Community, Kinship, and Career Stability with Malene Barnett (242)

host: Alyson Stanfield

Artist and activist Malene Barnett joins host Alyson Stanfield to unpack how she balances a multidisciplinary practice while designing work that "holds memory" in space. Malene shares the planning, community, and process-sharing that keep a long, installation-driven practice moving, and she offers a resonant lens on clay as a tool for liberation grounded in Caribbean and West African heritage.

Bits of her wisdom:

• Plan your studio around time-intensive mediums so momentum never stalls.
• On social media, share process, tools, and research to connect when finished work is scarce.
• Think in space: design work and installations that carry memory and story.
• Build stability outside the studio to support long-term creative growth.
• Form intentional communities for critique, support, and opportunity.

HIGHLIGHTS

02:10 Family lineage and a first-generation background shape Malene's practice.

04:20 The pact to center ancestry and identity in her work from art school onward.

08:20 Clay as a tool for liberation through Caribbean pottery history and markets.

13:10 Leaving bespoke rugs, after a sabbatical, to reclaim her voice and move into clay.

19:20 Tiles and architecture as ways to create a space that holds memory.

21:00 Planning around clay's long timelines for drying, firing, and glazing.

22:20 Residencies, film, and building an archive of Caribbean potters.

26:40 Why sharing process, tools, and research sustains audience connection.

32:10 Founding the Black Artists and Designers Guild and how to start a community.

35:10 Crafted Kinship: agency, blurred lines between art, craft, and design.

41:10 Career advice: seek stability, invest, and take the long view.

43:20 What's next: a large-scale ceramic mural in Greensboro, with installation in 2027.

ACTION

This week, share one piece of your process with your community: a tool you rely on, a test tile, or a research thread you're following.

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📖 To read more, see images, find resources mentioned, and leave a comment, visit https://artbizsuccess.com/kinship-barnett

⭐️ Connect with Malene and see more of her art: https://malenebarnett.com

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