Riverside Chats

Joshua Brown is the program coordinator at the Nebraska Arts Council, a state organization whose mission is to promote, cultivate and sustain the arts through programming, grants and opportunities to foster creative innovation statewide.

At the Arts Council, Brown manages grants related to arts education and accessibility. Outside of his work with the Arts Council, he also serves as a visual artist and musician, exhibiting paintings and sculptures at community galleries in Omaha and organizing shows that support emerging and community-oriented artists.

A University of Nebraska Omaha graduate, Brown has a degree in art history and is also working toward a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Nebraska Kearney. His studies have led him to explore the connections between power, government and the arts, focusing on how governments can foster environments that encourage community-oriented arts and culture.

In this episode Brown and Michael Griffin are talking about art as rhetoric and why it’s essential for a healthy democracy, and how Brown’s worldview was shaped by homeschooling and an early appreciation for art of all kinds.

Jahmai Brown is a painter, photographer and Hot Shops Art Center resident. 

An Omaha native, Brown attended North High School and graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute. His paintings are often works of bright colors, bold patterns and less traditional materials like glitter and magazine clippings. 

Brown was also among the artists who created the “Black Skies” mural in 2018 at 24th and Grant Streets, which highlights the experiences of the Tuskegee Airmen. Brown was only 17 when the mural was unveiled to the public.

In this episode, Brown and Michael Griffin are talking about the inspiration behind his work, and his hope for viewers to interact with it. They're also talking about the skills he thinks are important for a young artist to develop, and how those artists can find support in Omaha.

Erin Feichtinger is policy director of the Women's Fund of Omaha. In this episode, she's in conversation with Tom Knoblauch about history (in which she has a Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago) and politics, including Governor Pillen's vision for Nebraska and how it's panning out after a contentious state legislative session.

This episode was recorded before the 2024 general election.

Working in poetry, glass and installation, Aspen Monet Laboy’s art explores concepts of environmentalism and identity. In the summer of 2022, they implemented and co-hosted Corner’s Space at KANEKO, a public program exploring poetry through creative experimentation and collaboration.

Laboy has published three books of poetry with a fourth on the way. Several of their selected poems were aired on Friday Live with Nebraska Public Media through NPR in 2023. Their writing has also been featured in local zines and performed in various galleries.

Currently, Laboy is part of the 2023-24 Alternate Currents Cohort and Community Advisory Group through Amplify Arts. This year, they were awarded a scholarship from Penland School of Craft and were accepted into the Pilchuck Glass School Auction.

In this episode, Michael Griffin and Laboy are in conversation about Laboy’s origins as a writer and artist, and how they became interested in glassblowing and sculpting. They're also talking about the economics of being an artist in Omaha and how we can better support the creative community.

Sean Kelly is a candidate for Douglas County Commissioner, District 5 against Brian Fahey.

An Omaha native and Dundee resident, Kelly attended Creighton Prep and went on to receive an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business. Outside of his run for office, Kelly works as a local investor and agricultural real estate professional.

In this episode, Kelly and Michael Griffin discuss how Kelly's business background inspired his run for office, and his vision for District 5, which includes lowering property taxes and increasing transparency in local government.