EARTH is ART
Guerrilla Art Takeover
Story By KATIE CANALES | Photography by TIMOTHY DOUGLASS
A
theme, a venue, and 50-60 artists: such are the ingredients for
the travelling art gallery known as Guerrilla Art Takeover.
The forces behind the Guerrilla are Jeremy Herrera and Nancy
Elliott, artists seeking to provide a platform for other artists to
showcase their work in the community. The art gallery’s members
range from sculptors and photographers to painters and potters,
all creating art through their own medium to conform to a specific
theme or venue arranged by Jeremy and Nancy.
Nancy studied art in school, as did Jeremy. Sort of…
“I was that kid who got in trouble in class for drawing and not
paying attention,” says Jeremy, a Bryan native.
Jeremy and Nancy met while participating in artBAC, an
independent artist’s group that rented open studio space in
Downtown Bryan, before Jeremy moved out of state where he was
eventually introduced to the concept of Guerrilla Art. “There’s a
thing in Chicago called the guerrilla truck show where they get
artists to rent their own U-Haul and you decorate the U-Haul up
as your own little gallery, and then they line the sidewalks,” says
Jeremy.
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Jeremy took part in the event with his husband and when the two
decided to move to Texas to be near family, Jeremy brought the idea
of Guerrilla Art to the Brazos Valley.
In the past 2 ½ years, Guerrilla Art has taken over 20 different
venues, including The Village Cafe, Messina Hof Winery, Binary
Space, yoga studios, and several private residences. “It’s in a
situation where we think it’s mutually beneficial to both the
business and to ourselves in exhibiting the work and for the artist,”
says Nancy, a former art teacher.
When Jeremy and Nancy find a venue, settle on a date, and
usually a theme, they send a call for entries to artists. The artists
are then tasked with creating art in the medium of their choice that
fits the specific theme or venue. “I wanted Guerrilla Art Takeover
to have original work to where when you’re going to a guerrilla
takeover show, you’re seeing work for the first time,” says Jeremy.
Past themes have been “Out of this World,” “Hot Show,” where
artists can interpret what “hot” is, and a daylight/blacklight themed
show. “During the day, [daylight/blacklight] was one painting, but