Email: tatianavahan [at] gmail [dot] com
IG: @ tateevee
Tatiana Vahan (she/they) is an artist working at the intersection of art, research, and social justice. Vahan’s work explores how economic and cultural value are created, and the resulting systems of power and inequity these processes produce. Vahan creates collaborative frameworks that reimagine these systems, as they exist in the artworld, using both pragmatic and poetic approaches. In 2017 she founded Bar-Fund an experimental public art project and grant-building initiative in which Los Angeles artists fundraised and distributed over $17,000 in unrestricted grants to fellow local artists as a solidarity economy. In 2018 she founded the Los Angeles Artist Census, a grass roots, artist-driven research initiative that gathers and publishes data about local artists’ quality of life and professional experiences. As an integral part of her creative and research practices, Vahan has also been exploring the materiality of the body through her professional bodywork practice, since 2002.
Vahan received an MA in Aesthetics and Politics from CalArts and a BFA in Visual Art from New World School of the Arts. Her artwork has been exhibited at Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (ICA LA), Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA NoMi), Bass Museum of Art, Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), and MDC Museum of Art + Design, among others. Her work has been written about in Hyperallergic, Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (CARLA), LA Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, and the Long Beach Post.
EDUCATION
2014 The Mountain School of Arts^
2014 MA: CalArts, Aesthetics and Politics
2009 BFA: New World School of the Arts, Visual Art
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS
2018-Ongoing
Los Angeles Artist Census, a socially engaged art research project that has gathered financial data on LA-based artists to gain a better understanding of need versus resources available to artists in L.A. County. The project has taken place via public programs and/or installations at Feminist Center for Creative Work (FCCW), Navel, Art in the Park, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA), and ICA LA, Los Angeles, CA
2017-2019
bar-fund, an artist-run grant building initiative dedicated to providing unrestricted grants for LA-based artists. The project has taken through Armory Center for the Arts, Art Converge, Bel Ami, Bob Baker Marionette Theater, Common Field, Commonwealth and Council, Charlie James Gallery, Fahrenheit, FLAX Foundation, Ghebaly Gallery, gloria galvez and Tasha Bjelic (via Navel), Hannah Grossman and Sarah Williams (via Armory Center for the Arts), Human Resources, Ibid, ICA LA, LAXART, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive (LACA), Lowell Ryan Projects, Ltd, Maiden L.A., Main Museum, MAK Center for the Arts, Moskowitz Bayse, Other Places Art Fair, PANEL, Various Small Fires, and 356 Mission Road, Los Angeles, CA.
2016-2017
An Ephemeral History of High Desert Test Sites, co curated with Andrea Zittel, Aram Moshayedi, and Sohrab Mohebbi, High Desert Test Sites 2017, Joshua Tree, CA.
2016
Full Body, an art installation that functioned as an exhibition featuring work by Lygia Clark, Alyse Emdur, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Julia Kouneski, Jules Gimbrone, Dan Bustillo, and Barbara T. Smith, CalArts REEF Residency, Los Angeles, CA.
The Mountain School of Arts: The First Ten Years, produced, edited, and published with Agnes Bolt and Piero Golia, The Mountain School of Arts^ and Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles, CA.
2015
Toggle, an internet browser plugin that functions as an international fellowship program and platform for research, communication, and projects. Created with neverhitsend. Inaugural fellows are: Anthony McCann, Cannibal Facts, Cassie McQuarter, Georgie and Min, Jennifer Moon, Leah Beeferman, Marii Nyrop, Micol Hebron, Vanessa Sioufi, Woofer Ten, and Zoya Sardashti. 221a and International Symposium for Electronic Arts, Vancouver B.C. / online.
EXHIBITIONS & PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
2022
LAAC at Other Places art fair (OPaf), Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA.
LAAC Publication Launch, The Fulcrum Press Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Art + Data Club (monthly), LAAC Zoom, worldwide.
2021
Community Brainstorm, LAAC Zoom, worldwide
LAAC at Other Places art fair (OPaf), Angels Gate Cultural Center, San Pedro, CA.
Art + Data Club (monthly), LAAC Zoom, worldwide.
2020
Los Angeles Artist Census at OPaF, Other Places art fair, online.
LADOT Town Hall Tour: The 2020 Census and You / Tour de Reuniones Comunitarias: El Censo del 2020 y Usted, LADOT + DubLab + Radio Ollin, Los Angeles, CA.
Arts Funding Now!, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
TELETHON ForYourArt, Frieze, Los Angeles, CA.
Elevator Tuesdays, Elevator Talk, Elevator Mondays, Los Angeles, CA.
Los Angeles Artist Census Office, ICA LA, Los Angeles, CA.
2019
Engaging Communities Through Artist-Led Data Projects, Panel discussion led by Yvonne Lee, with Hailey Loman, Tatiana Vahan, and Umi Hsu, Art in the Park
Los Angeles Artist Census Open House, Art in the Park, Los Angeles, CA.
DEATH BY TECHNOMANCY, discussion with Micki Meng, San Francisco Art Book Fair, San Francisco, CA.
L.A. Artists: What do we know about ourselves?, Navel, Los Angeles, CA.
ASSEMBLIES, Navel, Los Angeles, CA.
2018
Los Angeles Artist Census Presentation and Public Discussion, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles, CA.
2017
bar-fund and Community Fundraising Public Discussion II, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles, CA.
bar-fund and Community Funded Artist Grants Public Discussion I, Los Angeles Contemporary Archive, Los Angeles, CA.
2015
The Promise of Something and Nothing, Sonce Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
2014
A Narrative of An Artist Exploring Capitalism, MDC Museum of Art + Design, Miami, FL.
Post Private, Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
2013
neverhitsend, 356 Mission Road, Los Angeles, CA.
Artist books exhibition, Ooga Booga #2, Los Angeles, CA.
2012
Cashier, Garage Pizza, Los Angeles, CA.
Vacation Rental Advisor, Vacation Rental Homes Made Easy, Los Angeles, CA.
Office and Studio Assistant, A-Z West, Joshua Tree, CA.
Intern, François Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
Phone Operator, Department of Social Services, Los Angeles, CA.
Yardman, Department of Public Works Streets Services, Los Angeles, CA.
Parade Coordinator, West of Rome (Trespass Parade), Los Angeles, CA.
Barrista, The Coffee Pot, Los Angeles, CA.
Massage Therapist, Delano, Miami Beach, FL.
2011
Studio Sale Show, Fountainhead Studios, Miami, FL.
Open Process, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL.
Inside/Outside, Little River Yacht Club, Miami, FL.
Mission Impossible, Little River Yacht Club, Miami, FL.
Home: Dream Home, Praxis International Art, Miami, FL.
2010
Myself As a Storefront Window, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL.
Littlest Sister, Spinello Gallery, Miami, FL.
The New Frontier, Christopher Miro Gallery, Miami, FL.
New Work Miami, Perez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL.
Home Videos (1986 -1991), American Airlines Arena Jumbotron, Miami, FL.
Home Videos (1986 -1991), Gansevoort Hotel, Miami Beach, FL.
Ponzi Schemes, The End/Spring Break, Miami ,FL.
2009
Art Basel 2010, The Yard @ Casa Lin, Miami, FL.
Littlest Sister, Spinello Gallery, Miami, FL.
Smash and Grab, Locust Projects, Miami, FL.
AAEC Exhibition, Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL.
Drawing and Painting Show, ArtSeen, Miami, FL.
How to Make a Gallery a Home, Spinello Gallery, Miami, FL.
BFA, Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, Miami, FL.
Sentimental Garage Sale, my mom’s yard, Miami, FL.
2008
The Art of Women, Roxcy ONeal Bolton Women’s History Gallery, Miami, FL.
Marks and Strokes, New World Gallery, Miami, FL.
2007
Progressions, New World Gallery, Miami FL.
2006
NWSA, Espiritos Santos Gallery, Miami, FL
Rising Stars, New World Gallery, Miami, FL
AWARDS / GRANTS / RESIDENCIES
2021
General Operating Budget Grant, California Arts Council, California.
2020
Emergency Bridge Fund Grant, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, US.
2019
Quick Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation, Los Angeles, CA
ASSEMBLIES nominated artist, Navel, Los Angeles, CA.
Artist in Residence, Art in the Park, Los Angeles, CA.
2016
Artist in Residence, CalArts REEF Residency, Los Angeles, CA.
2015
Media Artist Grant, British Columbia Arts Council, sponsored by 221a, Vancouver, B.C.
Curatorial Residency, 221a, Vancouver, BC.
Participant, International Symposium on Electronic Art, ISEA, Vancouver, B.C.
2014
Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA.
2011
Grant Nominee recipient, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL.
2009
Special Project Grant, Bass Museum of Art and Miami Beach Arts Trust, Miami Beach, FL.
2005
Frances Wolfson Endowed Visual Arts Scholarship, New World School of the Arts, Miami, FL.
2004-2009
Full Tuition Scholarship, New World School of the Arts and University of Florida, Miami, FL.
UNIVERSITY TEACHING, LECTURES, & RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2022
Visiting Artist, Hammer Museum Curatorial and Artist Council, Los Angeles, CA
Researcher and Community Coordinator, Poetic Justice Group at M.I.T. Media Lab, Boston, MA
2020
Visiting Artist, “Do It Yourself: The Theory and Practice of Art and Social Engagement,” NYU, New York, NY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Julie Weitz, “Lumbung in Los Angeles,” Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles (Carla).15 November 2022.
Matt Stromberg, “The Precarious Lives of Los Angeles Artists,” Hyperallergic. 14 July 2022.
Cobi Krieger and Tatiana Vahan, “The Process is the Goal,” Et Al., University of Illinois. 2021
The Editors of ArtNews. “Artist Pension Trust Hot with Complaints, Feds Sell Unique Wu-Tang Album, and More,” Art News. 28 July 2021.
Marissa Gluck. “A Research Project Zeroes in on the Instability Artists Face in LA,” Los Angeles Weekly. 27 July 2021.
Tierney Finster. “TELETHON ForYourArt: Erin Christovale, Asuka Hisa, […] Tatiana Vahan,” Tierney Talks (Podcast, 1:48:00-2:00:00). Sept 2020.
Renée Reizman. “The 2020 Census and You / El Censo del 2020 y Usted,” LADOT + DubLab + Radio Ollin (Radio program), 19 Sept 2020
Shana Nys Dambrot. “If You’re an Artist, Take This Survey,” LA Weekly. 27 March 2020.
Allison Wyper. “Project Spotlight: Tatiana Vahan + Los Angeles Artist Census,” Rhizomatic Arts. 13 March 2020.
Jennifer Remenchik. “Creating a Census for Los Angeles Artists,” Hyperallergic. 25 Feb 2020.
Catherine Womack. “Los Angeles: A Great Place to be an Artist, If You Can Afford It,” SMU Data Arts. 23 Jan 2020
Virginia Broersma. “Survival of the Artist: Money Doesn’t Grow on Palm Trees,” The Hi-lo, Long Beach Post. 2 Dec 2019.
Thomas Adams. “Episode 21: Tatiana Vahan,” Art Traffic (Podcast). 14 Aug 2018.
Marissa Gluck. “Here’s Why You Should Tip the Bartender Next Time You’re at an Art Opening,” Los Angeles Magazine. 24 April 2018.
Karen Archey. “Art & New Age: Who Cares?,” Frieze. 16 Feb 2017.
Braithwaite, Hunter. “Tatiana Vahan, A Narrative of an Artist Exploring Capitalism,” Miami Rail. Summer 2014.
Eler, Alicia. “Living in a Post-Private World,” Hyperallergic. 20 March 2014.
Parker, Allyson. “neverhitsend: A Conversation with LA Based Arts & Technology Collective,” ArtSlant. 8 February 2014.
Carlos Suarez De Jesus. “Ones to Watch: Eight Up-and-Coming Miami Artists,” Miami New Times. 24 March 2012.
Carlos Suarez De Jesus, “Miami’s MOCA celebrates its quinceanera,” Miami New Times. 17 March 2011.
Denis Scholl, “Miami’s Emerging Artists: Who’s Next?,” Knight Foundation. 4 March 2011.