10 Art Podcasts You Need to Download

With episodes on everything from money laundering to fair use, this show covers a unique niche in an approachable, informative, and fun manner. The episode “Skepticism and Optimism Around Art NFTs,” for example, starts with an oddball, true story about a crypto guru who convinced a traditional art collector to let him burn a painting to help him understand NFTs.

Hosted by a fine artist and art historian duo—Justin Favela (FavyFav) and Emmanuel Ortega (Babelito) respectively—Latinos Who Lunch is one of this author’s all-time favorite listens. Favela and Ortega strike a magnetic balance between academia and pop culture, which in turn fosters timely, sometimes revelatory, conversations about art and Latinx communities that you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere.

This show follows in the footsteps of popular episodic, investigative content like Serial. But, instead of murder, this show exposes listeners to “one of the biggest cases of art fraud in US history.” Host Alec Baldwin guides the listener through the downfall of a once-revered New York art spot, The Knoedler Gallery.

One of the world’s first podcasts, Design Matters is about “how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives.” Featuring interviews with heavy hitters of the art world like Bisa Butler, Ai Weiwei, and more—this show is an absolute must-listen.

These next few podcasts are especially suited for artist listeners and perhaps those interested in the behind-the-scenes details of artists’ lives. Hosted by two fine artists, Alice Sheridan and Louise Fletcher, this podcast delves into everything related to creative output—from studio organization to the pros and cons of gallery representation.

Hosted by Andy J Pizza, who has illustrated for Google, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more, this show provides focused advice designed to help listeners build and maintain a “thriving creative practice.”

This podcast is a goldmine of, among other things, interviews with artists working in the digital, commercial, and illustration worlds. Despite the fact that it is no longer in active production, the show manages to cultivate a remarkably visceral artist-community-feel for the listener. Visual development artist and mentor Chris Oatley hosts the show. Oatley recently launched Room 2 where, among other things, he publishes written versions of a new and ongoing series of interviews with industry creatives.

Writer and curator Danielle Krysa (aka the Jealous Curator) hosts Art For Your Ear. The show is advertised as a slice of the gossipy, behind-the-scenes, real-life version of the art world achieved via interviews with successful artists, “BEFORE they’re in the Art History books.”

This show is all about the most fascinating art-historical questions. Host and curator Jennifer Dasal brings listeners along as she skillfully unpacks these questions in episodes like “Is the Mona Lisa a Fake?” or “Was Van Gogh Accidentally Murdered?”

The podcast Awaken was created by the Rubin Museum of Art to accompany an exhibition of the same name. In each episode, a new special guest joins host Laurie Anderson to discuss moments in life where their awareness shifted, using specific artworks from the exhibition as jumping-off points. Listeners will notice that the podcast artwork changes each episode to correspond with the work discussed, providing easy access and a very unique listening experience.