International gallerist, doyenne of the contemporary art world and cultural influencer Pearl Lam is challenging outmoded precepts, bringing East and West closer together and exploring themes of culture and identity in her podcast that is filmed in six countries.
-- International gallerist and cultural influencer Pearl Lam (林明珠) is the host of an increasingly popular YouTube podcast. As a unique voice who is not afraid to explore challenging topics, Pearl Lam (林明珠) has consistently challenged convention during her decades of experience as an expert and leader in the contemporary art world.
Filmed on location in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, The Pearl Lam Podcast sees its host meet established and emerging thinkers who are challenging conventions about the way that we see the world.
Podcast guests are drawn from diverse fields such as the arts, finance, politics, journalism, luxury, food and even floristry; with a unifying theme that each guest has disrupted and challenged conventional thinking and is passionate about their convictions.
Exploring heritage and identity
In London Pearl Lam (林明珠) met Alayo Akinkugbe, a Black art historian who highlighted the importance of moving away from the “monolithic view of Blackness” within art and popular culture.
Alayo discussed the representation of Black and African elements in the History of Art curriculum compared to European elements; whilst Pearl Lam (林明珠) stressed that “homogeneity” in mainstream culture should be challenged and opined that “Too much art is judged through the lens of the West.”
Pearl Lam (林明珠) also met Nigerian artist and DJ Olukemi Lijadu to discuss the cultural legacy of colonialism in Hong Kong and Nigeria. Lijadu explained how being away from Nigeria during her time in the West propelled her to understanding her heritage.
In a podcast episode with drag superstar Jackie Beat in Los Angeles, Pearl Lam (林明珠) discussed the art of drag, saying, “You want differences. You want diversity. You want to learn”.
And in Hong Kong, Pearl Lam (林明珠) welcomes award-winning film director Ray Yeung to discuss the golden era of gay cinema and the challenges that he encountered in making films about LGBTQ+ centred topics in Asia, with Yeung revealing: “Many of our friends wouldn’t even go up to tell their parents they’re gay.”
Improving cross-cultural understanding
A longstanding advocate of the role of art and culture in improving understanding between East and West, in New York Pearl Lam (林明珠) met art commentator Tim Schneider and revealed that: “One of the directors of a US art institution said to me, ‘You know, to show Chinese art today is politically incorrect’. This is in America. Which is pretty shocking."
This sentiment was further explored during Pearl Lam’s (林明珠) conversation with Pulitzer-prize winning New York Times foreign correspondent David Barboza about US-China relations.
Barboza opined whilst considering Western media’s reporting on China that: “In the last five to ten years, it has become so polarised and so fuelled by also what’s on social media…and what’s happened between the leaders of the US and China.”
Pearl Lam (林明珠) emphasised her belief that “culture is soft power and is a language that is not intimidating” and Barbosa points out that “China is not just the Government. There are Chinese artists, writers, filmmakers, all of the people that you know, I have met, have interviewed, visited their studios, and heard their stories."
The Pearl Lam Podcast has also explored other elements of East-West cultural unification. In Singapore, Pearl Lam (林明珠) met florist John Lim, where she learnt about the power of “Orchid diplomacy” whereby Asian countries cultivate relationships with other countries by naming orchids after visiting dignitaries.
And in a conversation with Basma Al-Sulaiman in London, Pearl Lam discussed the women who are curating the art in Middle East museums that are attracting millions of visitors from across the world, saying: “This cross-cultural dialogue is really important to me. This is soft power. This is the way for world peace."
Pearl Lam (林明珠) further explored the evolving role of women with Maaike Doyer, founder of the largest female angel investment network in Asia. She expressed support for Doyer’s mission to encourage women to become angel investors, saying: “Why can’t women lead? Why can’t women be the dominant species?”
Following The Pearl Lam Podcast
Pearl Lam (林明珠) is pleased with the diverse array of cultural topics that she has brought to the fore with the podcast. A unique angle to Pearl Lam’s (林明珠) podcast is the fact that she travels to locations that span the globe, often recording conversations in homes, studios, workspaces and museums.
Recent guests include Billie Weisman, a philanthropist and arts collector, AI entrepreneur Henry Elkus, cultural commentator Dr. Amin Jaffer, and King Charles’ portraitist Jonathan Yeo.
The Pearl Lam Podcast recently achieved a new milestone with 30,000 subscribers on YouTube, about which Pearl Lam said:
“The mission has always been to provide a space for meaningful, cross-cultural dialogue, and the response has been incredibly encouraging so far.”
About the company: The Pearl Lam Podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.
Contact Info:
Name: Luke Severn
Email: Send Email
Organization: The Pearl Lam Podcast
Website: https://pearllampodcast.com/
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/@Pearl-Lam
Release ID: 89153062
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