Kill the Image!
2023 ALH SUMMER INTENSIVE EXHIBITION
On View: August 5 - September 9, 2023 I Front Gallery
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 5, 2023, 5 - 8 PM
Artist Talk: Saturday, August 5, 2023 I Starting at 7 PM
Mariela Banda, Leah Barberena, itZel Carrizales-Aguilar, Alexa Celedon, Isabella Landin, Evelyn Leon, Nikia Mack, Catelin Mo, Ariana Ocegueda, Peace Okoh, Ana-Sofia Powell, Marissa Reyes, Isabella Roman, Carla Salcedo-Cano, Savannah Struzik, Sophia Zhang
Art League Houston (ALH) is excited to present Kill the Image!, the 2023 ALH Summer Intensive for Teens Exhibition, a group show featuring works in sculpture, drawing, mixed-media, ceramics, fiber arts, photography, and painting by some of Houston’s most promising young artists. The title of this year’s exhibition, chosen collectively by the 2023 Summer Intensive cohort, comes from the phrase “Kill the image that is killing you”, a manifesto on breaking free from stereotypes or negative self-perceptions that stifle authentic expressions of the self.
The Summer Intensive For Teens (SIFT) program is held annually every June - July at ALH, and features four weeks of art workshops, site visits, open studio time, and public art work in the form of a collaborative mural project. This year’s cohort worked under the guidance of muralist Thomas Tran and SIFT studio assistant Elisse Gachupin to design a mural that explored students’ day-to-day preoccupations, anxieties, hopes and fears as teenagers in 2023. The mural is installed on the south wall of the ALH building, alongside the 2020-22 SIFT murals. The Summer Intensive culminates each year in an exhibition of student work completed during the program, and stands as a testament to these students' use of creativity as a tool to reckon with identity and find their places in the world.
The mission of the Art League Houston Summer Intensive for Teens is to create a supportive, accessible, and inclusive community where students can expand their creative comfort zones and artistic skill sets, while learning the scope of Houston’s arts ecosystem and making connections with local artists and organizations. Students leave the program armed with tools and resources to pursue a career in the arts, as well as lasting relationships and a sense of community.
ALH would like to thank Bridget Bray, Peter Broz, Alberto Careaga, Eepi Chaad, Zhaira Costiniano, Elisse Gachupin, Ian Gerson, Sammetria Goodson, Guadalupe Hernandez, Amie Krebbs, Alexis Pye, Emily Sloan, and Thomas Tran for sharing their time and talents with this year’s cohort. ALH would also like to acknowledge our friends at all the arts organizations across town that welcomed our group into your spaces so generously.