The Art World: What If...?! with Thelma Golden

In this episode, Allan Schwartzman sits down with Thelma Golden, director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem, ahead of the November opening of the museum's first purpose-built home. Rising seven stories and spanning 82,000 square feet on 125th Street, the new building is rooted in the aspirations and vision of the artists, activists, philanthropists, and Harlem residents who founded the institution in 1968. One of the most transformative museum leaders of any era, Golden reflects on her career—from groundbreaking exhibitions at the Whitney straight out of college, to the mentors who shaped her, to her 25 years at the Studio Museum. She speaks about leading an institution that is at once hyperlocal and hyperglobal, and about building the structures and spaces that nurture generations of artists, curators, and thinkers. This new Studio Museum stands a testament to possibility, asking: What if we imagined and created the spaces necessary for art and ideas to truly flourish? Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

You can listen to The Art World: What If...?! with Thelma Golden online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Art World: What If...?! with Thelma Golden is an episode from In Other Words by Allan Schwartzman.

This episode is 01:02:44 long.

This episode was published on Oct 9, 2025.

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