Tune In to GYST Radio.

GYST Radio is a resource for all information on the business of art, hybrid careers and other DIY strategies for a successful career in the arts. We believe that artists should define their own careers on their own terms, and we provide the necessary tools and resources for doing so. We have great resources for artists (see below) but this radio broadcast concentrates on DIY artists, independent curators and arts organizations that support artists. Instead of waiting to be validated by a "gate keeper" come and find out strategies for doing it yourself here. We also post relevant content from other providers, so enjoy.

*please be patient as we transfer all of our programs from blog talk radio to our site here.  Thank you.

Meet our GYST Host and Resident DJ's

Show: GYST DO IT!
Host: Kara Walker Tomé

Kara Walker Tomé is a contemporary art specialist, independent curator, event producer, arts administrator, writer and consultant. 

Kara returned to her hometown of Los Angeles in 2012 after a decade living in South Florida where she became renowned for creating and producing alternative exhibitions and art events through her company Art-Site Projects. She also curated many exhibitions featuring regional, emerging contemporary artists at non-profit galleries and alternative spaces in and around West Palm Beach. Kara held the positions of Education Director at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art from 2000-2004 and Director of Program Development at the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach from 2004-2006. She was also a contributing writer to The Art Economist, a monthly magazine examining the economics of contemporary art, wherein she selected and wrote profiles on “Artists to Watch.”

Previous to moving to South Florida, after graduating from CalArts with an MFA, she worked in non-profit arts and education organizations in Los Angeles, including Inner-City Arts, Armory Center for the Arts and the Junior Arts Center at Barnsdall Art Park.

She is currently getting Art-Site Projects up and running in Los Angeles.

Show: Pop-Up Research Station 
Host: Liza Simone

Liza Simone has been an active participant in the LA art scene as a curator, organizer, writer, and consultant for projects, including the initial launch of The Arts District Citizen. She has worked with a number of highly regarded local museums and non-profit organizations and has been a guest speaker at conferences and colleges.

Simone is the Founding Director of Phantom Galleries LA (PGLA), a program launched in 2005 that facilitates and administrates temporary public arts programming in vacant storefronts throughout Los Angeles County.  The program was established as a valuable resource for artists, curators, communities, and not-for-profit organizations for creating temporary public art galleries where they are least expected.  Taking its name from Phantom Galleries of San Jose, Simone introduced an alternative system for exhibiting art to Los Angeles. With PGLA, Simone uses the potential of art to transform and bridge communities.

Inspired by her collaborative success of the Gallery Row Ad Hoc Committee for the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC), Simone helped organize nomadic exhibitions and temporary public art as part of the 2004 unveiling event for Gallery Row.  Feeling that there was a need for more of this kind of programming, Simone cultivated her own vision of temporary public art in action for Los Angeles' economic climate by developing PGLA. Since PGLA's inception in 2005, Simone has directed well over 450 exhibitions. 

Show: Pop-up Research Station
Host: Alpha Bruton

Alpha Bruton completed her studies in Art Education and the Teachers Credential Program in 1990, California State University of Sacramento. Upon moving to Illinois, she completed her studies in the Masters of Art in Administration Program at the School of the Art Institute in May of 2001.    Formal training in studio art, art education, dance production, theater arts, and art gallery management gives Bruton the foundation to manage art education programs.

Currently she is an artist, art consultant, and teaching artist listed in the Illinois Arts Council Arts Education Program Roster and an independent vendor for Chicago Public Schools. Serves as a Board of Director’s administrator for the Phantom Gallery Chicago Network. She is the chief curator for the Phantom Gallery, where she coordinates exhibitions in alternative venues for installation artists, environmental artists, and conceptual artists to connect the arts with commerce.

Bruton has served five terms as a board member of Borderbend Arts Collective, a producer of the Chicago Calling Arts Festival, where local Chicagoans call out to artists in other cities, states, nationally and internationally to engage them in collaborative projects highlighted during Chicago Artists Month in a two-week long festival during Chicago Artists Month. 

Show: The WOHA Show: Where Other Art’s Heard 
Host: Sharsten Plenge

Sharsten is an artist, curator, and event producer inspired by a world saturated in digital excess, instant access, mobility, and convenience. Through her projects and mission of WOAH (We Open Art Houses), Sharsten seeks utopian residues in a pervasive atmosphere of screens, sensory overload, and urban greyfields.  She holds a BFA from New York University and has collaborated on projects in Berlin, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.  Founded in 2012, WOAH (We Open Art Houses) is a creative agency and idea hub transforming open spaces through ephemeral and site-specific projects. A not-for-profit initiative, WOAH works in tandem with artists, multimedia brands, and property owners to orient pedestrian activity and create experiential environments in unexpected places.