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CATHERINE MONAHON



Writer & Podcaster



I produce and host Material Feels, a podcast exploring the intimate relationship between artists and their materials. My background in art and design informs my writing, storytelling style and drive. I work with teams and individuals to tell stories that celebrate people's creative selves and connect people to the world around them. I write articles weekly for Art Dog, an art supply industry blog. Recent publications include two essays in The New York Times, a paper in The MIT Press and op-eds in WIRED Magazine and The British Medical Journal.



CV





RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Material Feels | a monthly podcast exploring the intimate relationship between artists & their materials | www.MaterialFeelsPodcast.com. February 14, 2020 – Present.

To Feed Me Is To Know Me | The New York Times Sunday Review, July 12, 2020.

Intimate Visions: Representations of the Imperfect Body in the Age of Digital Medicine | Leonardo Journal, The MIT Press Journals, Volume 53, Issue 3. June 2020.

Losing Touch, Finding Intimacy | The New York Times & About Us: An Anthology of Essays From The New York Times Disability Series. September 2018 & September 2019.

EXPERIENCE

PRODUCER + HOST | MATERIAL FEELS PODCAST | Oakland, CA | 2019 - Present In addition to conducting & recording interviews, writing & performing narration and marketing the pod, I edit and score each 45 minute episode of Material Feels. My listeners are artists, makers, teachers, hobbyists, the art-curious and those who claim not to have a creative bone in their body. To date I’ve covered clay, wool, wood, liquor and the body. Voices of makers who are queer, non-binary and/or POC to the front.

COPYWRITER | MACPHERSON’S ART SUPPLY | Emeryville, CA | 2018 – Present As lead writer for Art Dog Blog I publish articles weekly for a niche readership of 3,000+ art supply retailers. I interview artists, small business owners and industry leaders for the blog; I also help coordinate and host Art Dog Live!, an ongoing series of virtual panels featuring industry leaders discussing relevant topics.

STUDIO MANAGER & WRITER | JAMESON FINE ART | Lafayette, CA | 2015 – 2018 I managed operations, communications and wrote articles with artist Elizabeth Jameson. Elizabeth lives with MS and is now a quadriplegic. I curated and installed exhibits, worked as a speech coach for presentations including a Ted X talk, created embroideries of her brain scans and co-wrote articles about illness, disability, technology and art. Our work has been published in The New York Times, the British Medical Journal, WIRED and Leonardo Magazine.

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR | SQUASH HAVEN |New Haven, CT | 2012 - 2014 In addition to managing print materials and web copy for Squash Haven, a non-profit after-school program based at Yale University, I coordinated a community service program for 100 students, designed curriculum and taught afterschool for 5th graders.

EDUCATION

UC BERKELEY ADVANCED MEDIA INSTITUTE | Berkeley, CA, November 2019 A six-week Podcast completed with the goal of launching Season 1 of Material Feels, a monthly podcast exploring the intimate relationship between artists and their materials.

LANEY COLLEGE & UC BERKELEY EXTENSION | Continuous Studies | Bay Area, 2016 – 2019 Psychology and Journalism courses have strengthened my writing abilities, made me a more nimble storyteller and finetuned my interviewing skills.

CONNECTICUT COLLEGE | New London, CT | 2008 – 2012 I graduated Cum Laude with a double major in Studio Art and American Studies; my honors thesis explored intersectional identity and body politics through a series of mixed media installations.

FORMATIVE GIGS

Some additional formative experiences that have widened my horizon and enriched my passion for storytelling and getting to know creatives of all trades:

Ceramics instructor at a Kids ‘N’ Clay a children’s studio in Berkeley, CA
Fine art framer in San Francisco, CA
Gardening teacher with OUSD in Oakland, CA
Art teacher for kids living with chronic illness/disability in Oakland, CA
Teaching Artist’s Residency at The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT Summer school art teacher at Northfield Mount Herman in North Adams, MA Intern at BroadArts, a feminist theatre in Portland, OR
Living in Copenhagen, Denmark, focusing on migration and identity
Studying Italian for a summer in Perugia, Italy
Various farming stints in NY, CT and Costa Rica

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

Fine Art · Adobe Audition · H1N1 Recorder · Mailchimp · Social Media WordPress · Excel · Interviewing · Public Speaking




CATHERINE MONAHON