Octopus Initiative Artist Tya Anthony
Tya Alisa Anthony is an Interdisciplinary Artist and Independent Curator. Anthony explores themes of social justice, human rights, and identity through sculptural painting, photography, and collage. Her artwork refocuses narratives of people of color while shedding light on the social, economic, and natural environments that surround her subjects. She reimagines historic narratives as an opportunity to explore alternate realities. Anthony is particularly interested in creating autonomous spaces for bodies of color and using core memories as a form of catharsis.
Anthony was born in 1978 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and raised in Colorado, Frankfurt, and Baltimore. She currently lives and works in Denver, and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with summa cum laude Valedictorian honors from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Anthony is the Director of Education & Community at RedLine Contemporary Art Center, the founder of Mahogany Vū Contemporary Virtual Gallery, and the editor of Contemporary Thought Magazine, Living Culture: A Mahogany Vū for BIPOC artists of the Diaspora. Anthony’s contributions to the art world extend beyond her personal practice. She is a journalist contributor to Hyperallergic Magazine, a TANK Studios Alum artist, a Redline Artist in Residence Alumni, and serves on the Advisory Board for Leon Gallery. She is also an advisory board member of the Colorado Photographic Arts Center and a former member of the Board of Tilt West. Anthony’s work has been exhibited nationally and is included in the permanent collection of the Center for Visual Arts, LEON Gallery, and RedLine.
