The Curator’s Attic explores the stories behind the objects that shape our lives. I'm your host, Jon West-Bey, and I’m a Curator and Museologist, and in this podcast, we'll explore the surprising stories hidden within everyday objects. Join me as we uncover the history, the artistry, and the human connection woven into the fabric of our material world.
Jon West-Bey is a curator, museologist, and museum consultant based in Washington, DC. He is a Lecturer in the Master of Arts in Museum Studies program at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and the Founder and former Executive Director of the American Poetry Museum in Washington, DC.
Nia Iman Smith is a PhD Candidate at Indiana University Bloomington, and her dissertation examines Black women’s record collecting as an archival practice and ancestor veneration. Her research includes African Cultural retentions, cultural memory, Yoruba cosmology, and the Black Diaspora. She was the former programs coordinator at the American Poetry Museum and has been a friend and karaoke comrade for over 15 years. She is also the host of Sonic Blackness Radio on 91.3 WFHB in Bloomington, Indiana.