By Christiana Santos, for Riverdale Hub

Listening to a podcast isn’t just a relaxing and motivating pastime, it can also be a great way to learn something new. Whether you need something to listen to on your commute or are looking for motivation for your next project, here is a list of my top 5 art podcasts by women you can check out to deepen your appreciation for the arts!

1. Art Illuminated, Dr. Esra Alhamal (host)

Art Illuminated is a podcast that focuses on South Asian and North African artists and how traditional arts and crafts appear in contemporary art. In each episode, host Dr. Esra Alhamal interviews a different artist about their creative process. Each of these artists works with traditional techniques such as calligraphy, illumination and miniature painting. This is a refreshing listen, since it puts the spotlight on artistic practices outside of “Western art”.

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2. The Lonely Palette, Tamar Avishai (host)

This podcast is one that is very close to my heart, since it was the first art history podcast I ever got into. Each episode features a historically significant art object. The artwork is then placed in context, as host Tamar Avishai discusses what historical and cultural events led to its creation. I find the narration style here to be especially relaxing. If you are interested in meditative discussions on art or want to learn about fine art but find it to be inaccessible, give this one a try.

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3. Art Curious, Jennifer Dasal (host)

Another podcast dedicated to challenging the supposed inaccessibility of art history, Art Curious is all about the strange and intriguing stories behind well known artists, artworks and movements. Episodes of this podcast delve into weird and wonderful topics such as supposedly cursed paintings, art and true crime and debunking common art historical myths.

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4. The Great Women Artists, Katy Hessel (host)

Podcast host Katy Hessel interviews artists, curators, writers and other people involved in the arts about the life and work of influential female artists both contemporary and historical, including a variety of women of color. Too much of the discussion around art history still centers on the same limited list of European male artists, but this podcast gives diverse women artists the complexity and recognition they deserve.

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5. Art History For All, Allyson Healy (host)

Art History for All explores artworks from around the world and from different periods of time in great depth, often deconstructing the Eurocentric perceptions attached to them, or critiquing how people who are viewed as “other” are portrayed in art. My personal favorite episodes include episode 23 on Daphne Odjig and her role in the Canadian indigenous art scene, as well as episode 19 on Anita Magsaysay Ho and the colonial and class divides that influenced her sentimental art.

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