Today we’d like to introduce you to Paulina Mendoza Valdez and Estefania Marquez.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Thousand Faces is made up of two equal parts: Estefania Márquez (Austin), and Paulina Mendoza Valdez (Houston). The first time we ever worked together was in eighth grade biology class. We put together a presentation on Darwinism which featured a big poster board and rubber letters. Our collaborations later evolve into photo shoots and videos for Art school.
After graduating from Texas State University, we decided to move to Austin, where we could each have the opportunity to work within different creative institutions. Paulina decided to move to Houston in 2017, looking to expand our circle of knowledge. Thousand Faces is our latest (and biggest) collaboration to date, and strong proof of our commitment to support the arts through our personal and professional endeavors.
Has it been a smooth road?
Our biggest struggle has been defining our brand and ourselves as a business. Although we have years of experience working with other creatives, this time we were about to embark on something completely new; completely ours. Every detail had to be sorted between just the two of us–from creating an online presence to producing content that not only promotes Thousand Faces but artists and galleries we work with as well. Living in two different cities also makes it a bit harder to communicate, schedule meetings, and there’s constant traveling involved–a little hectic at times, but totally worth it. After our first show in Houston, we’ve taken a step back to reflect on our achievements and struggles in order to really define the path we want to take to continue to bring art into people’s lives.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Thousand Faces story. Tell us more about the project.
The goal of Thousand Faces is to create a fluent stream of artists exchange all over Texas by purposefully placing them outside of their residential cities. We facilitate these exchanges by partnering with select creatives, curators, gallerists, and collectives to both extend the artist’s platform and expose their work to larger, more diverse audiences. We have just begun our project in Houston and Austin, and we plan to incorporate other locations in the future.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Art is ever-changing, so it is imperative that we expand and be open to working with new mediums, content, dialogues, etc. Art can be very trendy—but Thousand Faces is not looking for trends. We want to form a pathway for intelligent people whose weapon of choice is Art. In 5-10 years, we see Thousand Faces as an established community in all over Texas.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.thousandfaces.co/
- Email: thousandfacesco@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thousandfacesco
- Facebook: Thousand Faces
Image Credit:
The portrait of us was taken by Whitley Stratton
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