Today we’d like to introduce you to Abby Lovelace (Babe Collective).
Hi Abby, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Abby and I am the co-founder of Babe Collective along with my friends Cece and Maddie. We formed in late 2023 to give ourselves and our talented friends a platform to share their art and unique voices. What started as a group Instagram account has expanded into a project where we create zines and host our own art shows and events. Frankly. we felt disillusioned with how exclusive the art scene can be for those who aren’t already “in the know”. It can be difficult to get your art accepted into shows and galleries and otherwise promoted or uplifted locally. We also felt called to come together during a phase in our lives where it was necessary to cultivate a better outlet to express ourselves. With all of this in mind, we decided to take the DIY approach and do our own thing in our own way.
We released our first zine, “Confessions”, in 2024 with contributions from our social circle as well as outside submissions. Our first group art show was earlier this year in March 2026. “Bespoke: A Fashion and Makeup Art Show” focused on the political implications of our beauty choices and hosted a great selection of local artists. We are currently working on another zine, “Dollhouse”, which we plan to release later this year. We are always accepting submissions of art, writing, and other creative media to our Instagram and email accounts by local artists with a special focus on women and LGBT creators. We also plan on creating a website soon, and we are excited to put together more shows and projects in the near future.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our journey in figuring out the identity of Babe Collective has been a healing one. Initially, our collaboration pushed us to evolve creatively during a difficult period in each of our lives. We made time to socialize and share ideas more often, which really helped each of us out mentally and emotionally.
It is tough in general to navigate the existing system while trying to establish public interest in a relatively new thing. While social media is still our main promotional tool, it can be a struggle to work against platform censorship and algorithms to reach the right people. We prefer to focus on the things we are creating and do not pressure ourselves to cater to an audience. Under these circumstances, we want to be more flexible and clever with how we put our name out there. It has been challenging, yet very rewarding, to carve out a space to create together without the limitations of corporate influence. We hope to reach other people who don’t want to be content creators first and artists last, whose art nonetheless deserves to be valued. Our community is important to us, and we hope to continue connecting and evolving together and uplifting the voices of other women who we meet along the way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Abby is a mixed media artist who paints, crafts, creates jewelry, collages, takes photography, and writes poetry. Cece is a mixed media artist who paints, draws, and crafts, sometimes using non-traditional media such as coffee, tea, wine, and crushed rose petals. Maddie is a mixed media artist who specializes in collage and assemblage art from recycled and repurposed materials.
At this time, we are all experimenting with new media every day and going outside of our comfort zones. Meanwhile, we are collaborating on group projects that both highlight our individuality and cohere into a shared visual style. We are not limited to traditional artistic forms and seek to do as many different things as we possibly can at once. Our versatility and collaborative nature is what sets us apart, as we demonstrate not only ourselves as unique artists but “Babe Collective” as an artistic identity all on its own.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Living in Houston is a double-edged sword – The great thing is that there are so many opportunities for artists and other creatives to thrive, connect, and participate in the community. We love the diversity of people and perspectives in this city. On the other hand, since there are so many different places to find art, it is easy to get lost in a sea of a million other voices. With such a vast potential audience, it can be hard to find your niche here.
We hope to encourage other Houston artists to see art not only as a commodity or an escape from reality, but as a survival tool and a way of life. There are a lot of well-established household names here, but we hope to inspire the next generation of emerging artists to put their voices out there without having to check certain boxes or know the right people. In Houston, there is art everywhere and in everything, and we hope that others can resonate with that too.
Pricing:
- – Our zines are free!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/babexcollective
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/babecollectivehtx
- Other: [email protected]
