The New Louis Armstrong Center, with Regina Bain and Sara Caples

Making the Museum

What’s the secret to success, when a project lasts years longer than planned?

What keeps us going when our work takes more time? How does the subject matter of a project relate to the form of a project? Why should we be thinking equally about the budget for what happens after a project opens? What is the “architecture of delight”? Why do “reverberations matter”? Which is more important: patience, or pushing? (Hint: it’s a trick question.) And most importantly, why should everybody visit the house of Louis and Lucille Armstrong in Queens, New York?

Regina Bain (Executive Director, Louis Armstrong House Museum & Archives) and Sara Caples, (Principal and co-founder of Caples Jefferson Architects) join host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners) to discuss the new Louis Armstrong Center project that all three worked on.

Along the way: why everyone should take acting classes, and what it’s like being inside a cello.

Chapters:

1. Louis and Lucille’s House

2. We’ll Open in Three Months

3. A Golden Curve

4. Serious Acting

5. The Reverberations Matter

6. Patience and Pushing

7. Letter to Your Earlier Self

8. Budget Beyond Opening

How to Listen:
Apple Podcasts

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G
Everywhere
https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/
Guest Bios:

Regina Bain is an artist and educator serving as the Executive Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum. In the midst of the reverberations of slavery, Jim Crow laws and the great migration, Armstrong became America’s first Black popular music icon. The Museum preserves his home and archives and develops programs grounded in the values of artistic excellence, education and community. This year, Ms. Bain recently opened the new 14,000 sq. foot Armstrong Center housing a multimedia exhibit curated by Jason Moran, a 75-seat performance space, and the 60,000-piece Armstrong Archives — the largest archives of any jazz musician and one of the largest of any Black musician. Previous to her appointment at LAHM, Ms. Bain served as Associate Vice President of the Posse Foundation — a national leadership and college access program. Bain’s efforts helped to increase Posse’s national student graduation rates for four consecutive years. Bain is currently the co-chair of Culture @3’s anti-racism subcommittee and recently served on the Yale Board of Governors.

Sara Caples AIA is Principal and co-founder of Caples Jefferson Architects PC. Sara's early experience was focused on the design and direction of large projects, especially in the public realm. Since founding the firm in 1987 with Everardo Jefferson, she has remained committed to designing cultural, educational, and community centers for neighborhoods underserved by the design professions. Sara is a frequent lecturer at schools, community, and professional organizations. She has served as a visiting professor at Syracuse, CCNY, University of Miami, and Yale. Sara and her partner Everardo are currently William B. and Charlotte Shepherd Davenport Professors at Yale School of Architecture, and Everardo and Sara worked together on the design of the Louis Armstrong project. CJA has been honored with AIANY’s President’s Award and awarded the AIA’s New York State Firm of the Year. With work widely published from Architect Magazine and Domus to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Their most recent book is Many Voices: Architecture for Social Equity.

About MtM:
Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. This podcast is a project of C&G Partners | Design for Culture. Learn about the firm's creative work at: https://www.cgpartnersllc.com
Show Links:
Louis Armstrong House Museum: https://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/

Louis Armstrong (Artist) on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/19eLuQmk9aCobbVDHc6eek?si=lYvi-xRYRXyPTNj7TpzuqA

Images of Louis Armstrong Center Building: https://www.capjeff.com/louis-armstrong-center-new

Images of Louis Armstrong Center Exhibitions: https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/projects/new-project-the-louis-armstrong-center-2/

Regina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reginabain/

Sara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saracaples/

Caples Jefferson Architects: https://www.capjeff.com

C&G Partners (Jonathan’s Firm, Exhibition Designers): https://www.cgpartnersllc.com

Potion Design (Technology Design for Interactive Table): https://www.potiondesign.com/

Art Guild (Exhibition Fabricators): https://www.artguildinc.com/

MtM Show Contact:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger
[e-mail]
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com
Newsletter:
Like the episode? Try the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a one-minute email on exhibition planning and design for museum leaders, exhibition teams and visitor experience professionals. Subscribe here: https://www.makingthemuseum.com