Asia Society Texas Announces 'Artists on Site' Series 5 Cohort
Fifth Round of Support for Houston-Based BIPOC Artists
- For high-resolution images, please email Stephanie Todd-Wong, Vice President, Communications and External Affairs: [email protected]
- To download a PDF copy of this release, please click here
HOUSTON, July 16, 2024 — Asia Society Texas (AST) is thrilled to announce Claire Elestwani, Loc Huynh, Chayse Sampy, and artist collective Open MFA have been selected to participate in the fifth round of the Artists on Site (AOS) initiative that provides Houston-based BIPOC artists with space, funding, and the necessary support to experiment and take new risks. Beginning August 14, the cohort will transform AST’s galleries into public-facing artist studios — sharing their creative process with guests as the residency unfolds. Admission to view Artists on Site Series 5 is FREE and open to the public Wednesday, August 14, through Sunday, September 22. The residency will conclude with a closing reception on Friday, September 20, from 6–9 p.m.
Born out of conversations with artists in Houston and beyond, the AOS initiative was developed in 2020 to provide space and support for artists and their practices. The Series 5 artists are provided a $1,750 artist stipend, $500 for materials, dedicated space for five weeks, and professional documentation of their work, as well as a platform for public programming and connectivity with patrons, curators, and other arts professionals. This year’s cohort was selected by a committee including AOS 4 alumna Alexis Pye, Menil Collection Curatorial Assistant Sophie Asakura, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Blaffer Art Museum Assistant Curator Erika Mei Chua Holum, and AST’s Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions Owen Duffy.
"It's amazing to see Artists on Site entering its fifth cycle,” says Duffy. “What started as a pandemic-era necessity to both offer resources to Houston artists and activate Asia Society Texas’ galleries has evolved into an impactful public laboratory and budding community of alumni."
In addition to the space and financial resources provided by the program, the connectivity and relationships developed among the members of the cohort during the residency are key benefits of the program.
Working across a variety of media, each member of the cohort brings with them a different artistic practice, lived experience, and diverse perspective. For Loc Huynh, interacting with his fellow artists and AST guests is a key component to the experience: “I am excited for the opportunity to engage with the community and share my art in such a unique way. To be able to share my process with the public is such a special privilege.”
The residency offers opportunities to witness the artistic process in-person, as well as artist talks and a closing reception. All the activities and programs in the initiative are FREE and open to the public.
Fast Facts
- Dates: Wednesday, August 14, 2024, through Sunday, September 22, 2024
- Admission: FREE
- Hours: Wednesday, Friday – Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Thursday, 12–7 p.m.
- Closing Reception: September 20, 2024, from 6–9 p.m.
About the Artists
As a multi-disciplinary, Lebanese + Filipina artist and designer, Claire Elestwani uses paper, ceramics, and pliable materials to create research-based “body objects.” Through the making of these objects, they investigate and document manifestations of embodied meaning, particularly as it relates to identity formation and the urban environment. “Embodiment” is an essential part of their practice: the idea that language (and thus, our ability to share meaning with one another) is inextricably linked to our physical bodies. Claire holds an MFA from the University of Houston and a BA from Rice University. Claire has published writing in Design & Culture, and has exhibited at Anya Tisch Gallery (Houston, Texas), Blaffer Art Museum (Houston, Texas), Blaffer Reading Room (Houston, Texas), Dishman Art Museum (Beaumont, Texas), Lawndale Art Center (Houston, Texas), Beaux-Arts de Nantes (Nantes, France), Alabama Song (Houston, Texas), DUST Compound (Marfa, Texas), Matchbox Gallery (Houston, Texas), Emergency Gallery (Houston, Texas) and the Buffalo Bayou “Field Office” (Houston, Texas).
Loc Huynh (b. 1992, Austin, Texas) graduated with a BFA from Texas State University in 2016 and an MFA from the University of North Texas in 2020. Huynh has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of the Southwest (Midland, Texas), Martha’s (Austin, Texas), Inman Gallery (Houston, Texas), and New Release Gallery (New York). Select group exhibitions include presentations at the Orlando Museum of Art, Zona Maco (Mexico City) with Rusha & Co. (Los Angeles), Stiltsville (Miami) with Half Gallery (New York), Hashimoto Contemporary (Los Angeles), and Brooklyn Academy of Music among others. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz, Dallas Morning News, and Southwest Contemporary, as well as other publications. Huynh has also participated in the Vermont Studio Center Residency (Johnson, Vermont), Wassaic Project (Wassaic, New York), Bunker Projects (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), and was part of the Lawndale Artist Studio Program (Houston). He currently lives and works in Houston, Texas.
Chayse Sampy is a mixed media, Afro-surrealist painter. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Sanman Studios in her hometown of Houston, TX. She received her MFA from Florida State University where she was the recipient of multiple awards including the Brian Andrew McLachlin Arts Enrichment Fund and the Jim Boone Endowment Scholarship. She received her BFA from Louisiana State University where she was the recipient of the Hearst Scholarship, the Undergraduate Painting Scholarship, and the Annual Black Scholar Award. Sampy has exhibited regionally and nationally with recent projects including group exhibitions at Pen + Brush (2024), the FSU Museum of Fine Arts (2023), the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans (2023), ArtFields 2023, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (2023), the Ritz Theater and Museum (2023), Nia Cultural Center (2022), and Working Method Contemporary Gallery (2022).
Open MFA is an artist collective in Houston, Texas. Since 2016, organizers of Open MFA have united under the common belief that communities thrive when individuals have access to freely explore their creative potential. The collective's mission is to open new pathways for arts education, foster creative exchanges, and empower individuals through skill-sharing and collaborative learning. Open MFA’s goal is to create an environment in which artists and community members can collectively learn and share resources — in dialogue with each other, and in direct relation to our surroundings. Open MFA has hosted digital residencies, performances, artist talks, social meet-ups, workshops, and community art-making projects. The collective has shown work at local galleries, including Box13 ArtSpace and Flatland Gallery. Current organizers include: Hillaree Hamblin, Lorena Mitchell, Cynthia Giron, Sol Diaz-Peña, Ryan Hollaway, Andrea Garcia, and Amanda Powers.
The Artists on Site project is organized by Asia Society Texas. Exhibitions and their related programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Leslie and Brad Bucher. Major support comes from The Brown Foundation, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding also provided by The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, National Endowment for the Arts, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), and Texas Commission on the Arts. Free Thursday exhibition admission presented by Regions Bank. Additional support is provided by The Clayton Fund, Leigh and Reginald Smith, Ann Wales, the Wortham Foundation, and through contributions from the Exhibitions Patron Circle, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional visual art to Asia Society Texas.
Presenting Sponsors
Nancy C. Allen
Leslie and Brad Bucher
Chinhui Juhn and Edward Allen
Program Sponsors
About Asia Society Texas
Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.
