Clown class matters. Don't let anybody tell you
different, hello, and welcome to design, adjacent the podcast
that talks about the next step design, both today.
And tomorrow. I'm your host, Ben EF Johnson.
And today, our guest is an artist, a leader, facilitator,
and program designer. Our Guest is none other than
Regina Bane Who currently serves as the executive director of the
Louis Armstrong House Museum in New York, she's worked for the
last two decades, experience in building, nonprofits capacity,
arts and growth organizations prior to coming to the Louis
Armstrong House Museum. She served as the vice president
of the Posse Foundation. A national leadership and
college access program, which helps since teams of students.
The top colleges and universities is through her work
there as the deputy and to the co o that she was able to
provide inside and executive directors for their tin site
offices throughout the United States.
She's worked to help drive and develop organizations, but it
helped change the future for students and young leaders.
Regina's deeply committed to social justice.
And his use her background to facilitate and train others.
In having conversations about social identity leadership and
group dynamics. It's through her work as both a
supporter of the Arts nonprofit leader and an artist herself
that we love to bring her today to our podcast.
So, without further Ado, I welcome Regina to our design
adjacent podcast today. It is wonderful to be here.
Hello. It's so great to have you here
in this Moment. Full disclosure for everybody
Regina and I have known each other since our days at college.
So yeah. Wonderful to watch how your
impact in the world, and career has evolved over time, and you
started in your role, as executive director of the Louis
Armstrong House Museum shortly. After I took over at aiga as to
remember reaching out to congratulate you on that role.
Hmm, talk a bit about this transformation and kind of
Journey, you spent about 15 or so years with the Posse
Foundation doing work with students and providing access to
college. Age and life beyond, and then
but always having art and culture is a part of your world
and then you take this pivot to take on this executive
leadership for all, give us a little bit about that transition
for you. So I'll start all the way back
at to college. I majored in theater and
African-American studies and then went on to get my MFA from
the Yale School of drama. And so, I was an actress, I was
performing out in the world, but at the same time I was always
volunteering to help. It's to do playwriting workshops
for kids who would do to do different things and I
volunteered to lead staff training exercise, for the Posse
foundation. And that's when the opportunity
came to be full-time at the Posse Foundation at the time.
I said, but wait, I'm an actress, should I be doing this?
And so, it was that mix of figuring out my place as an
artist and my place as a leader in an educator.
And so that involved into 17 years with Posse and death,
Lately, the things that I learned as an artist are
directly applicable to what it means to cultivate, young
leaders to cultivate thoughtful dialogue.
And then I looked around, I said, it's time for me to put
art and education together in an even more deliberate way.
Right? And that led me to the Louis
Armstrong House Museum institution, that is dedicated
to a musician, who's also a performer, broadly and a collage
artist, which many people don't know about and to Think about
Arts education music, education, and how it affects well-being,
so that put it all together for me.
And so, I took the leap in the midst of the pandemic, and it's
been a good leap, and we're so grateful and glad that you did,
when I look at the program. It's we were talking hand.
Some of the work that we're doing your name and the museum
come up all the time in ways. I haven't even shared.
I've had meetings and someone said working for free Gino for
the museum and these surprising ways recently.
We had a conversation with our all staff of my leadership team.
As we mentioned. We're going to have this
conversation. And several members of my team
talked about their experience recently, engaging with the
museum and talk about what the museum and the work has meant to
them. And I think it's really powerful
if you're able to kind of combine this together, you're
loved for the year. Yeah.
It's been that kind of refreshing surprising moment as
like, we definitely have to have this conversation.
Hmm. When I think about your role,
it's interesting. I think I first met you through
your voice. Enter music before we met.
I think I met hearing you, you seeing and hearing your
interaction. So, when I heard that you were
going to take on this leadership role and know that that's kind
of a poor part of you. So, how is that been leading
this organization that has music in darkness culture as an active
artist yourself. Mmm-hmm.
How is that inspire you are? Or Challenger?
If anything it as you kind of serve this different capacity.
Yes. Well, I think about what it
means to serve artists. It's and also what it means to
preserve and institution, right? And to preserve a legacy and the
Louis Armstrong House museum is very much about preserving a
legacy. We are a museum, we are
historical sites and there is a great deal of research and
scholarly work. That's done.
But at the same time the museum has always been dedicated to
contemporary music and present-day music, but it was
just a little bit buried underneath.
This the historical mission of preserving and sharing the
legacy of Louis Armstrong. And so what I've gotten to do in
the past year and a half is bring what was always happening
to the Forefront? And say we are not only about
preserving the Legacy but we are about engaging contemporary
artists to create new work and that's what we've done.
And we've been able to get commissions out into artists
working right now. In fact right now.
We are looking forward to Two groups of artists for ten
thousand dollar commissions for program, requiring Armstrong.
Now that would have them research in our archives and in
the stork home and create new works.
So, I want contemporary artists to be a part of this Legacy that
to know, they're part of it and to give them space to shine.
It's really great to hear how you're digging into the work in
the Legacy and using that as the material going forward.
So if you think of of Armstrong, is a collage is your often
taking It's pre printed and then reinterpreting and presenting it
for it. One of the other spaces in which
you recently showed up in kind of our world and exploration.
We were working with the Nea and I saw recently that you and the
museum and a project that you're working on was just recently
awarded one of the Nea grants for this year.
Hmm. Tell a bit about this kind of
unique project that really fits in our design space and one
reasons. We wanted to talk today.
Yeah. The work about jazz and Hip-Hop
Heritage sites. Talk a bit.
About you. So the Jazz and Hip-Hop map of
Queens is what neither creating and the National Endowment for
the humanities has awarded us a discovery Grant.
So we're in the beginning exploratory phase and hopefully
we'll move on to prototyping to production.
It was inspired by flushing Town Halls, Queens Jazz Trail.
It was that was produced in the 90s.
So it was a map that you put on the wall with this gorgeous
Artistry related to it. And I saw that on the wall.
Of the museum and I said, what is that?
That's excellent. We need to do more with that.
And so that started a conversation about how to
digitize write that while a map and how to have it connected to
stories and to have a not just be about jazz, but about hip-hop
and there are so many connections familial connections
between current day, hip hop artists who had jazz artists as
their uncle's as a dad's as Their mothers and who gave them
the equipment to gave them the musical ear to create the music
that they do now. And so, we want to tell that
story until it about Queens because often the story of jazz
is told through Carlo and the story of hip-hop is told through
the Bronx or Brooklyn, but queens has a unique story to
tell because of his geography, because of the way things work.
I was talking to someone an artist and he said, yep, quiz is
different because there are home.
Once with garages and basements. And so literally, they would
roll down the street and their car or walking and listen to who
was practicing and then they would hang out and sometimes be
invited in and there's something about the geography of queens
that allowed for that. And so we want to pop that on a
map and then connect that to stories.
I love the premise of the project and in our world with
the designers of reframe way, fine.
Adding story making and tracking.
Those are all things that that our community really spent a lot
of time taking any thinking about it and seeing this
connection that you're able to take these Heritage sites, in
spin it on its Edge a bit. And I think about in my own
family, my son's interaction with music.
Not only comes from me, but it comes from spending time in the
basement with his grandfather. Yep.
Who has access to all of the music published and unpublished
and it's connection point. Comes in.
And while I'm often surprised where their lyrics are were
frames, that he knows has a 13 year old that are completely
outside of two to three generations of his experience.
Hmm, and I wonder if you said that kind of that those magical,
but important moments, you know, you see that in Silicon Valley,
if you look at the widest technology grow because the
engineers and the connection, then the houses in the
community, the same thing happens for for culture.
Yes, so as you think about, About these projects.
What have been some of the challenges you've had to
overcome and your this is kind of expanded thinking for the
space. Typically, Heritage museums.
Stay in one lane. Yeah.
I'm not afraid to say that typically what has happened.
So talk a bit about how you've brought this refreshing
Innovation and disruption to the space.
Well, definitely a challenge just just capacity of right
people. We're a small team.
We are small, but feisty nice. And there's a lot of work to be
done. In, in caring for a historic
home and in doing that in the midst of a pandemic, when we're
all had to switch to online programming.
New ways of working for us, new skills, to learn a lot for a
small, But Mighty team at the same time, in the tradition of
Louis Armstrong. The museum has always cared
about Community. Right?
So Lewis was a Megastar. He was a multi-millionaire.
He lived in Corona Queens a A modest community.
And with a modest home and he loved it and he stayed for 30
years. Hmm.
And so, part of our responsibility to continue that
Legacy is to continue to love and care for and tell the
stories of our community. And we have the resources and
expertise around archiving around history.
Recording that could do that. So, when you think, About the
values of Louis Armstrong. It makes complete sense that we
are doing this Jazz, and Hip-Hop map of Queens, because Louis
Armstrong would have cared about that.
Ryan would have wanted to tell that story and put his resources
to that. So it's in complete alignment
once you think about values. And so now how to get the work
done that can only be done in Partnership.
And so that's why we need to work with flushing Town Hall.
The kupferberg Center for the Arts Queens Library.
As a host of advisers who all have expertise and experience
because this can't just be hours.
It has to belong to the people's whose story is it is.
And so that's how we're going to get it done to not do it alone.
Put to do it in community and Armstrong was a true kind of
magnet in this space and being there for 30 years.
Think of all the people he brought through to come through
to see him. They would come into the come by
the den to sit down and visit with Louis.
Pops. And that includes all the other
Jazz luminaries who lived in Queens.
That includes Dizzy. Gillespie, right?
Jimmy Heath, they were all there and they would come and come by
and say hello and hangouts and Lewis would record them.
Sometimes, secretly hasn't it stopped exactly.
It's up together different times, but we have all those
recordings in our house. And so that is what when
contemporary artists come and do research in our archives at some
of the things that they're listening to the sound Ambience
of a party, which was launched on recorded in this home.
What's been the most surprising thing for you?
As you've kind of transitioned as an artist principally, then
as a trainer and facilitator, to now, as a leader at a non-profit
space, what has surprised you along the way that there are
some skills that are completely differentiated?
And then there's some skills that are that And surprising
ways. So the differentiated skill as
an executive director. I have to raise our budget and
that is a responsibility that stays with me.
I have to make sure all of our folks are paid and we have the
money to do our programming and that's a differentiated skill is
different than what I do as an artist as a facilitator, but
then there is the Baseline skill that I learned as an actress,
which is what it means to listen.
And respond nice and actually, some people who know me, know, I
probably heard this story what I learned through clown class.
Okay, so in drama school do tell.
I took a class called clown and there are lots of different
types of clowning, but this particular type of clown.
Workshop was about what it means to enter a room to allow people
to laugh at you and to leave. And to do that repeatedly, and
what it taught me was What it means to be absolutely
vulnerable, right? And open to the people in front
of me and yet secure enough in my own well-being with a cord
that is rooted that I can allow people to laugh at my foibles
and my faults, okay, and we can be together in that moment and
then I can leave. And so where I've used those
skills as a leader is to be able to enter into rooms of
uncertainty, to listen closely to allow people to see See my
fault. Some of the things that I do not
know. And yet to assert myself in the
knowledge and truth that I have to make the statements.
I need to make and to move things forward and then to leave
and move on. And I've done that in rooms with
people who have much more power than I.
I've done that in rooms with people who I don't know, who are
maybe not as powerful as I in different ways, and I need to
make space for. It's been an incredible skill to
have in to apply. So that's the translation.
Bosco, okay, and then that's just the straight-up.
I need to make some money for my folks.
So that's so that we can keep moving things forward.
So all those have been surprises for me as I move it to the
wrong. So we mentioned a bit about
space and making space. So I'd love to explore that both
is a metaphor but also talking about space.
You're on the verge of opening up an additional space for the
work that you get. So you have the principal house
but talk a bit about what's next on the horizon.
Yes. Equal.
And then let's talk about what space we're trying to create
going forward. Yes.
So physically the historic home of Lewis and Lucille Armstrong
exists on 107th Street in Corona Queens.
Nice. It is there for everyone to come
and see and have tours through this gorgeous space.
There is right now. We're open Thursday, through
Saturday and has been open for decades.
Next door is a core. 'Guess japanese-inspired.
It in at Lucile created for Louis win.
He had heart attacks and needed to recover.
And so she built this space of Peace.
So this next door to the historic home.
I also mixed doors fix torque home is something called so
misplace, so Soma her Aldo was the neighbor who supported Louis
and Lucille and when she passed she donated her home to the
museum. And so now that is becoming a
part of our campus. Okay, then across the street.
It's is the new Louis Armstrong Center.
It is a 14,000 square foot building.
That's been 15 years in the making.
It's going to house a 75 seats jazz club.
It's going to have a new exhibit that multimedia being curated by
jazz pianist and multimedia artist.
Jason Moran and it's going to house the archives.
The physical archives that 60,000 pieces is the largest
Archive of any jazz musician. One of the This of any black
musician, all of that is going to be on 107th Street in Queens
and this new building. And so we are in the midst of
construction. We're working with an incredible
people to get it done. It's incredible.
You space. And you mentioned another artist
who I just have deep respect and love for with Jason Moran and
his glasses that is about space. That's also sound in history and
memory, so I'm going to deviate from a question before and ask
you this question. If you could put together your
dream backing band and Ensemble I could be in it.
Oh Lord any Manny, I'm getting you in trouble together, you do
this to me. Oh my goodness.
So I think about skill and then I think about heart.
Mmm and what? It means to interact on a heart
level with people and There are so many people who could be, who
I would love to have a heart connection with in order to
create some music. I can't name names.
I'm being your that. Not gonna do this to me.
That was a beautiful answer. I'm going to ask because we have
skill and heart connection space in there.
So I will send you a list of who I think we should see at the
club when it opens up at the space.
Yes, please. And I would love that.
We'll get back together on our podcast and we'll talk about
whether or not And I made it happen, but don't worry, but
it's an incredible things to think about team.
And we rebuilt people together in a team.
I think what you said is a great metaphor for that people you
bring together a skill and those who have with heart before we
talk about a lot of work with teams.
We can always teach skill. You can always teach heart
hmmm-hmmm-hmmm. Bring that should get her to
have the commitment to the mission.
How has it been for you and in coming in, you know, is it as
the first time executive director with a deep interest
in? Art and culture and taking on a
new team and, you know, we both had the mix of taking on a new
team and I'll add one to that during the missed the pandemic.
Yes. What kind of educate some time.
What kind of Leadership Lessons were you able to draw from that
and what are some of the challenges candidly that you've
had to deal with and kind of bring a team together in this
moment? Yes.
So I think for this particular team, they many of them have
been with the organization for a very long time.
You have a deep dedication and have worked tirelessly to make
things happen in the midst of the pandemic.
And I came in August of 20/20. So they have been working for
months in the midst of uncertainty, right.
And tried to, and making magic in the midst of that.
And so, I think part of my entry was, who's this person who's
going to be our leader? We've been doing it.
We've been making it happen without an executive.
And so part of it was about building trust being a listener
and but also having a vision and saying where this Vision comes
from. So for me, the vision is to
continue to preserve and share the legacy of Louis Armstrong,
but to live the Armstrong values.
And to have all the work that we do come out of that.
And when I say the Armstrong values, I mean, both Louis and
Lucille. So Lucille is Armstrong's wife,
who was cotton club dancer who bought a home that is now our
historic home that we have the tours through.
She bought it with her own money because Louis didn't want to buy
it. So she said well I'm going to do
this myself and she said next time you come off of the tour
bus, come here. This is where we live now.
So there's a, there's an incredible Legacy for Lucille to
celebrate. And so, when I say the Armstrong
values, I mean, a both of them, and those values of artistic
excellence in education and community.
And so, I think once you enter from a listening space and enter
with values that goes a long way towards towards building trust,
one of the things I love about jazz.
I love about music generally, but when I see and listen to
live jazz, I love to watch people.
Listen to each other. Hmm, and when I see an
improvisational jazz bands, well, that's what I get to do,
right? Get to watch people, listen.
And in the midst of listening, create listening and creating at
the same time and that I think that is part of my charge as a
leader, right? How do I create an incredible
Jazz improvisation all band with my team that I am the band
leader of I am not at the front of the stage.
How do we listen? How do we create at the same
time? I move quickly and swiftly, as
we have to do in our current climate, but still have a sound
that can be listened to and that's the lesson of music for
me, the lesson of jazz and the lesson that I've been trying to
take into my approach to leadership at this organization.
It's been is hard. Just that easy.
It's not for the faint, right? Parts, you can't come up in
here, thinking that, you know, things without doing the work,
but I'm doing the work and that's been good.
Yeah, we think about kind of jazz is the impact.
We're talking about the kind of world today, you know, one of
the things I think we'd be remiss if we didn't bring up is
take us back to 1955. Hmm before either of us were
here, right? Adam Clayton Powell jr.
Was at the heart of pushing this idea.
That American jazz artists could be on the Forefront of diplomacy
and democracy. And seeing both Louis Armstrong
and Dizzy. Gillespie perform all around the
world at a challenging time for the us, but as black Jazz,
musicians, opening up the idea of american-born creativity
throughout the world as you kind of champion the Legacy and space
in there. What?
Roll, do you have been thinking about kind of the global
presence? Hmm of the art form and the
creativity. I think about the site, the
Heritage sites, when we talk about jazz and Hip-Hop, which
are no longer refined to The Continuous 48, but a really
without question, impact our world globally, you know, what
are the things that you think about now, and kind of his
legacy as an ambassador in a champion for creativity
globally. Yes, so Louis Armstrong traveled
to over 62 countries. His legacy is definitively
global. Right?
And that is a part of the programming that we want to
create the global ambassadors. So at some point when we're
ready to take musicians historians and young people
around the world in Louis Armstrong's footsteps to have a
global Exchange. Of music and ideas that's
coming. We've taken baby steps toward it
by working with the forum for cultural engagement to partners
with embassies across the world. And so, we did a program
actually with the US Embassy in Russia, where we brought
concerts based on the real ambassadors album to students
and people in Russia, through the US Embassy and with the form
for cultural engagement, and it was beautiful.
And we want to continue You to do that with other embassies
across the world. All that was virtual has
happened during the pandemic but eventually to physically, go to
these spaces and I think about what it means to be a black
person representing America and what how Louis Armstrong was a
black man representing America, and he knew the power of that
and he actually declines to use that power when with the Little
Rock. He'll so the state department at
wanted to send him to Russia to represent.
But at the same time, there were a group of students who were
attempting to integrate a school in Arkansas and they were met
with the mob. And Eisenhower was not
responding in the way that Louis Armstrong wanted and Louis
Armstrong spoke to that. And said, you know, what, I
don't think now is the right time for me to go to Russia to
represent in this way. So he was aware of the power.
Power of His presence and of his representation and he wanted to
use it in a thoughtful way, and that's something we want to do
to now as the museum, but we know there's incredible power
their dialogue and exchange. One of the things that's
important is we talk about is our creative agency in the
intention and how we present one of the photos that I love to
look at. And we talked about for his
relationship with his wife. There's a great Black and white,
photograph of him in front of the sinks, in the Great Pyramids
of Giza. And as the trumpet, and he's
basically serenading saluting, his wife.
This is a seamless and to see him taking Jazz and music
throughout the world. And going back to we said before
and having this tribute to his family and sent her.
So we talked about the housing, he said before, he did wasn't
really a big fan of the House of the beginning.
When did that change become? But this Is, you know, so much
of it. Like we talked about the house
is such a central part of it is home.
Yeah, I mean, it's fun for me to hear you say.
Like, he didn't want the house. His wife didn't care, you get in
the house. This is the center of his world.
Yes. Well, first, I have to talk
about the image that you just talked about of he and Lucille
in Egypt in front of the pyramids.
And the Sphinx, that is actually the image that Jason Moran has
talked about as the inspiration for the exhibit that his he's
creating. And that exhibit is called.
He's titled here to stay. And his, when he's talked about
it. He said that the pyramids are
revered, they are protected. They are here to stay and that
house on 107th Street has to be revered and protected in the
same way. Right?
And there is that we are all in that Legacy and undergirding.
That is is a love and commitment with Louis and Lucille.
That is a part of the foundation of that.
And so the reason why I think he stayed in Corona on 107th Street
was partly because of Lucille but also because this is a place
where he could walk down the street as a Megastar and just be
normal when he went to Manhattan and walk down the street.
He was mobbed, he was a star but when you walk down the street in
Queens, The kids would come and they were run up to him and he
could just be walking with them. He could go to the barber around
the street. He could go to his rice and
beans Joy. He could do what he wanted to do
as what he thought of himself as a working class, man went to
work with his trumpet and they came home to be with his family
and that's what he had at the Home in Queens.
And that's what he did. Not want to give up.
He was there to stay. It's powerful.
As you tell the story of us, making the idea of home.
Hmm. And what that means, independent
of traveling the world independent of the fame and the
space. In there to talk about those
simple things that are so important to reinforce home for
us. Mhm.
I often when we have our conversations, we often ask the
question, is to, what advice would you give to those
following in our footsteps? Right?
The students who are navigating school today the young
professionals here? What advice would you give and
finding their path or their professional?
Clown class matters. Don't let anybody tell you
different. There are going to be some
obscure classes that you take especially if you are a part of
a liberal arts education that you might be unsure of how does
this play? And that your parents may be
unsure of how does this right play into your career goals.
How will this help you? Sometimes you have to make those
connections for yourself, but if you if you think deeply and
thoroughly about the Studies that you are engaging with, you
can make connections to the rest of the world.
So one of the reasons why stories and artwork that is
about a particular group of people, or particular way of
thinking that goes deep in that way, connects to the rest of
humanity is because it goes deep in that way.
So it's okay to go deep into the study of one particular thing,
as long as you did look up and out and Make the connections to
the rest of the world to translate the skills to
translate the learning. So go deep, be thoughtful and
look up so that you can connect with the rest of the world.
Nice, a my final question for you.
What's inspiring you today? What gives you that additional
push that kind of Wellspring of ideas and inspiration today?
When I see two people listening to each other and making music
when I see people fighting for their lives through War when I
see people acknowledging war and being willing to say, even in
the midst of that there has been racism.
When I see people trying to protect their humanity and their
Joy by walking away from the conversation about war and
racism and thinking about peace. All of those are moments that
inspire me. Because it's about for me.
It's about fighting for truth. In the moment that I am in right
now with people. And so I'd look for the moments
as much as I can because they're always there.
I just have to see them. Wow.
I can't believe that our time has come to an end, but I will
say, I'm smiling in, it's a joy to watch how you've grown and
your work has progressed to this moment.
It's kind of the perfect combination in thinking of as an
artist, as a leader, as a Visionary.
And as inspirational healer, Regina.
Thank you for spending this afternoon.
And for us to have a chance to just share and talk about the
world around us. The impact that music and home
can have and the opportunity we have, when we come together to
talk. Thank you for free.
She is so much, Billy. Thank you for having me.
And thank you all for joining us for this episode of design
adjacent. We also invite you to check out
our upcoming podcasts, where we explore the world both today and
tomorrow and the impact that design has.
And we encourage you to check out the Louis Armstrong House
Museum, whether you're in New York or online.
Thank you. Once again, show notes for this
episode will be available on AIG a.org.
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