The Durham Artist Archive is an oral history podcast that interviews artists in the Durham, NC area. The project provides a platform for artists to share their stories and experiences while exploring the evolution of the city. The podcast will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in art, culture, or Durham history.
durhamartistarchive.substack.com (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)
“I Be a Poem” - A poetry masterclass with Will Diggs
“Sometimes, when I don’t wanna be a person, I be a poem.” — Will Diggs
I’ve said it time and time again, but I love people who love their craft. Will Diggs, poet, playwright, and co-founder of the Durham based poetry series Sepia Soul joins us on today’s podcast. He walks through what it actually takes to get published (we get into all the details here), counting rejections as a metric for success, Will’s love for words and more. But where he got me, was when we discussed how he embodies his craft. He be a poem when the moment calls for it.
And it caused me to consider what I would be. In our chat, we settled on being everything.
This is for anyone who writes in their journal or “seriously”, anyone thinking about submitting for the first time, and anyone who wants to hear what it sounds like when someone has found the thing they’d choose over everything else.
Poetry Rules Everything Around Will. Listen in to learn why.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in:
* The mechanics of literary magazine submissions
* Rejection as information instead of a verdict on your talent
* What it means to let a creative practice become part of your identity, not just your output
Related Episodes
Support the Podcast
🎙️ Love what you’re hearing? The best way to support the Durham Artist Archive is by liking or rating the podcast on your favorite platform—it helps more people discover Durham’s creatives. And if you’d like to go deeper with Durham-focused art writing and podcast reflections, follow us on Substack. Paid subscribers get exclusive perks like a credit in the show notes and a shout out in our season finale for helping preserve these voices.
👉 Join as a paid supporter today and keep these stories alive: [Subscribe Here (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/)]
Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/durham-artist-archive/id1767252773?i=1000675517660)
Listen on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/4LA0IgLrnjvmIVwKvTgIe2?si=b8f9da7915a14cdb)
Read on Substack (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/)
🫱🏾🫲🏼 Connect with Will Diggs:
Website (https://www.chillsubs.com/profile/digablecreatives?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/willtheblackguy/)
Threads (https://www.threads.com/@willtheblackguy)
👋🏽 Connect with me, Alyssa Cuffie Onuoha:
https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/ (https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/)
alyssacuffie.com (https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa/)
☕️ Support the Pod:https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa (https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa)
✏️ Additional Details: Recorded at Queeny’s in Durham, North Carolina
Indy Best of the Triangle Durham County Best Local Podcast Runner Up
Get full access to The Durham Artist Archive at durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
8 Sept 2026
Your favorite artists favorite artists
And we’re back.
This Spring I stepped away from the podcast to pour everything into the Sixpence Art Series, my one month gallery pop up in Downtown Durham. If you want to learn more about it, check out my previous episode linked below. And by the time it wrapped I had 6 events under my belt and a red rotary phone of voicemails ready to be shared.
So this episode is those messages. Multiple people picked up that phone at the Durham Artist Archive Exhibition (shoutout to those of you who attended) and answered one question: who’s your favorite local artist?
It was delicious as I mention on the pod to call out people in love and reverence. There was no better way to me to return than calling out those who make this community go round whether as artists, patrons, admin, or otherwise.
🫱🏾🫲🏼 Artists mentioned in this episode:
* Eric Kelly III (http://erickellymuseum.com)
* Olisa Corcoran (https://www.instagram.com/o_corcoran/)
* Jim Lee (http://bambooturtle.com)
* Atigre (Xia) (https://www.instagram.com/atigrexia/)
* Amina Ace (https://www.instagram.com/acehenna/)
* Anna Barker (https://www.instagram.com/annabarker1234/)
* Sekou Gough (https://www.instagram.com/ekolvl/)
* Majesty Royale Jackson (https://www.instagram.com/glitterboiwonder/)
* Monet Marshall (http://www.monetnoellemarshall.com/?utm_content=link_in_bio)
* Lao Rubert (https://www.laorubert.com)
* Genesis Harris
* Nori McDuffie (https://www.instagram.com/shotbynori/)
* Revolutionary Baddies podcast (https://revolutionarybaddiespodcast.buzzsprout.com)
(More names to be added as I find their links, I pulled what I could!)
Related Episodes
Support the Podcast
🎙️ Love what you’re hearing? The best way to support the Durham Artist Archive is by liking or rating the podcast on your favorite platform—it helps more people discover Durham’s creatives. And if you’d like to go deeper with Durham-focused art writing and podcast reflections, follow us on Substack. Paid subscribers get exclusive perks like a credit in the show notes and a shout out in our season finale for helping preserve these voices.
👉 Join as a paid supporter today and keep these stories alive: Subscribe Here (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/)
Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/durham-artist-archive/id1767252773?i=1000675517660)
Listen on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/4LA0IgLrnjvmIVwKvTgIe2?si=b8f9da7915a14cdb)
Read on Substack (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/)
👋🏽 Connect with me, Alyssa Cuffie Onuoha:
https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/ (https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/)
alyssacuffie.com (https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa/)
☕️ Support the Pod: https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa (https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa)
✏️ Additional Details: Voicemails collected at the Durham Artist Archive Exhibition during the Sixpence Art Series pop up gallery, 104 West Parrish Street, Durham, North Carolina.
Photos taken by Amaiya Sanders at the Sixpence Art Series Durham Artist Archive Exhibition
Get full access to The Durham Artist Archive at durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
9 Apr 2026
"The Dream is the Truth" + An Exhibition Next Week!
Join us for the Durham Artist Archive Exhibition Friday April 17 6-8pm and Saturday April 18 12-3pm at 104 W Parrish St on Durham’s Black Wall Street.
This episode feels like me catching up to my own thoughts. Yes, I invite you to the Durham Artist Archive exhibition. But I end with a reflection.
I’ve been moving through the work, recording, planning, building, but this moment asks me to step back and see it. To recognize that staying with one idea has brought me here. To a beautiful gallery space on Black Wall Street, inviting people to step inside something that once only existed in my head.
It makes me think about how quickly we’re taught to move on. But what happens when we don’t? What happens when we sit with an idea long enough for it to deepen and take on a life of its own?
For me, this exhibition is an answer to that question. It’s what it looks like to trust that the dream is already telling the truth, (Word to Zora Neale Hurston) and to keep moving in alignment with it, even before you have proof.
Let’s get into it together.
Upcoming Events at 104 W Parrish St, Durham, NC
I would really love to see some Archivists in the room. Come wander in, talk to the artists, and maybe even take something home that you love. Here are the remaining events this month.
* (in)Good Company Music & Art Event (https://www.instagram.com/p/DWkU3ZniiSv/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
* Saturday, April 11 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
* The Durham Artist Archive Exhibition (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/durham-artist-archive-pop-up-art-exhibition-tickets-1984598453398?aff=oddtdtcreator)
* Friday, April 17 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
* Saturday, April 18 | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
* Blink of an Eye Exhibition (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/blink-of-an-eye-durham-pop-up-art-exhibition-tickets-1984599163522?aff=oddtdtcreator)(APPLY BY APRIL 13 (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0Wn4DrKeliH8DqHpPZUk4M4PIzI51mSje7cImJpLfVnyqlw/viewform))
* Friday, April 24 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
* Saturday, April 25 | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
* Sepia Soul Poetry Event (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0Wn4DrKeliH8DqHpPZUk4M4PIzI51mSje7cImJpLfVnyqlw/viewform)
* Sunday, April 26 | 2:00 - 10:00 PM
* A Taste of Your Love (Making) Exhibition by Nori McDuffie (https://www.instagram.com/p/DWw0UQLGSMn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
* Tuesday, April 28 | 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Support the Podcast
🎙️ Love what you’re hearing? The best way to support the Durham Artist Archive is by liking or rating the podcast on your favorite platform—it helps more people discover Durham’s creatives. And if you’d like to go deeper with Durham-focused art writing and podcast reflections, follow us on Substack. Paid subscribers get exclusive perks like a credit in the show notes and a shout out in our season finale for helping preserve these voices.
👉 Join as a paid supporter today and keep these stories alive (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe)
Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-durham-artist-archive/id1767252773)
Listen on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/4LA0IgLrnjvmIVwKvTgIe2?si=b8f9da7915a14cdb)
Read on Substack (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/)
👋🏽 Connect with me, Alyssa Cuffie Onuoha:https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/ (https://www.instagram.com/alwhyssa.artlab/)alyssacuffie.com (https://alyssacuffie.com/)
☕ Support the Pod:https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa (https://ko-fi.com/alwhyssa)
Get full access to The Durham Artist Archive at durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe (https://durhamartistarchive.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 26 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
38
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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