Bad at Sports

Author: Bad at Sports

Bad At Sports is a weekly podcast about contemporary art. Founded in 2005, the series focuses on presenting the practices of artists, curators, critics, dealers, various other arts professionals through an online audio format.
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Language: en

Genres: Arts, Visual Arts

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Bad at Sports Episode 959: Shane McAdams
Episode 959
Thursday, 23 July, 2026

This week Duncan MacKenzie and Ryan Peter Miller head north to the Door County Contemporary Art Fair to sit down with artist, curator, writer, gallerist, and all-around art evangelist Shane McAdams. Broadcasting from a gazebo in Door County, Wisconsin, the conversation ranges from the weather, custard, and pontoon boats to larger questions about why contemporary art struggles to reach broader publics, why the Midwest needs more artist-run infrastructure, and how we might create healthier cultural ecosystems. McAdams makes the case for a bigger, messier, more porous art world—one where commercial galleries, nonprofits, academia, collectors, artists, and curious newcomers all coexist. This is a conversation about building bridges: between Chicago and Minneapolis, between contemporary art and regional audiences, between artists and the merely art-curious. It is also a reminder that art remains one of the few places where genuine meaning-making and community formation can still occur. Name Drops Shane McAdams https://www.shanemcadams.com/ Door County Contemporary Art Fair https://www.doorcountycontemporary.com/ Real Tinsel Gallery https://www.realtinsel.com/ Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel https://www.saintkatearts.com/ Peninsula School of Art https://www.peninsulaschoolofart.org/ Claire Ashley https://clairehelenashley.com/ David Letterman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Letterman Marcel Duchamp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Duchamp Robert Ryman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ryman James Audubon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Audubon Mark Glimcher / Pace Gallery https://www.pacegallery.com/ Peter Buggenhout https://www.axel-vervoordt.com/gallery/artists/peter-buggenhout University of Chicago https://www.uchicago.edu/ University of Georgia Lamar Dodd School of Art https://art.uga.edu/ Trainspotting https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117951/ Miami Art Week https://www.miamiartweek.org/