LIVE: Plains Art Museum in the New York Times

It's time you checked out the new programming at the Plains.

FARGO — A new program at the Plains Art Museum is attracting some national attention this morning.

And it’s partly due to a nationwide movement among museums to make them better places for people who don’t feel comfortable there.

A recent story in the New York Times profiles a podcast produced by the Fargo museum’s director of Native American programs.

Joe Williams produces “Five Plain Questions,” which features indigenous artists giving interviews about their work and experiences.

It launched right around when the pandemic started, partly because things were locked down and they couldn’t bring museum-goers into the building at the beginning.

Since then, the podcast’s been  been downloaded about 10,000 times, according to Williams.

He says the podcast is in part an effort to shine a spotlight on indigenous artists, and expand the museum’s reach outside the region.

But it also serves a larger purpose, in that it’s part of a nationwide movement in museums to reach out to audiences who historically haven’t found museums accessible or welcoming.

That’s often times minority audiences, Williams said.

He sat down on the Morning Show for a live interview with Emily Welker about how the podcast can introduce you to a side of the museum you might have missed out on, and how things have kicked into high gear at the museum in recent months.