Five years ago, the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley and the city of Navasota partnered to found a residency program to revitalize art in the area by bringing artists and their unique creations in from all over the world. Their vision has come to life through the Navasota Artists in Residence program at the Horlock House.
During their residencies, the artists are expected to create and curate art to be shown in the gallery on the first floor of the house, keep the gallery hours open, and interact with guests, Brad Stafford, the city manager of Navasota explains. The first residency program began in spring 2014.
“Residencies at the Horlock House are typically six months, usually February to August, then August to February,” says Stafford.
Though the artists-in-residence program is relatively new, the Horlock House itself has been standing for more than a century. The Horlock House is a large, two story, Victorian-style house built in the 1890s by Robert Horlock, says Amy Salvaggio, the interim director of the Arts Council. The Two Rivers Heritage Foundation manages the museum in the back of the house.
The Horlock House was gifted to the city of Navasota many years ago, and has since been owned, funded, and maintained by the city of Navasota, explains Stafford. The house is fully furnished and all its utilities are paid for, says Stafford, making a residency at the Horlock House a great opportunity for any artist to come live and create.
“The Arts Council manages the program — we recruit the artists, get them media interviews, obtain supplies for the artists, and [help] get them involved in various things around town and in the community, like Round Top and the Downtown Bryan Street and Art Fair,” says Salvaggio.
The Arts Council and city of Navasota aim to bring in a blend of different types of art to ultimately foster a greater appreciation for the arts in the area. With that goal in mind, a selections committee is appointed to choose the artists who are offered residencies, says Salvaggio. The selections committee consists of board members and representatives of the Arts Council and city of Navasota, plus other local leaders.
“There are no eligibility restrictions for the artists we choose, other than the artist must be able to legally live and work in the area,” says Salvaggio. “The residency really is open to artists from any location, any level of education, and any point in their artistic career.”
The application for the residency is posted twice a year on a landing page for artists to find opportunities, explains Salvaggio. This allows for artists from all around the world to discover the opportunity, which also provides a great way for Navasota to expand its arts and cultural repertoire.
“We have had all kinds of artists — weavers, muralists, painters, even an artist who worked only with glass,” says Stafford.
The current artists in residence this spring are Rebecca Dias and Apinya Srikhwanthong.
Srikhwanthong, originally from Thailand, has stayed three consecutive terms, longer than any other resident, says Stafford.
“This residency has been a perfect time for me to get new inspirations and to develop my nature-inspired series since Navasota is green and surrounded by lovely plants and creatures,” says Srikhwanthong. “As an international artist, the residency has been a great opportunity to reach broader audiences, and facilitate cultural and creative exchange with the local community.”
Dias describes the Horlock House as “an ideal studio and gallery space.” The Horlock gallery is still largely undiscovered outside of Navasota, Dias says.
“The Horlock House is a great asset to our community and we encourage folks to come visit,” says Stafford.
The Horlock House is located at 1215 E. Washington Ave. in Navasota. Admission is free. The house is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 2pm to 6pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm.
For more information on the gallery, museum, and artists currently in residence, visit www.navasotaair.wordpress.com or follow @NavasotaAIR on Facebook and Instagram.
Meet the Spring 2019 Artists in Residence
Rebecca Dias
Rebecca Dias Rebecca Dias grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, and graduated from Scripps College in Claremont, California, with a Bachelor of Arts in humanities. While taking art classes in college, Dias discovered her love for abstract painting. However, after graduating she worked in marketing, research consulting, and education. She has lived in Los Angeles, California; Shanghai, China; and most recently, Phoenix, Arizona, where she taught elementary art for several years.
The Navasota Artist in Residency program at the Horlock House is Dias’s first attempt at pursuing her passion for art full-time. She arrived in August 2018 and says it has been an incredible opportunity so far. She will be leaving in August this year, but has enjoyed her time in Texas. Navasota is the smallest town Dias has lived in. She says she appreciates the slower pace of life in a more rural community, and describes it as a perfect environment for her to focus on building her portfolio without the stresses and distractions of urban life.
Dias’s primary work is abstract painting in mixed media and acrylics. She loves to work with organic forms and nature-inspired elements. She also has several ongoing illustration projects, one of which is her book, A Month of Mindful Moments: A Guidebook and Journal for Girls, to be published this summer.
Apinya Srikhwanthong
Apinya Srikhwanthong Apinya Srikhwanthong is a visual artist from Bangkok, Thailand. Her artistic journey started when she decided to leave Bangkok to pursue an art career in the United States. She first arrived in San Francisco, California, in 2012, where she says she learned a great deal about diversity of people, arts, and culture.
In 2016, Srikhwanthong graduated from the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing. After graduation, she taught mixed media and paper sculpture classes at CalColor Academy in Fremont, California. She later applied to and accepted an offer for the Artist in Residency program at the Horlock House for Spring 2018 through Spring 2019.
As she now lives and works at the Horlock House, Srikhwanthong is honing her skills in working with mixed media paintings and paper sculptures. She has completed many projects during her residency so far on subjects like birds, Texas wildflowers and cacti, historical architecture, and the Brazos Valley landscape. She also did mural paintings for a school in Navasota and a temple in Austin. Additionally, she curated a special Honoring 41 series to commemorate the George H.W. Bush Funeral Train, Locomotive 4141, that drove through Navasota on December 6, 2018. She says she has enjoyed the unique experience of living and creating in the beautiful, historic, train town of Navasota.
In the future, Srikhwanthong hopes to expand the art community here and in her home country to move toward a stronger arts society. She plans to return to Thailand and contribute to the development of visual arts programs and art organizations for youth.
