I'm here too
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I'm Here Too Podcast

I’m Here Too Podcast

A podcast, hosted by Ara Tucker that explores the intersections of art, culture, creativity, family, identity and all that fills the spaces in between.

We all have a chance to make our own mark, our own impression. Big or small as it ends up being. What a freeing realization that has been for me. Don’t get me wrong. It’s been a long and circuitous road getting to the place where “I” feels authentic and where I don’t apologize for the way I walk through the world.

It took me a long time to get to here, a place where I will be seen and heard. But now that I’m here, I’m eager for some company. I look forward to sharing my journey with you, learning from others, and creating a space where we can feel more connected, inspired and safe to be ourselves.

Off we go!

It's Been Longer Than I Thought, a conversation with Mayuri Chandra

You can also find this podcast on YouTube (transcript available), Spotify (video and audio versions), Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts (transcript available) and other fun places where podcasts live so subscribe, follow and tell your friends and your cat to listen and let me know what you think.

“It’s been longer than I thought.”

Mayuri and I have known each other since we were kids. This year marks 25 years since we graduated from college in 2001.

We talk about what that milestone actually feels like. The doctor who’s younger than you. The version of you that still feels 25, even when the mirror disagrees. The way old friends collapse time.

We revisit the New York we imagined in our twenties, shaped by Rent and Sex and the City, and what it was like to arrive in New York City in 2001. That October, Mayuri started at the Public Art Fund, presenting contemporary art in public space in a city still processing 9/11. 

From there, we talk about nonprofit leadership, burnout in arts organizations, and the hard lesson that good work does not automatically mean good management.

We end with reflecting on what it’s like to grow up before constant connectivity, the beauty of silence and longing, as well as what it takes to sustain a creative practice.

About Mayuri Chandra:

Mayuri Chandra (pronouns: she/her/hers) is a passionate advocate for the arts, deeply committed to advancing equity. She believes in the transformative effects of the arts on youth development and as such, for almost 20 years, has worked for museums and nonprofits around the world, developing educational and community programs. Her early career started in NYC (presenting contemporary art in public spaces with Public Art Fund); on to Boston (developing education programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston); then to London (heritage educational programs), and is currently at Arts Ed Newark, a collective impact initiative in Newark, NJ, ensuring access to and opportunity in arts education. 

She has, for multiple years served as National Juror for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards; In 2022, was an Americans for the Arts’ Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Fellows panelist; We Need Diverse Books judge (2021); Morris Arts Local Grants panel juror (mult. years); Newark ArtStart juror (mult. years). An avid reader, she was selected to be a volunteer reader for CRAFT (2026) and you can also read her (guest) book reviews on #BrownGirlBookshelf.

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