In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Cecilia M. McCormick!

Who is Cecilia M. McCormick: President of MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) with 33 years in higher education, an art collector who raised three sons now working in the creative field.

In our conversation, McCormick talks through MICA's bicentennial year and the vision she's building as the school hits 200. She connects the programming to three themes—illumination, innovation, and entrepreneurship—and digs into new degrees shaped by workforce demand. As she puts it, creativity is "the commodity that cannot be automated, outsourced, or depleted."

She recalls the "Set of Lights" event where students recreated colonial life through costume—everything from lanterns to candlelight soldiers. We get into AI's role in the classroom, how MICA is teaching students to use it as a tool while emphasizing "the human mark," and the best lesson she's learned: "know when to pivot." Looking ahead, her focus is on experiential learning and driving Baltimore's creative economy.

Be sure to follow Cecilia M. McCormick and MICA to keep up with bicentennial programming and future projects. Join MICA in Celebrating 200 Years of Creative Impact

Photo courtesy of subject

The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore).

Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
Production:

• Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
• Edited by Daniel Alexis
• Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor

Photos:

• Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.
• Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.

Support the podcast

• The Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.org
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.social
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=en
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Jess Owens-Young!

Who is Jess Owens-Young: Maryland-based collage and mixed media artist and professor who creates work informed by her experiences as a Black woman, mother, and former athlete, using vintage magazines (Ebony, Jet, Essence) to explore the joy and melancholy of Black life in the United States.

In our conversation, Owens-Young talks about her transition from semi-pro soccer player to artist in 2018 and her two favorite series: Oak Bluffs Golf Club (exploring Black leisure and the hidden history of golf) and Hoop Dreams Never Die. As she puts it, "I use sports and our everyday experiences as storytelling vehicles to share our stories about joy, hopes and dreams."

She recalls creating in her laundry room studio—"If I am waiting for a load of laundry to finish, like it has five more minutes, I might take out some paint and make papers"—preparing materials in 20-minute sessions so she's ready when inspiration strikes. We get into how motherhood has made her practice more focused, how teaching public health feeds her art, why her initials spelling JOY matter now, working with vintage magazines as time capsules, and why she invites viewers to interpret their own stories within her work.

For updates, follow @truthofstrength on Instagram and Threads, and visit jessowensyoung.com.

Photo courtesy of subject

The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore).

Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
Production:

• Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
• Edited by Daniel Alexis
• Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor

Photos:

• Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.
• Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.

Support the podcast

• The Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.org
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.social
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=en
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Chandler Chavez.

Who is Chandler Chavez: A Los Angeles–based filmmaker, editor, story analyst, and writer originally from Arizona, drawn to complicated characters and stories that test our empathy—especially when they’re filtered through the strange mechanics of online attention.

In our conversation, Chandler unpacks his feature debut: a dark-comedy “screenlife” film told entirely through a computer desktop, set inside the “hellscape” of live streaming—where the real-time chat isn’t set dressing, it actively drives the story forward. He talks about arriving at the format out of pure practicality (making something possible with very little money), then spending years refining the cut to make the digital world feel specific and true—not “movie internet,” but the kind of online authenticity you recognize immediately.

We also get into the long road from early festival submissions with unfinished materials to a stronger re-approach—new poster, press kit, and a tighter final version—leading to the project’s selection for the 2026 Maryland Film Festival.

Catch Chandler Chavez’s feature debut at the Maryland Film Festival, April 8–12, screening at the SNF Parkway Theatre and venues across Baltimore.

The Truth In This Art is supported by William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council's Creativity Grant and Mayor's Individual Artist Award - Creative Baltimore Fund (Baltimore).

Host: Rob Lee
Music: Original music by Daniel Alexis Music with additional music from Chipzard and TeTresSeis.
Production:

• Produced by Rob Lee & Daniel Alexis
• Edited by Daniel Alexis
• Show Notes courtesy of Rob Lee and Transistor

Photos:

• Rob Lee photos by Vicente Martin for The Truth In This Art and Contrarian Aquarian Media.
• Guest photos courtesy of the guest, unless otherwise noted.

Support the podcast

• The Truth In This Art Podcast Fractured Atlas (Fundraising): https://www.fracturedatlas.org
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thetruthinthisart.bsky.social
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truthinthisart/?hl=en
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Website: https://www.thetruthinthisart.com/
• The Truth In This Art Podcast Shop: Merch from Redbubble