Episode Details

Live from the tailgate lounge at Chicago Architectural Biennial 6's booth at Expo Chicago, Duncan and Ryan welcome Joey Orr, the newly appointed Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the MCA Chicago. In this densely brilliant and surprisingly hilarious conversation, Orr discusses what it means to steer a contemporary art institution in an era of deep social complexity, political polarization, and shifting museum ethics.

We cover everything from the social life of objects to the lore of performance documentation, and even pitch a game show based on the varied memories of Chris Burden's early MCA performance. Orr reflects on social practice, audience authorship, and why curators are public servants—not VIPs. We get deep into what it means to be a meat sack in space, how to radicalize museum engagement, and why reenactments may just be the key to future institutional magic.

This is art talk that grinds, gropes, and glows in the dark. No hot dogs, just conceptual fireworks.

• Joey Orr – Deputy Director and Chief Curator at MCA Chicago
• IG: @joeyorr13
• Bio: https://joeyorr.com/about/

• Chris Burden – Performance artist
• Wiki: Chris Burden
• John Cage – Composer and performance artist
• Wiki: John Cage
• Resource: John Cage Trust
• Dick Higgins – Intermedia artist and Fluxus co-founder
• Wiki: Dick Higgins
• Alison Knowles – Fluxus artist