Maine media artist Galen Koch enjoys connecting with other artists.
Born and raised on Deer Isle, Galen, like most Maine islanders, does a variety of things for work. As her website notes, she makes radio stories. Podcasts. Videos. She writes stories. Sometimes she creates fiber arts. And sometimes she teaches.
“I do this work so I don’t have to pick a job,” Galen said in a recent conversation. “I get to do a million jobs. I get to interview other people about their work. I always think about Studs Terkel in this regard. Why do you do what you do, and why is it important?”
Ovations’ podcast series was created to open out and broaden accessibility to artists’ voices in our communities. “Podcasts are a real democratization of voices,” Galen says of why she loves the genre. “You can listen anytime, anyplace without a screen. It’s different from reading: you get to hear someone’s story in their own voice…the un-narrated voice for me is very powerful. There’s something for everyone.”