The Truth In This Art is a Baltimore-based documentary audio series and living archive preserving the voices, ideas, and creative practices shaping contemporary culture.

Created and hosted by independent journalist and audio producer Rob Lee, the series brings artists and cultural figures into thoughtful conversation about the experiences behind their work. Across more than 900 recorded conversations, Lee has spoken with painters, sculptors, photographers, filmmakers, musicians, writers, and other creative voices from Baltimore, the DMV, the East Coast, and beyond.

Guests have included author and cultural critic D. Watkins, photographer Devin Allen, and journalist Tonya Mosley, alongside emerging artists and cultural workers. Together, their stories offer a record of how creative lives unfold: the influences, choices, communities, challenges, and turning points that shape both a practice and a body of work.

In these conversations:
  • Creative practice: How artists find their voice, develop ideas, and bring work into the world.
  • The work behind the work: Studio routines, collaborations, breakthroughs, obstacles, and discoveries.
  • Culture in context: The people and places shaping exhibitions, public art, creative careers, and the wider cultural landscape.
Curious, thoughtful, and rooted in community, The Truth In This Art connects local voices to broader cultural conversations—and preserves the stories behind the work for listeners now and in the future. New conversations are added regularly for artists, creatives, culture lovers, and anyone curious about how meaningful work gets made.

Listen to the Trailer

Latest Episodes

“You Don’t Need a Plan”: Jesse Kirsch (No Plan Studio) on Letterpress, Design, and Community in Takoma Park

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Jesse Kirsch — graphic designer, artist, and co-founder of No Plan Studio, a Takoma Park studio combining con...

"I Wasn't Willing to Compromise How I Really Wanted to Paint": Kala Hagopian on Hagopian Arts and the EcoMural Project

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Kala Hagopian — founder and lead artist of Hagopian Arts, a woman-owned public art studio in the Philadelphia...

“There Are No Problems, There’s Only Solutions”: Chef Nicholas Martino on ABOVEGROUND and Egg Yaki

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Washington, D.C.-based chef Nicholas Martino! About Chef Nicholas Martino: Chef, entrepreneur, and proprietor...

Artist David R. Ibata on Vignettes (Recorded at Vika Gallery)

In this special bonus episode of The Truth In This Art, host Rob Lee welcomes David R. Ibata back to the podcast, this time to talk about his solo show, Vignettes, in ...

Sara Diani on Painting, Desire, and Being an Afghan American Artist

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, I sit down with Afghan American painter Sara Diani at Eaton Hotel in Downtown DC! About Sara Diani: Afghan American artist ba...

More Episodes »
Broadcast by