What if art isn't simply something we admire, but something that asks something of us?

In this episode, Stephen Roach sits down with acclaimed printmaker, educator, and storyteller Steve Prince for a conversation about the vocation of the artist. Drawing from history, faith, family, and lived experience, Steve shares how his work seeks to preserve memory, confront injustice, and create spaces where genuine transformation can begin.

From the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement to the power of oral storytelling, from New Orleans kitchen tables to ambitious community art projects, Steve reveals why he believes artists are called to help us "remember to remember" and to imagine a more hopeful future together.

Together they explore:

• Why artists are called to be truth-tellers

• How history shapes both our imagination and our responsibility

• The role of beauty in confronting difficult realities

• Why storytelling is essential to healing divided communities

• Steve's Kitchen Table project and its vision for reconciliation

• Creating art that challenges, invites, and transforms

• Faith, social justice, and the spiritual calling of creative work

• Helping the next generation of artists embrace both courage and adaptability

Whether you're an artist, educator, historian, or simply someone longing for deeper conversations in a fractured world, this episode offers a vision of art as an act of hospitality, remembrance, and hope.

Quote from the Episode

"The artist helps us remember to remember.""Art isn't made to divide us, it creates a pathway toward who we could become.""Every table has something to teach us." - Steve Prince

Resources Mentioned

• Steve Prince's Kitchen Table community art project

• Trinity City graphic novel initiative

• Howard Thurman

• Martin Luther

• Medgar Evers

• Emmett Till

• Rosa Parks

• Martin Luther King Jr.

If this episode encouraged you, please consider sharing it with a friend, leaving a review, or supporting the work of Makers & Mystics through Patreon.

Produced by Stephen Roach.

Music by Some Were at Sea.

Keep Creating. The World Needs Your Art. 

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