Permanent Daydream

About Permanent Daydream

Hosted by Elodie Saint-Louis, Permanent Daydream is a podcast series that explores the inner lives of artists, writers, and cultural visionaries. Each episode is a contemplative journey into a guest’s worldview and daily practice, whether they’re crafting work in a studio, shaping public discourse, or reimagining community. It’s a show for anyone wondering what we might discover when we let our minds wander freely.

Publisher

Elodie Saint-Louis

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

8 Apr 2026

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Revealing the Invisible with Kwamé Azure Gomez

   What does it mean to make the invisible visible, to give form to the things we feel but cannot always articulate? The memories we carry, the rituals that sustain us, and the unspoken bonds that draw us to one another. For artist Kwamé Azure Gomez, painting is a means of exploring these questions. Working across abstraction, video, and assemblage, Gomez creates richly layered compositions that draw upon the sensory and spiritual dimensions of life. Her practice is rooted in “the radical possibilities of movement” and an understanding of artmaking as an act of both discovery and devotion. Raised in Ohio, Gomez grew up immersed in the traditions of the Black church, traveling across the Midwest as a member of a liturgical dance group. The rhythms, gestures, and collective expressions of worship that shaped her childhood would later find an unexpected parallel in the rituals of queer nightlife and ballroom culture. These seemingly disparate spaces share a profound capacity for transformation, offering opportunities for communion, self-expression, and transcendence. When I visited Kwamé in her studio, the floor was covered in paint. We were surrounded by canvases that drew me in with their radiance. At the heart of Gomez’s work is a belief in the transformative power of paying attention—to ourselves, one another, and the worlds we inhabit. A conversation about the tension between control and freedom, the importance of trusting one’s intuition, and the faith required to pursue a creative life. 03:02 – The origins of Kwamé’s practice 05:53 – Navigating life after graduate school 10:04 – The role of  family and community 12:53 – Spirituality, dance, and queerness 17:17 – Kwamé’s process 22:04 – Kwamé’s evolution as an artist 35:26 – Kwamé on her artistic influences Kwamé Azure Gomez is an artist from Akron, Ohio. Gomez has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. Her work has been featured at James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY; New Image Art Gallery, West Hollywood, CA; SoLA Contemporary in Los Angeles, CA; Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago, IL; Anthony Gallery Chicago, IL; and Dada Gallery, London, UK, among others. Gomez recently completed the prestigious NXTHVN artist residency in New Haven, CT. In 2022, she received the Emerging Artist grant from New American Paintings; the following year, her work was featured in New American Paintings MFA Issue 165. Gomez earned an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BFA from the University of Akron; she lives and works in New Haven, CT. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

2. 

   26 Sept 2026

   The Search for Self with Virginia Chihota

   Virginia Chihota’s deeply introspective practice unfolds as a search for self, belonging, and spiritual transformation. Working across screen-printing, drawing, and painting, she creates layered, dreamlike compositions in which figures emerge, dissolve, and reappear through fields of color, texture, and gesture. Guided by intuition and what she describes as “a sustained act of listening,” Virginia’s works meditate on intimacy, kinship, faith, bereavement, motherhood, and the shifting emotional landscapes that shape the human experience. Repetition plays a central role in Virginia’s practice; the act of revisiting the same image or gesture is a devotional process through which questions are carried, transformed, and answered. Her works often feel like layered rooms where dreams, memories, and fragments of life converge across the past, present, and future. In this episode, Elodie sits down with Virginia to discuss her journey of becoming an artist, why art is, for her, about “a continuous search for self,” and the true value of art. A conversation about intuition, creation as a spiritual act, and the role identity, place and transformation play in one’s work. 2:30 - Virginia’s first meaningful art experience and journey of becoming an artist 7:58 - Discovering printmaking 11:45 - What drives Virginia’s practice 14:16 - Finding inspiration from other women 18:18 - Virginia’s process 24:52 - On Virginia’s exhibition Kupinduka 28:52 - On surrender and resistance 31:40 - Art, value, and the market 34:40 - Working with Lotte de Beer on her adaptation of Aida 38:39 - Virginia’s relationship to the viewer Virginia Chihota is a multi-disciplinary artist. She graduated with a certificate in Fine Art from the National Gallery B.A.T Visual Art Studios in 2004, followed by a diploma in Fine Art from Harare Polytechnic in 2006. She represented Zimbabwe at the 55th Venice Biennale in 2013 and was awarded the Prix Canson the same year. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is included in collections such as the Centre Pompidou, Tate, and the Astrup Fearnley Collection. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

3. 

   27 Aug 2026

   The Journey Home with Patrick Eugène

   Artist Patrick Eugène’s practice explores ancestry, migration, and memory. Working across painting and sculpture, his work is rooted in an ongoing dialogue between past and present. Patrick started painting at 27 after experiencing burnout while working as a banker. What began as a reprieve soon blossomed into a new career. His early experiments with figuration gave way to a decade of abstraction, during which he experimented with materials like liquid rubber and latex, finding inspiration from artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock. Patrick returned to figuration during the pandemic, bringing the fluidity and emotional resonance of his abstract works to his portraits. The figures in his large-scale compositions are caught in moments of quietude and contemplation. Underlying Patrick’s practice is an understanding of art as a form of inheritance. His work asks what survives migration, what one generation leaves for another, and how one honors the past while simultaneously making way for the future. In this episode, Elodie sits down with Patrick to discuss his unconventional path from finance to art, the role of family and community in shaping his practice, his collaboration with Dior for the Lady Dior Art Project, and more. A conversation on ancestral memory, inheritance, and home as space of refuge. 05:03 — Patrick's relationship to Haiti 17:16 — How burnout led to a new career 29:11 — On abstraction, figuration and following creative instincts 36:05 — On navigating the art world 39:23 — Patrick's collaboration with Dior Patrick Eugène is a painter and sculptor. His work has been featured in exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally. He is among the first inductees into the Qatar Airways Creative 100 and is a board member of the non-profit Bati School, an initiative committed to sustainability growing Ayiti’s future through farm-funded education. His work is held in the collections of the High Museum of Art, the Mead Art Museum, The Dean Collection, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

4. 

   31 Jul 2026

   The Five Blessings of Ifá with Gabrielle Felder

   In her debut book, The Five Blessings of Ifá: Reclaiming Black Futures Through Afro-Indigenous Spirituality, writer, researcher, and aborisa Gabrielle Felder explores African spiritual traditions, particularly Ifá, as a framework for reimagining community, identity, and liberation. Gabrielle explores the five blessings of Ifá—Àikú (longevity), Àjé (wealth and prosperity), Oko/Aya (partnership), Ọmọ (children), and Iségun (victory over negative forces)—to reveal how Black communities have cultivated resilience through ancestral knowledge, kinship, mutual aid, and collective care, offering a vision of abundance that extends beyond Western measures of success. In this episode, Elodie sits down with Gabrielle to discuss her path to Ifá, the influence of ancestry and family on her spiritual practice, her work as a doula, and more. A conversation on ancestral wisdom, Black spirituality, and expanding what it means to be human. 03:20 — Gabby’s path to Ifá 10:34 — On reclaiming Black spiritual traditions 13:34 — The five blessings 21:13 — On family, ancestors & inheritance 26:57 — The process of writing the book 33:20 — On reimagining the future Gabrielle Felder is a writer, data analyst, and aborisa born and raised in Orange County, California and is currently based in Los Angeles. She explores the history of the African diaspora, drawing from her interdisciplinary background in ecology, anthropology, and data analytics. Passionate about community work, she has trained as a postpartum doula, worked in community gardens, and led Afro-Indigenous ceremonies. She’s shared her work through speaking engagements with UC Davis Women’s Resources and Research Center and the Feminist Center for Creative Work. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

5. 

   23 Jun 2026

   The Freedom of Abstraction with Lindsay Adams

   Painter Lindsay Adams approaches abstraction as both a formal language and philosophical framework. Her practice is akin to musical composition; each mark functions like a note, colors melding to create harmonies and melodies. Drawing from Black cultural and literary traditions, Lindsay’s luminous canvases explore memory, migration, ancestry, and the many emotional realities that shape the human experience. In this episode, Elodie sits down with Lindsay to discuss her most recent exhibition SOIL at Sean Kelly Gallery, leaving the traditional workforce to pursue art, living with cerebral palsy, and the role research plays in her practice. A conversation on Blackness and abstraction, disability, and artistic reinvention. 03:12 — Lindsay’s first meaningful art experience 08:47 — Transitioning from corporate work to art 19:33 — Lindsay’s influences 23:05 — SOIL at Sean Kelly Gallery 37:07 — On living with cerebral palsy 43:14 — On Weary Blues, Lindsay’s commission for the Obama Presidential Center 47:00 — Lindsay’s reading recommendations Lindsay Adams is a writer and painter working across traditional mediums. Lindsay received her B.A.s in both International Studies: World Politics and Diplomacy and Spanish from the University of Richmond and an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been the recipient of the Helen Frankenthaler Award (2024) and the New Artist Society Merit Award (2023). Her work has been exhibited at the Baltimore Museum of Art, MD, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C., and is included in the collections of the Baltimore Museum of Art and Northwestern Law School. A 2025-2026 artist-in-residence at the World Trade Center through Silver Art Projects, Lindsay was commissioned to produce a site-specific work for the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June 2026. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

6. 

   21 May 2026

   Heather McCalden on The Observable Universe

   In this episode, Elodie sits down with Heather McCalden to discuss her inventive and deeply moving book The Observable Universe, a memoir, mystery, investigation, and work of cultural commentary. Heather lost both of her parents to AIDS when she was a child. Years later, following the death of her grandmother Nivia, she started researching the history of HIV and discovered that the history of the virus and the internet ran on parallel timelines. That discovery led her down a fascinating rabbit hole, where virality began to take on a multitude of meanings. We plunge down that rabbit hole with her, a journey that takes us into unexpected territory and offers no definite conclusions. At the book’s center is a heart that thrums with grief, a heart that knows that to be alive is to be transformed on a cellular level. A conversation on technology and consciousness, writing’s relationship to the body, grief, and the process of making art in the digital age. 08:10 - On memoir and unresolved endings 17:15 - Heather’s process of writing The Observable Universe 24:49 - On writing and embodiment 30:48 - Heather’s practice as a photographer and her creative influences 41:00 - COVID and how collective trauma influences literature and art Heather McCalden is a multidisciplinary artist working with text, image and movement. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art (2015) and has exhibited at Tanz Company Gervasi, Roulette Intermedium, Pierogi Gallery, National Sawdust, Zabludowicz Collection, Testbed 1, Flux Dubai and with Seattle Symphony Orchestra. In 2017 she attended the Emerging Writers Intensive at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and returned in 2018 for their Summer Writers Residency. In January 2021, she participated in the Tin House Winter Workshop. The Observable Universe is her first book. For more, follow the show on Instagram @permanentdaydream.

7. 

   21 Apr 2026

   Creating Dangerously with Edwidge Danticat & Manuel Mathieu

   A conversation on what it means to create dangerously in uncertain times.

8. 

   8 Apr 2026

   Introducing Permanent Daydream

   Welcome to Permanent Daydream, a conversation series that explores the inner lives of artists, writers, and cultural visionaries. Hosted by writer and critic Elodie Saint-Louis, it’s a show for anyone wondering what we might discover when we let our minds wander freely. The first episode, featuring Edwidge Danticat and Manuel Mathieu, premieres April 21. Follow the show on Instagram: instagram.com/permanentdaydream

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.