VAST IS THE SEA: A CONVERSATION WITH ARIANA GOMEZ Porch Swing Orchestra Podcast

On the pod, I am thrilled to be joined by Ariana Gomez. This episode continues our series of conversations with artists participating in VAST IS THE SEA is a series curated by @porchswingorchestra consisting of  8 presentations from artists whose diverse works are united by their explorations of images, sound, and community presented by co-lab projects in Austin, Texas. 
The next presentations will take place at 7 and 8 pm on Saturday, February 17 and our final presentations and performances will take place the following Saturday at 7 and 8 pm, the 24th. 
Ariana will present a sound and video workOn Saturday, February 17th at 7 pm
You can purchase tickets on a sliding scale starting at $5 at https://withfriends.co/event/17182339/vast_is_the_sea
Ariana Gomez (she/her) is a visual artist based in Austin, TX. She spent the last twelve years in New York City working commercially and recently returned home to Austin, to pursue a graduate degree from the University of Texas. This transition has become a catalyst for her most recent ruminations on the concepts of home, family, and identity. Working primarily with photography, text, and sound, Gomez’s practice examines our notions of the ‘home’ as a myth through reflections on her parent’s relationship to the land. Her interest lies in the meeting of this trinity of images, text, and sound and how the three can work together as a spiritual triad to create an experiential memory-scape of place.
Gomez has exhibited both in the U.S. and internationally most recently showing at Women and Their Work as a Red Dot Artist in Austin, TX, sTudio 7 for the Rockaway Artists’ Alliance in Fort Tilden, NY, and for The Print Space Gallery in London, UK. Recent awards include a 2024 University Residency Fellowship from Studios at MASS MoCA, and she was honored to be mentioned as a photographer to watch in Glass Tire’s Best of 2022. Her work has appeared online and in publications such as The New York Times Opinion, Lux Magazine, PhMuseum, Booooooom, and Ain’t Bad.
Co-Lab Projects is a legendary art space whose current configuration is a 40 x 10 x 10-foot concrete culvert sitting on an open plot of land just east of the city. The culvert will be awash in projections and stereo sounds on either end of the ceiling. The floor is covered in a sea of moving blankets.
Viewers/listeners are invited to lay next to the performers occupying the center to become a raft in an ocean of sounds gazing at a visionary sky.
ARIANA GOMEZ’S CURRENT AND UPCOMING SHOWS
Somos Recuerdos at Visual Arts Center, UT Austin until March 2nd. https://utvac.org/
Mix N Mash at the Mexic-Arte Museumhttps://mexic-artemuseum.org/
ICOSA Window Dressing Feb 19-26 with the reception on Feb. 23rd from 6-8pm.https://www.icosacollective.com/
MFA Thesis Show at the Visual Arts Center will open on April 19th.https://utvac.org/
LINKS and REFERENCES
PORCH SWING ORCHESTRAhttps://porchswingorchestra.org/
Tickets to VAST IS THE SEA https://withfriends.co/event/17182339/vast_is_the_sea
CO-LAB PROJECTShttps://www.co-labprojects.org/
ARIANA GOMEZ’S WEBSITEhttps://www.arianagomez.com/
ARIANA GOMEZ ON IG_arianagomez
VAST IS THE SEA is supported in part by grants from the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department, Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and H-E-B.


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