Today we’d like to introduce you to Blair Schulman.
Hi Blair, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started out writing arts criticism, and kept running into the same frustration: national coverage treats the Midwest as culturally thin, That’s not true. I started Midwest Agenda started as a dedicated space to cover the visual arts and cultural policy as coverage on their own terms.
Six years in, the platform has grown into short-form video and editorial work across TikTok, Instagram, and the website, and Kansas City has become a real anchor for the coverage, though the beat runs across the whole Midwest. The throughline has stayed the same: connecting bigger art-world narratives, funding fights, institutional politics, AI and surveillance in creative work, to what it actually looks like to make and show work in the Midwest region.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s a daily grind. Every day I get up and do the work: consistency and reliability are crucial – reach out to artists and institutions, go through the news for a story I hope resonates with viewers, and keep the platform running, updating individual listings across the region and growing the mailing list. The daily Midwest Agenda Art News is a job unto itself; research the story, write the script, edit the video, publish across every platform, and respond to comments when it matters. But I love it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an arts journalist, critic, and digital content creator, and I run Midwest Agenda, a regional arts journalism platform now in its sixth year. I connect larger art-world narratives—funding fights, institutional politics, environmental art, AI and surveillance in creative work—to what it actually means to make and show work outside major institutional centers. Kansas City is a key anchor, but the coverage extends across the Midwest through short-form video on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
The Midwest is culturally rich and important to the national arts conversation, and I want to make clear that its relevance is not occasional—it deserves daily coverage. I cover all relevant issues – funding cuts, museum politics, and the artists institutions overlook with the same seriousness as national outlets.
I’m most proud that Midwest Agenda still exists and continues to run entirely through my own effort, while I seek financial support through my tax-deductible fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas. Six years in, it remains the idea I started with and have carried forward—from a single critic writing reviews to a daily operation covering artists and institutions across an entire region.
What sets me apart is that I don’t parachute into a story once and move on. I’m embedded here. and I return to community stories over time, building follow-up coverage that reflects their lasting importance and the role they play in their communities.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is that moment when you realize you still have much work to do
Contact Info:
- Website: https://midwestagenda.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midwestagenda/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MidwestAgenda
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@midwestagenda
