“Sometimes, I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
-Lewis Carroll, Alice Through the Looking Glass
In a world that demands logic, it can be pleasantly liberating to allow yourself to believe in the improbable. Before the day has had a chance to impose its limits, the mind is free to wander, to imagine what might happen, what could change, and what might be possible if we dared to think beyond the obvious. Embrace a little of that magic. You never know where it may lead.
Michael Morgan joined us recently to talk about his show, Deus Ex Bark-ina, on view at Ely Center of Contemporary Art in New Haven until September 13. In September 2025, Morgan curated a show at Cornell titled Magnum O-pspsps, featuring works centered on cats. As he tried to pull together another cat themed show for the Ely exhibition, he heard from many of the artists he reached out to that they were dog people. During a trip to Labrador, he came up with the show’s title and the exhibition fell into place. To learn more, listen to the complete interview.
Kemi Adeyemi was completing her first book, an ethnography of Black queer women’s social dance practices in Chicago, when she joined us in 2019. Drawing on interviews with dancers and club owners, the book explores the politics that unfold on the dance floor against the backdrop of Chicago’s political landscape. Adeyemi also directs The Black Embodiment Studio, a University of Washington residency that supports critical arts writing in Seattle while training graduate students to become fluid, accessible arts writers. To hear more, listen to the complete interview.
A Few Words to Keep in Your Pocket.
Strange ideas, unexpected opportunities, and seemingly impossible possibilities can open the door to something entirely new.
Outings.
Join me at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins for multiple shows
Interviews are available on iTunes as podcasts, and for Android, please click here. All weekly essay pieces are here in a shareable format. The full archive of interviews is here.
More Books to Read.
Ours is a community of readers. Tell us what books you’re reading now by adding your titles to our reading list here. Praxis user Lea Cox is reading The Black Wolf by Louise Penny.
Opportunities.
SYNO Foundation offers Cypriot and diaspora artists a chance to win €3,500 awards, gain dedicated profiles, and feature in editorial coverage with international curators. For more information, visit the website. Application deadline is August 31.