Asia Society Texas Names Artists on Site Series 5 Cohort

Asia Society Texas (AST) has named Claire Elestwani, Loc Huynh, Chayse Sampy, and the collective Open MFA, as participants in its fifth Artists on Site (AOS) cohort. Learn more about each of the artists below, via descriptions provided by AST.

Developed in 2020, AOS provides space and support for local BIPOC artists. The current cohort of artists will each receive a $1,750 stipend, $500 for materials, a studio space for five weeks, and professional documentation of their work. Additionally, artists will host public programming and have the opportunity to connect with patrons, curators, and other arts professionals. 

This year’s cohort was selected by a committee, which included Alexis Pye, an alumna of the AOS program; Sophie Asakura, a Curatorial Assistant at the Menil Collection; Erika Mei Chua Holum, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Associate Curator at Blaffer Art Museum; and Owen Duffy, the AST’s Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions. 

In a press release, Mr. Duffy remarked, “It’s amazing to see Artists on Site entering its fifth cycle. What started as a pandemic-era necessity to both offer resources to Houston artists and activate Asia Society Texas’ galleries has evolved into an impactful public laboratory and budding community of alumni.”

From August 14 through September 22, the AOS artists will transform the AST galleries into artist studios. During this time, the public is invited to witness the participants’ artistic process and attend free events and programs, such as artists talks. A closing reception will be held on Friday, September 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Learn more about the AOS program at the AST website.

Claire Elestwani
As a multi-disciplinary, Lebanese + Filipina artist and designer, Claire Elestwani uses paper, ceramics, and pliable materials to create research-based “body objects.” Through the making of these objects, Ms. Elestwani investigates and documents manifestations of embodied meaning, particularly as it relates to identity formation and the urban environment. “Embodiment” is an essential part of their practice: the idea that language (and thus, our ability to share meaning with one another) is inextricably linked to our physical bodies. 

Ms. Elestwani holds an MFA from the University of Houston and a BA from Rice University. She has published writing in Design & Culture, and has exhibited at Anya Tish Gallery, the Blaffer Art Museum, the Blaffer Reading Room, the Dishman Art Museum, Lawndale Art Center, Alabama Song, Beaux-Arts de Nantes in France, DUST Compound in Marfa, and others.

Loc Huynh
Loc Huynh graduated with a BFA from Texas State University in 2016 and an MFA from the University of North Texas in 2020. Mr. Huynh has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Martha’s in Austin, Inman Gallery in Houston, and New Release Gallery in New York. Select group exhibitions include presentations at the Orlando Museum of Art, Zona Maco in Mexico City with Rusha & Co. Los Angeles, Stiltsville in Miami with Half Gallery in New York, Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles, and Brooklyn Academy of Music among others. 

His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz, the Dallas Morning News, and Southwest Contemporary, as well as other publications. Mr. Huynh has also participated in the Vermont Studio Center Residency, Wassaic Project, Bunker Projects, and was part of the Lawndale Artist Studio Program.  

Chayse Sampy
Chayse Sampy is a mixed media, Afro-surrealist painter. She is currently an artist-in-residence at Sanman Studios in her hometown of Houston. She received her MFA from Florida State University where she was the recipient of multiple awards including the Brian Andrew McLachlin Arts Enrichment Fund and the Jim Boone Endowment Scholarship. She received her BFA from Louisiana State University where she was the recipient of the Hearst Scholarship, the Undergraduate Painting Scholarship, and the Annual Black Scholar Award. 

Ms. Sampy has exhibited regionally and nationally with recent projects including group exhibitions at Pen + Brush (2024), the FSU Museum of Fine Arts (2023), the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans (2023), ArtFields 2023, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta (2023), the Ritz Theater and Museum (2023), Nia Cultural Center (2022), and Working Method Contemporary Gallery (2022).

Open MFA
Open MFA is an artist collective in Houston. Since 2016, organizers of Open MFA have united under the common belief that communities thrive when individuals have access to freely explore their creative potential. The collective’s mission is to open new pathways for arts education, foster creative exchanges, and empower individuals through skill-sharing and collaborative learning. 

Open MFA’s goal is to create an environment in which artists and community members can collectively learn and share resources — in dialogue with each other, and in direct relation to our surroundings. Open MFA has hosted digital residencies, performances, artist talks, social meetups, workshops, and community art-making projects. The collective has shown work at local galleries, including Box13 ArtSpace and Flatland Gallery. Current organizers include: Hillaree Hamblin, Lorena Mitchell, Cynthia Giron, Sol Diaz-Peña, Ryan Hollaway, Andrea Garcia, and Amanda Powers.