Today we’d like to introduce you to TENacious
Hi TENacious , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
June 1st heralds the spring/summer show of TENacious, a group of 7 artists living or functioning in the Houston Area. This collaboration has come together as a collective of women artists whose purpose is to bring accessible art to the people and accessible people to the art. T.E.N’s mission is to challenge the social norms of the art world by choosing to be artists who support artists and to make art accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Our goal is to support as many artists as possible by bringing awareness to their work through promotion; and to make art which can be accessed by as many people as possible by providing alternate avenues of experience.
This spring also debuted our semi-annual affordable call for art, which was set at an unprecedented low price of $10, to make it affordable for most artists, featured monetary awards, culminated in an Instagram summer exhibition June 1st on our tenacious.art.auctions, plus a podcast with the 1st place winner, Lizz Maye, and a “Summer Vibes” collection, posted on our website, ten10acious.wixsite.com, with Lizz’s work, 2nd place winner Vivian Rood, and third place winner Laura Luna.
The TENacious spring/summer show, held at the Artifex Gallery at Heights Church, Elements of Contrast, is a multi-sensorial exhibition consisting of components to utilize the 5 most commonly recognized senses for an expanded experience of art. This art is designed to be experienced by viewers of all ages and abilities as there are components for touching, smelling, tasting and listening, in addition to the visual artworks. The Black and White compositions are flanked by explosions of color and a feast for the senses with touchable fabric and sculpture pieces, contrasting taste sensations of sweet and sour, smooth and tangy, and listening components for each collection, accessible by QR codes. A discussion panel with the artists was held at the reception for attendees to get to know the artists better. One artist painted live and gave away ‘tiny’ paintings made at the reception.
The exhibition reception, on Saturday June 1st , featured a family friendly event.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
So many emerging artists struggle for recognition and affordable options for participation, and find it a daunting struggle to access the main stream art world, that we feel a compulsion to boost up others in their efforts to move forward in their careers. The low priced call for art, with all of the entry fees covering the prize money and marketing costs only, is a way for artists to gain some well deserved exposure; which we hope one day grow into a significant art prize. The Fall/Winter 2024 call for art will net the 1st place winner a spot in our group Winter show.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Everyone knows someone with a challenged ability and it is not difficult to understand how visual art can be inaccessible to those with a visual challenge; and our desire to make our art accessible to all people grows from our understanding of what it is like to be prohibited from partaking in certain life experiences, whether it be from geographic, financial, physical or other obstacles. Whether we are aware of it or not, all experiences in life involve some input from all of the recognized 5 senses. If you were to stub your toe on a tent stake at a festival, that experience of the pain in your foot would be attached to the smell of popcorn, lemonade, BBQ; and the sounds of carnival rides, loud music, people laughing; and the feel of the hot breeze on your skin, the sticky soda slopped on your legs and the throb in your toe. All of these physical cues will be embedded in that experience and, if the event is memorable enough, any of these physical cues could trigger the memory at a later time.
With the multi-sensory art, we provide the cues to create the experience so that even if one cue is muted or absent, there is still plenty of experience to be had.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Emerging artists probably fare best by finding themselves an attachment to a group. Whether it be a critique group, an art center, a local art association or even a group from an art class. There is power and opportunity in numbers and you automatically have a support group. These types of groups are fantastic for project ideas, show opportunities, expense sharing, info-sharing on what’s available ‘out there’, and emotional support through the hard times.
Pricing:
- M E Klesse: $165-3,600
- Nancy Ofori: $50-2,000
- Teresa Staley: $85-1,500
- Nicole Durham: $175-5,000
- Brittany Ellis: $200
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ten10acious.wixsite.com/ten-art/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenaciousartists/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551171200483
