On this episode of The Emergence Room, Heather Hart joins us for a conversation about culminating our time as 2025–26 Rome Prize Fellows at the American Academy in Rome and what it means to carry that experience forward. Heather is an artist, Assistant Professor of Sculpture at Rutgers University, and co-founder of Black Lunch Table, a platform dedicated to supporting the histories, intellectual agency, and communities of Black artists.
Heather’s sculptural practice often takes the form of rooftops and architectural structures that become spaces for gathering, interaction, storytelling, and exchange. Her work asks us to think about who creates space, who belongs within it, and how architecture can become a site for community, memory, and connection.
We talk about teaching and creative practice, self-care and making time for others, and the ongoing work of creating an authentic life as an artist. We also reflect on community, presence, generosity, and what it means to build spaces, both literally and metaphorically, where other people can enter and participate.
It was such a pleasure to share space with Heather in Rome and to come together for this conversation about what we’ve built, what we carry with us, and what comes next.