The Art Career

In Season 8, Episode 2 of The Art Career Podcast, Emily sits down with Sarah Ortegon. 
Sarah is an Eastern Shoshone–enrolled and Northern Arapaho visual artist, dancer, and performer whose work bridges ancestral knowledge, land, and contemporary Indigenous life. Raised between Denver and the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, her practice spans painting, beadwork on hide, mixed media, and performance—grounded in memory, resilience, and cultural continuity. In 2013, she was crowned Miss Native American USA, a moment that led to years of international jingle dress performances and a deepened commitment to bringing Indigenous presence into contemporary cultural spaces. 
Many first encountered Sarah through She Never Dances Alone (2019), a multi-channel video by Jeffrey Gibson, first presented on the screens of Times Square and later traveling internationally, including live performances at the Venice Biennale. Centering the jingle dress dance—a powwow dance traditionally performed by women to call upon ancestors for strength, healing, and protection—the work amplifies Indigenous visibility on a global stage. 
In this episode, we talk about ancestral knowledge, contemporary Indigenous life, motherhood, and performance—how these threads intersect, and what it means to carry cultural continuity forward with intention and care. This conversation is part of a broader effort to support and elevate Indigenous women artists and to make space for their voices, practices, and leadership within contemporary art. 
Follow Sara: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/nonookeiht_bee3eisei/?hl=en 
Follow Emily McElwreath on Instagram: ⁠⁠@emilymcelwreath_art⁠⁠
 Visit ⁠⁠theartcareer.com⁠⁠ for more episodes and resources  
If you loved this episode, tag ⁠@theartcareer ⁠and share your favorite insight on IG stories! Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps more creatives discover the show. 
Sound Engineer and Production: Josh Craig
Creative Direction: Nina Yankovic

In Season 8, Episode 1 of The Art Career Podcast, Emily sits down with Johnny Cirillo, the photographer and visual storyteller behind Watching New York— one of the most influential portrait projects documenting contemporary life in the city today.

Born in Jackson Heights, Queens, Johnny developed an early passion for photography as a teenager on Long Island, after his mother gave him his first 35mm camera and shared her own black-and-white photographs from the 1960s. What began as an obsession quickly became a practice: rolling his own film, building a darkroom, and photographing friends as he explored the medium from the inside out.

Through Watching New York, Johnny has built and connected a global community of more than 2 million people united by a shared love for New York — its people, its fashion, and its everyday magic. His work is rooted in attention and intimacy, capturing fleeting moments that feel both deeply personal and collectively recognizable. Johnny has collaborated with brands including Airbnb, Gucci, AMI Paris, Balenciaga, GQ, Burberry, Adidas, Away, and Free People, and has interviewed artists and cultural figures such as Halsey, Ethan Hawke, Colman Domingo, Charli XCX, Ashley Graham, and Lizzo.

In this conversation, they explore:
His early relationship to photography and image-making
How Watching New York evolved into a cultural archive
The ethics of looking, access, and photographing strangers
Building trust and community through portraiture
Collaborating with major brands while maintaining artistic integrity

This episode is a thoughtful reflection on observation, authorship, and the quiet power of paying attention — essential listening for anyone interested in photography, cultural memory, and the art of seeing.
Follow Johnny: https://www.instagram.com/watchingnewyork/?hl=en
Purchase: Watching New York: Street Style A to Z: https://www.amazon.com/Watching-New-York-Street-Style/dp/1419769944

Follow Emily McElwreath on Instagram: ⁠@emilymcelwreath_art⁠

Visit ⁠theartcareer.com⁠ for more episodes and resources

If you loved this episode, tag @theartcareer and share your favorite insight on IG stories! Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps more creatives discover the show.

Sound Engineer and Production: Josh Craig
Creative Direction: Nina Yankovic

In this landmark episode, Emily sits down with one of the most influential figures in modern theater—Jeffrey Seller, the Broadway producer behind Rent, Hamilton, Avenue Q, and In the Heights.
Recorded in Jeffrey’s own home, this intimate and revealing conversation explores:
His early creative influences and the making of Rent

What it takes to recognize and develop groundbreaking work

The emotional and financial risks behind Hamilton

His revolutionary $20 ticket lottery and commitment to accessibility

How he balances artistic vision with the demands of production

Advice for creatives building sustainable, impactful careers

In celebration of the release of his new memoir Theater Kid, Jeffrey opens up about the real moments behind the musicals that changed Broadway.
Jeffrey is one of the most successful American producers of our time. His shows have won 22 Tony Awards, earned over $4.6 billion, and reached more than 43 million attendees. He’s the only producer in history to mount two Pulitzer Prize–winning musicals—and he revolutionized theater accessibility with Rent’s $20 ticket lottery.
Order his memoir Theater Kid: https://www.amazon.com/Theater-Kid-Broadway-Jeffrey-Seller/dp/1668064189
With a legacy that is not just extraordinary—but transformational—this episode is essential listening for anyone interested in storytelling, producing, or creating at the highest level.
Jeffrey Seller NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/theater/jeffrey-seller-theater-kid-hamilton-memoir.html

Follow Emily on Instagram: @emilymcelwreath_art

Visit theartcareer.com for more episodes and resources

If you loved this episode, tag @theartcareer and share your favorite insight on IG stories! Don’t forget to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps more creatives discover the show.

In this episode of The Art Career, Emily sits down with the incomparable Melissa Auf der Maur — musician, visual artist, filmmaker, and co-founder of the multidisciplinary arts center Basilica Hudson.
Known for her role as the bass player in iconic 1990s rock bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa’s journey spans far beyond the stage. From self-producing solo albums to launching a nationally recognized cultural venue in Hudson, NY, Melissa has spent the past two decades creating space — literally and metaphorically — for artists to gather, experiment, and thrive.
This conversation covers the full spectrum of her creative life: music, motherhood, mythology, and the radical act of sustaining a long-term, independent practice. We also talk about her upcoming literary memoir, which will explore her time inside the legendary 1990s rock scene — set to be released in 2026 by Grand Central Publishing / Hachette Books.
We discuss:
• Touring the world with Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins
• Creating Basilica Hudson as a haven for artists and community
• Her deep roots in visual art and photography
• Storytelling, place-making, and the role of women in music history
• Writing her forthcoming memoir on the 90s rock era

Follow Melissa: @xmadmx
Learn more about Basilica Hudson: basilicahudson.org
Follow Emily: @emilymcelwreath_art
Follow The Art Career: @theartcareer

Melissa Auf der Maur was born and raised in Montreal, Canada where she received a fine arts education focused on music and photography. Auf der Maur is most prominently known for her
role as the bass player and band member in two Grammy Nominated and Winning 90’s rock bands, Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. At the turn of the millennium, after multiple world tours she set off on her own to self-produce two solo albums, released on Capitol Records and
RoadRunner / Warner Brother Records. In 2010 she co-founded the multidisciplinary art center Basilica Hudson in Hudson, NY with filmmaker Tony Stone, which welcomes up to 20,000 yearly visitors to genre-pushing music festivals, large-scale marketplace events, film screenings, and public installations. In addition to her work as an arts and music curator at Basilica Hudson, Auf der Maur has produced films that have been presented at Sundance Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, New Directors New Films, and released by NEON and Magnolia Pictures. Her photography work has been published in National Geographic, American Photo, SPIN and BUST Magazines, and exhibited at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Sotheby's NY, among other venues. Her literary memoir, focusing on her time in the iconic 90’s rock scene, is due to be released in 2026 by Grand Central / Hachettes Books.

In this candid and richly layered episode, Emily sits down with artist and actress Jemima Kirke for a conversation that unfolds with wit, depth, and honesty. Best known for her role as Jessa in HBO’s Girls, Jemima is also a RISD-trained painter whose work explores vulnerability, womanhood, and identity through a deeply personal lens.
Jemima opens up about the nuances of balancing visibility in the film world with the more private act of painting, the impact of motherhood on her creative process, and why she remains uninterested in pleasing anyone but herself when it comes to making art.
The interview was photographed by the inimitable Matthew Tully Dugan, who captured Jemima at home—images as intimate and magnetic as the conversation itself.

As always, The Art Career Podcast is brought to you by a small but passionate team. These unscripted, heartfelt dialogues are made possible by a community that values art, storytelling, and truth. Thank you for being here.

Jemima Kirke is a British-American actress and visual artist. She rose to prominence for her role as Jessa Johansson on the HBO series Girls, and has since starred in acclaimed projects such as Conversations with Friends, Maniac, and Sex Education. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Jemima’s first love is painting—her figurative works often exploring themes of intimacy, identity, and the complexities of womanhood. Her art has been exhibited in both the U.S. and the UK, and she continues to cultivate a multidisciplinary practice that defies easy categorization.