In this episode, Kadie Kelly sits down with john ros (they/them), a queer, non-binary conceptual installation artist, educator, and founder of StudioELL, for a conversation that moves with tenderness and a sharp sense of political urgency. Together they explore the meaning of daily practice, the politics of care, and the many forms resistance can take in creative life.

john reflects on their long-running project dia a dia Buendia—a daily ritual of documenting life as a form of artistic practice—and how it draws from feminist thinkers and artists like Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Silvia Federici, and Tricia Hersey. They discuss how everyday acts—grocery shopping, parenting a cat, making a meal—become sites of creativity and meaning when framed with intention.

The conversation deepens as john shares the layered story of coming into their identity as an artist. Born to immigrant classical musicians—one a cello prodigy—they were encouraged to pursue stability, not art. It wasn’t until college, after struggling through science courses and discovering painting, that john realized art was where they belonged. That moment of belonging—late-blooming but undeniable—unfolded into a practice of radical honesty, demystification, and generosity that now defines their teaching and artistic approach.

Kadie and john speak candidly about the unseen labor of artists, the precariousness of creative life, and the importance of building networks of care. They emphasize how professional development, mentorship, and community are not add-ons but integral to the life of a working artist. For john, love is not just a value—it’s a methodology.

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to live your art fully, or how to hold space for others while carving out your own, this episode offers a glimpse into the joy, complexity, and courage of that path.

john ros (they, them) is a queer, non-binary, multiform conceptual installation artist working between New York City, Eastern Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts. They are currently a Ph.D. student at Tufts University and hold an MFA from Brooklyn College, CUNY, and a BFA from SUNY Binghamton. john’s mixed media conceptual installations focus on ritual as performance, space/place, light and time. Their work has been exhibited internationally and is held in collections worldwide. They are the director of studioELL, a space for radical education in studio art practice, which they founded in London, England, in 2015. john also teaches at the SMFA at Tufts University in Boston, MA, and Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, CT.

For a longer version please visit: https://www.johnros.com/biography/

https://www.johnros.com/projects/dia-a-dia-buen-dia/