Recorded live at Guggenheim New York, celebrated artists Sarah Sze and Julie Mehretu connect with Yana Peel, President of Arts, Culture & Heritage at CHANEL. Through her immersive installations, Sze redefines how we experience memory and perception, using everything from found photos to paperclips. Mehretu—a painter and printmaker—also creates at scale, layering history and politics to champion the arts as an essential force for change. The conversation moves from New York in the 90s as a home of creativity, to both artists’ commitment to philanthropy, and abstraction as a space for radical invention.

How will the future of technology take shape in art? Artist Adam Pendleton has an unexpected view in this episode of CHANEL Connects. In the drawing room of La Pausa, he connects with Yana Peel, President of Arts, Culture & Heritage at CHANEL. They reflect on Pendleton’s exhibitions—including his recent show at the Hirshhorn and the acquisition of his works by MoMA—and delve into the artist’s passion project preserving Nina Simone’s childhood home.

In this episode, listeners meet artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy and Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco, who is also a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. Colagreco’s culinary philosophy is rooted in his Argentine heritage and the local French countryside, with a celebrated restaurant located in the town next to La Pausa. Paris-based artist Lutz-Kinoy also draws inspiration from his French surroundings, working across disciplines from performance and painting to ceramics. Their shared values of protecting nature and finding beauty in the everyday charge a conversation about curiosity and discovery as essential human traits.

Lauren Collins, writer at The New Yorker, is well-versed in the art of storytelling. She connects with Gerard & Kelly, who evolved from romantic partners and collaborators into an established artist duo. The history of time and place has been a topic of exploration for all three, who connect at Gabrielle Chanel’s storied villa, La Pausa. Their conversation explores the language of dance, the rich legacy of Americans on the French Riviera, and what’s lost in translation.

For episode two, ballerina Francesca Hayward connects with artist Allison Katz. Hayward’s rapid ascent to Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet is testament to her exceptional talent and stage presence. Katz has also gained international recognition—her work explores memory across cultures and centuries and is held in the collection of Tate Modern in London, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, among many others. Together, they discuss the parallels between dance and painting and the importance of staying true to your vision.

Academy Award-winning actor and House ambassador Lupita Nyong’o connects with Emanuele Coccia, esteemed professor and author of ‘Philosophy of the Home’. The two explore different ideas of home: Coccia has moved over 40 times, while Nyong’o shares how her relationship to place was shaped in Kenya, Mexico and the US, and together they discuss how ‘home’ is redefined in the digital age. The conversation unfolds in the drawing room of Gabrielle Chanel’s beloved Riviera home—La Pausa.

For Season 5, listeners are transported to La Pausa, Gabrielle Chanel’s "ideal Mediterranean villa" on the French Riviera. The new season features changemakers across disciplines: Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o, Emanuele Coccia – philosopher and professor, Francesca Hayward of The Royal Ballet, artist Allison Katz, performance art duo Gerard & Kelly, Lauren Collins – writer at The New Yorker, artist Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco, and American artist Adam Pendleton.

Episodes will be released weekly from July 16.

Season Four of CHANEL Connects, the flagship arts and culture podcast, concludes with Adriano Pedrosa, curator of the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale and the Artistic Director of the São Paulo Museum of Art. In conversation with Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts & Culture at CHANEL, Pedrosa discusses the theme for this year’s Biennale: Stranieri Ovunque—Foreigners Everywhere, and how an exhibition can "reinforce what truly matters."

At the Palazzo Persico, the world-famous designers Michael Rock and Irma Boom reflect on Venice’s pivotal role in the history of book publishing – and its influence on generations of contemporary artists. Michael is the co-founder of 2x4, while Boom has designed more than 300 books across her career. Together, they explore how, more than 500 years ago, Venice revolutionised art, a legacy that continues to this day.

This episode connects two artists from countries uniquely impacted by climate change. Representing Iceland and Hong Kong, Hildigunnur Birgisdóttir and Trevor Yeung are navigating this year’s Venice Biennale and Venice as a city, much the way they treat their island homes. At the Conservatorio di Musica, looking out onto the Italian canals, they discuss how art can inspire action in the natural world.

What makes a great curator, and what brings them to the Venice Biennale, without fail, for the past two decades? In this episode, distinguished curators from the museum world connect to share their stories of seeing and discovery. Simon Castets, Director of Strategic Initiatives at LUMA Arles in France, speaks with Courtney J. Martin, Executive Director of the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in New York. Together, they discuss how the biennale shapes the coming trends in the international art scene.