EP 124: Who will write your history if you don’t?
What are the lessons from the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s 84 page report, Creating Future Memory: Building the field of Artist Legacy Stewardship? This week, I sit down with Solana Chehtman to discuss the stakes of artist legacy. As Director of Artist Programs at the Joan Mitchell Foundation, she has spent years connecting with archivists, curators, conservators, and artists’ families to learn what happens to an artist’s work once they’re gone. In this episode, we talk about why legacy planning belongs in a working artist’s practice, who should help carry the load, and what we lose when the market decides which artists get remembered. Chehtman’s case for starting now is practical: someone is always talking about your work, and the more you’ve documented, the more say you have in what they say. About Solana Chehtman: Chehtman led Creating Future Memory, a 2025 convening that brought 145 legacy professionals together in Brooklyn, and co-authored the foundation’s report of the same name with Sharon Mizota. Before joining the foundation, she worked with artists at The High Line and The Shed. Resources and Names From the Joan Mitchell Foundation Creating Future Memory: Building the Field of Artist Legacy Stewardship (free report): https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/creating-future-memory-report Legacy Field Map: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/legacy-field-map Creating Future Memory convening (May 2025, BRIC): https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/journal/creating-future-memory-convening-2025 Creating a Living Legacy (CALL): Legacy Planning Tools: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/legacy-planning-tools Career Documentation for the Visual Artist (this episode’s assignment): https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/career-documentation-for-the-visual-artist Estate Planning for Visual Artists: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/estate-planning-for-visual-artists Estate Planning for Visual Artists: A Workbook for Attorneys & Executors: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/estate-planning-for-visual-artists-a-workbook-for-attorneys-executors Artist Legacy Initiatives: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/artist-legacy-initiatives Joan Mitchell Fellowship: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/joan-mitchell-fellowship Joan Mitchell (biography): https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/joan-mitchell/biography Report Authors Sharon Mizota, co-writer of the report: https://hyperallergic.com/author/sharon-mizota/ Solana Chehtman, Director of Artist Programs, Joan Mitchell Foundation: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/solana-chehtman Foundation Staff and Board Mentioned Christa Blatchford, Executive Director: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/christa-blatchford Josh T Franco, Board Member; Executive Director, US Latinx Art Forum; Collector at Large, Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/josh-t-franco | https://uslaf.org Shervone Neckles, artist and former Artist Programs Manager (CALL): https://shervoneneckles.com Kay Takeda, former Deputy Director, Artist Programs, and co-editor of Career Documentation for the Visual Artist Creating Future Memory Advisory Council Lisa Darms, Hauser & Wirth Institute: https://hauserwirthinstitute.org Ryan S. Flahive, Archivist, Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA): https://iaia.edu/archives Josh T Franco (see above) Tempestt Hazel, Sixty Inches From Center: https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org Seitu Ken Jones, artist: https://seitujonesstudio.com Shannon Brunette, Office of Cultural Work: https://officeofculturalwork.org Chelsea Spengemann, Soft Network: https://www.softnetwork.art People Mentioned Daisy Murray Holman, Executive Director, Artists’ Legacy Foundation, and steward of the Estate of Elizabeth Murray: https://artistslegacyfoundation.org/about-us/ Elizabeth Murray: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Murray_(artist) Teresita Fernández: https://www.lehmannmaupin.com/artists/teresita-fernandez