner Sylvia Beach, who took a chance on James Joyce. Also in the lineup: Ada ‘Bricktop’ Smith, whose bustling nightclub became a hub for American jazz musicians, and Romaine Brooks, the painter who reinvented herself... and then reinvented herself again. The exhibition runs until Feb. 23, 2025, so there's still time to catch it! See the portraits we discussed: Ada “Bricktop” Smith, by Carl Van Vechten Josephine Baker, by Stanislaus Julian Walery Gertrude Stein, by Pablo Picasso Sylvia Beach, by Paul-Émile Bécat Romaine Brooks, self-portrait…

PORTRAITS

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Sitting (Still) For History 23:39

acum 18 weeks23:39

23:39

Every time a president leaves office they're asked to do something that might not come naturally-- sit still, be quiet and surrender to someone else's work. In other words, they have their portrait painted. The National Portrait Gallery and the White House Historical Association both commission portraits of the outgoing president and first lady. Several of the paintings have become iconic images, stamped on history. Others have been known to stop viewers in their tracks. Some have been unloved. In this episode Kim and WHHA president Stewart McLaurin compare notes on some of the most storied paintings of first couples in their care. See the portraits we discussed: George Washington (Lansdowne portrait) , by Gilbert Stuart John F. Kennedy, by Aaron Shikler Lyndon B. Johnson , by Peter Hurd Lyndon B. Johnson , by Elizabeth Shoumatoff Michelle Obama , by Sharon Sprung Michelle Obama , by Amy Sherald…

PORTRAITS

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Women Who Dared 26:30

acum 20 weeks26:30

26:30

In 1872, decades before women were legally allowed to vote, Victoria Woodhull made an audacious run for the White House. The press ridiculed her stance on 'free love' and she spent election night in jail. But she had put the first small crack in one of the thickest glass ceilings around. Twelve years later Belva Lockwood, the first woman to argue before the Supreme Court, took another swing at it. We celebrate Election Day with a look back at some of the first women who dared to run for the highest office in the United States, including Sen. Margaret Chase Smith and Rep. Shirley Chisholm. They ran against long odds, but they had grit and they got the ball rolling. With Smithsonian curator Lisa Kathleen Graddy , and journalism historian Teri Finneman . See the portraits we discussed: Victoria Woodhull, unidentified artist Get Thee Behind Me, (Mrs.) Satin! by Thomas Nast Belva Lockwood, by Nellie Mathes Horne Margaret Chase Smith, by Ernest Hamlin Baker Shirley Chisholm, unidentified artist Further reading: Press Portrayals of Women Politicians, 1870s - 2000s , by Teri Finneman Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President , by Jill Norgren The Woman Who Ran for President: The Many Lives of Victoria Woodhull , by Lois Beachy Underhill No Place For A Woman: A Life of Senator Margaret Chase Smith , by Janann Sherman The Good Fight , by Shirley Chisholm Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics , by Anastasia C. Curwood…

PORTRAITS

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Campaigns Past: Cowboy Hats and Hard Cider 24:40

acum 22 weeks24:40

24:40

With Election Day just around the corner, we go back in time to figure out how early presidential candidates got their message, and their image, in front of voters. It wasn't easy. Asking directly for people's vote was seen as undignified, so candidates mostly stayed home in the early 1800s. As a result, most Americans didn't know for sure what their candidates looked like, or sounded like. Kim speaks with curator Claire Jerry, from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, about the stream of new technologies-- from printing to photography to radio-- that transformed political advertising and gave candidates a more direct line of communication with the American people. See the portraits and campaign materials we discussed: William Henry Harrison campaign button Abraham Lincoln, by Mathew Brady Abraham Lincoln campaign button Franklin D. Roosevelt at microphone Ronald Reagan poster…

PORTRAITS

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Season 6 Trailer 1:43

acum 23 weeks1:43

1:43

We're back! Season six of PORTRAITS hits your feed Oct. 22 with a new slate of shows that use artwork to decode our world. Kim Sajet , director of the National Portrait Gallery, talks with guests about presidential campaigns, scientific discoveries and some of the currents running through today’s cultural landscape.…

PORTRAITS

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From The Vault: ART-ificial Intelligence 23:54

acum 31 weeks23:54

23:54

As AI art gets more and more sophisticated, how do we tell the difference between a portrait that’s created by a human being – with a soul – and art that’s created by a complex algorithm? And if we can’t tell the difference, will artists be out of a job? Oxford mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explains how AI art works, and why he thinks code can actually help artists to expand their creative universe. But there’s one big question that remains: What does AI art tell us about the inner world of AI itself? See the portraits we discussed: Edmond de Belamy , published by Obvious Art The Next Rembrandt , brainchild of Bas Korsten Kim Sajet , generated by AI Kim Sajet , by Devon Rodriguez You can see Prof. Marcus du Sautoy’s ‘Creativity Code’ lecture here .…

PORTRAITS

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Blink: First, Put The Camera Down 7:01

acum 33 weeks7:01

7:01

In this mini episode from our 'Blink' series, Rick Chapman shares stories from photographing elite athletes who have competed in the Olympic Games. The first step, he says, is to put the camera down. The second is not to talk about sports too much. Rick's ESPY Collection, for ESPN, features 40 celebrity athletes, including boxers, tennis stars and basketball royalty. You can find it here . See the portraits we discussed: Venus Williams, black and white Venus Williams, color Shaun White, black and white Shaun White, color…

PORTRAITS

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Blink: First Photo Of A First Lady 6:35

acum 34 weeks6:35

6:35

Dolley Madison was eight years old when the Declaration of Independence was signed, and 40 when her husband James became president. In her late 70s she sat for a photograph, becoming the first (former) first lady to do so. Then, this summer, the National Portrait Gallery acquired it. In this mini 'Blink' episode, Kim speaks with Ann Shumard, senior curator of photographs, to hear how this rare daguerreotype came to light and how the Gallery was able to buy it. See the photograph here .…

PORTRAITS

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From the Vault: Social Media And The Subway 20:56

acum 36 weeks20:56

20:56

There are not many portrait artists who get recognized on the street, but it happens to Devon Rodriguez all the time. After quietly honing his skill for a decade, Devon started posting videos of his live drawings of New York City subway commuters to social media. The videos took off, earning him some 50 million followers and placing portraiture in front of a huge new audience. Kim speaks with Devon about the mentors who had his back, and this new model for showing art— not in museums, but on screens. See the portraits we discussed: Kim Sajet, by Devon Rodriguez John Ahearn, by Devon Rodriguez “The Rodriguez Twins,” by John Ahearn María Elena Estrada, by Devon Rodriguez Devon Rodriguez draws Kim Sajet, Instagram…

PORTRAITS

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Blink: A Secret Language Of Flowers 5:02

acum 38 weeks5:02