MARINA MAY SCHLEICHER (b. 1994, St. Louis, Missouri) is a writer, gallery director, and semi-professional talker based in St. Louis, Missouri.
After receiving her undergraduate degree in Art History and Anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, she became the Curatorial Assistant at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis. There, she developed an obsession with increasing access to contemporary art through approachable language.
To satisfy this desire, she co-founded the editorial platform Silver Space in 2017 and received The Luminary’s Future’s Fund grant to develop the podcast cool WIP with visual artist Nick Schleicher in 2019. The episodes feature conversations with artists, curators, gallery owners, organizers, and anyone invested in creative pursuits. The pair continue to host cool WIP — now in its fourth season.
Marina rebranded the Silver Space platform in 2023, renaming the site after cool WIP. It serves as a platform for the podcast and an archive of editorial content including essays, interviews, and criticism. Check out cool WIP on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
She currently lives and works in Saint Louis, MO with her now-husband Nick Schleicher. Marina is the Gallery Director of Kodner Gallery, a member of Monaco USA, and a freelance copywriter. Her work can be found on the web at coolwipofficial.com as well as on Instagram @marinamae_west / @coolwip_official