Meet Tina La Porta | Artist, Feminist, Activist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tina La Porta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tina, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I knew I had to find a way for my work to survive out side of the art establishment. I wasn’t receiving any grants, studio space or public art opportunities because I couldn’t fit in the space between the floor and the ceiling. The art fair circuit completely cut off access to local collectors– there was no way for me to thrive.

So the seed was planted during a professional development course and I took it seriously even after the Cultural Division changed its position on artists as entrepreneurs.

Because of my disability I had to work with agencies and was able to rent a storefront in the Searstown Plaza. My first studio, really. Unfortunately, after 13 months the building was sold and I had no where to relocate my studio/business. However, I completely blossomed as an independent artist during that time. The public engagement aspect of having my studio in a business district was mind blowing.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I can’t talk about my work as a series of objects, but rather as an unfolding journey over time. I was fortunate to have a very creative early childhood that ultimately led me to art school as a young adult. While I was enrolled in photography courses I started to photograph the pro-choice activism in Chicago. This was during the Culture Wars where I saw Karen Finley perform and Dred Scott’s work. Later, in New York City I attended WAC and WHAM actions while immersing myself in digital media– this was the early 1990’s. I guess you could say I was an early net.art pioneer by taking my digital artwork to the “World Wide Web”. My internet based work focused on using technology as a means to make social connections more than a decade prior to social media. But the internet was primarily a way to circumvent the art establishment. After losing my loft in New York, I relocated to Florida where my mental health could no longer take a back seat to my work. While in Florida my artwork became more material as I struggled to express myself through mixed media, printmaking and ceramics. My last work in Florida was a series of screen prints on t-shirts during Mental Health Awareness Month.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I learned so much about the interconnectedness between the art fairs and collectors in Miami. I would spotlight the artworks in the private collections and the art fairs.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to all the nasty women artists– past, present and future who still persist.

Website: www.tinalaporta.net

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