The Art Career

For more than 150 years, 92NY has been a gathering place for artists, writers, musicians, thinkers, and audiences in New York City and beyond.
In this episode of The Art Career, Emily McElwreath sits down with Seth Pinsky, CEO of 92NY, to explore what it means to lead one of New York City’s most enduring cultural institutions—and how an organization with such a significant history continues to evolve.
Their conversation moves through the role cultural institutions play in the life of a city, the importance of creating spaces for people to encounter new ideas and creative expression, and the responsibility of carrying an institution’s legacy forward while responding to the present.
Inside 92NY is a look at the people, ideas, and infrastructure behind an institution that has helped shape New York’s cultural life for generations.
Learn more about 92NY:
https://www.92ny.org
Follow 92NY:
Instagram: @92ndstreety
Follow The Art Career:
Instagram: @theartcareer
YouTube: The Art Career
Follow Emily McElwreath:
Instagram: @emilymcelwreath
Hosted by Emily McElwreath
Produced by The Art Career
For partnerships, sponsorships, and inquiries:
www.theartcareer.com

For The Art Career’s New York season, we return to a conversation with one of the city’s most recognizable voices on art and culture: Jerry Saltz.
Recorded live at New York University in March 2023, Emily McElwreath sits down with the Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic and longtime senior art critic for New York Magazine for a wide-ranging conversation about art, criticism, ambition, failure, success, and what it takes to sustain a creative life.
Saltz has spent decades looking at, writing about, and arguing for art—developing a voice that has made contemporary art accessible to audiences far beyond the traditional art world.
As The Art Career explores the people and institutions that have shaped New York’s cultural life, this is a conversation we wanted to bring back.
Recorded live at NYU in New York City.
Follow The Art Career on Instagram and YouTube for more from the New York season.

Episode 3 of The Art Career’s New York season goes inside one of the world’s most influential training grounds for artists: The Juilliard School.
What does it mean to train the next generation of dancers at a moment when the field—and the possibilities of a life in dance—continue to evolve?
Melissa Toogood is the Dean and Director of Juilliard’s Dance Division, as well as an acclaimed dancer, educator, and former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Her career has moved between performance, collaboration, teaching, and artistic leadership, giving her a rare perspective on what it takes to build—and sustain—a life in dance.
Emily sits down with Melissa at Juilliard to discuss the realities of a professional dance career, the role of rigorous training, how young dancers develop their own artistic voices, and what it means to lead one of the most respected dance programs in the world.
Then, the episode moves from the classroom to the stage. Emily joins Juilliard’s dancers behind the scenes as they prepare to perform Les Élémens at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, featuring world-premiere choreography for Juilliard dancers by Pam Tanowitz.
In this episode, Emily and Melissa discuss:
What Juilliard is preparing young dancers for today
The transition from student to working artist
Developing individuality within rigorous technical training
Melissa’s own path from performer to educator and institutional leader
What young artists need to understand about building sustainable creative careers
The discipline, collaboration, and work audiences rarely see behind a finished performance
Recorded at The Juilliard School in New York City, with behind-the-scenes access to Juilliard Dance at Carnegie Hall.
The Juilliard School
https://www.juilliard.edu
Juilliard Dance Division
https://www.juilliard.edu/dance
Melissa Toogood
https://www.juilliard.edu/dance/faculty/toogood-melissa
Carnegie Hall
https://www.carnegiehall.org
Featuring Melissa Toogood, Dean and Director of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School
Hosted by Emily McElwreath
Recorded at The Juilliard School and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City
Featuring behind-the-scenes access to Juilliard Dance and Juilliard in rehearsal for Les Élémens, featuring world-premiere choreography for Juilliard dancers by Pam Tanowitz
Special thanks to The Juilliard School, the Juilliard Dance Division, and Carnegie Hall
The Art Career is produced by McElwreath Art Advisory.

Episode Two of The Art Career’s New York season shows you how can public art transform an entire neighborhood — and what happens when artists become part of the everyday lives of the communities around them?
Stephen Pierson is the Executive Director of ArtBridge, a nonprofit organization that transforms construction fencing, scaffolding, and underutilized urban spaces into large-scale public art. Joining the conversation are artists Kat Lam and Blanka Amezkua, whose public installations explore ideas of place, identity, community, and the ways art can reshape our shared urban landscape.
In this episode, Emily walks through Lower Manhattan with Stephen, Kat Lam, and Blanka, visiting ArtBridge installations and exploring how public art can make cities more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more connected.
In this episode, Emily, Stephen, Kat Lam, and Blanka discuss:
Why public art belongs in everyday life—not just inside museums and galleries
How ArtBridge transforms construction sites into opportunities for artists and communities
What it means to create artwork for the public rather than a traditional exhibition space
How artists engage with the neighborhoods where their work is installed
The importance of amplifying local voices through public art
Why New York remains one of the world’s most dynamic places for artistic experimentation
The Art Career’s New York season takes you inside the rooms, institutions, and public spaces where the city’s culture takes shape — new episodes weekly.
Follow ArtBridge:
Instagram — @artbridge
Website — art-bridge.org
Follow The Art Career:
Instagram — @theartcareer
YouTube — The Art Career
Website — theartcareer.com
Follow Emily McElwreath:
Instagram — @emily.mcelwreathart
If this conversation resonates, follow the show and leave a rating — it’s the single best way to help us bring you more of the people shaping culture.
Sound: Josh Craig
Creative Director: Nina Yankovich

Episode One of The Art Career's New York season begins at the top: Lincoln Center.
What does it take to lead the artistic vision of the world's most iconic performing arts institution — and why does she believe the arts are one of the only tools we have left to truly see one another?
Shanta Thake is the Chief Artistic Officer of Lincoln Center, where she shapes the artistic direction of one of the great cultural institutions in the world. Before Lincoln Center, she spent more than a decade at The Public Theater, where she directed the legendary Joe's Pub and championed some of the most exciting voices in American performance. She is one of the most influential figures deciding what New York — and the country — gets to see on its stages.
In this episode, Emily and Shanta discuss:
Why the performing arts are "one of the only tools we have to move us forward"
What a Chief Artistic Officer actually does — and how those decisions get made
Leading Lincoln Center into its next era, and who these stages are really for
The path from downtown stages to the world's biggest cultural institution
Why seeing one another — in person, in a room — matters more than ever
Advice for the next generation building a life in the arts
The Art Career's New York season takes you inside the rooms where the city's culture takes shape — new episodes weekly.
Follow Shanta Thake:
Instagram — @shantourage
Follow Lincoln Center:
Instagram — @lincolncenter
Website — lincolncenter.org
Follow The Art Career:
Instagram — @theartcareer
YouTube — The Art Career
Website — theartcareer.com
Follow Emily McElwreath:
Instagram — @emily.mcelwreathart
If this conversation resonates, follow the show and leave a rating — it's the single best way to help us bring you more of the people shaping culture.

Sound: Josh Craig
Creative Director: Nina Yankovich