Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Tahoun.
Hi Nadia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I began my career in the arts by working for large artist studios and quickly saw a gap in the market. Artists who are also art workers as their day jobs need spaces to create for themselves. That’s when I co-founded Flower Shop Collective, an art studio + educational hub based in Brooklyn that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. We offer membership-based studio access and other artist-tailored services with a focus on Black, Brown, Indigenous, minority ethnic, and immigrant artists. We started as a roaming and digital collective that would host pop-ups and then evolved into what we are today: a space that helps artists at the early stages of their careers advance and partake in the community. I come from an immigrant household and have many family members that live outside the US, so global and socio-economic politics have always been core to my worldview; this is why I think Flower Shop Collective became so rooted in political theory and movements. That is who I have always been and I am happy we have attracted like-minded artists. Turns out there were others out there too that wanted to talk art and politics over tea.
I began my career in the arts by working for large artist studios and quickly saw a gap in the market. Artists who are also art workers as their day jobs need spaces to create for themselves. That’s when I co-founded Flower Shop Collective, an art studio + educational hub based in Brooklyn that cultivates the ideas of emerging artists working towards more equitable futures. We offer membership-based studio access and other artist-tailored services with a focus on Black, Brown, Indigenous, minority ethnic, and immigrant artists. We started as a roaming and digital collective that would host pop-ups and then evolved into what we are today: a space that helps artists at the early stages of their careers advance and partake in the community. I come from an immigrant household and have many family members that live outside the US, so global and socio-economic politics have always been core to my worldview; this is why I think Flower Shop Collective became so rooted in political theory and movements. That is who I have always been and I am happy we have attracted like-minded artists. Turns out there were others out there too that wanted to talk art and politics over tea.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ll start by saying that anyone who tells you their journey being a small business owner has been a smooth road is lying, haha. It is hard work, incredibly time-consuming and often isolating, especially for women and even more so for women of color. I think there are a few reasons why someone starts a business. The first one is the most obvious, which is to make money; the second is because something was lacking and they needed to fill that empty space. For me, the second one resonates. It gives me a sense of purpose I don’t think I would find elsewhere.
I’ll start by saying that anyone who tells you their journey being a small business owner has been a smooth road is lying, haha. It is hard work, incredibly time-consuming and often isolating, especially for women and even more so for women of color. I think there are a few reasons why someone starts a business. The first one is the most obvious, which is to make money; the second is because something was lacking and they needed to fill that empty space. For me, the second one resonates. It gives me a sense of purpose I don’t think I would find elsewhere.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Outside of running Flower Shop Collective, I am an artist in my own right. I consider my medium to be visual poetry which is to say that I take my writings and try to warp or alter the way they are read or interacted with. I will be showing a piece in May during NY Art Week. I write a newsletter on Substack called “How to dismantle a pomegranate” about my process which you can follow here.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
It was a huge risk to open our physical location during 2020 when we were in the throes of a global pandemic. We were trying to foster community without having folks be physically in the community. It was a really hard time that took a huge toll on me and those that are closest to me, but I think risk taking is synonymous with creativity. It takes risk to speak vulnerably, to speak about your failures and not just your wins, and to be honest with what you are going through and have been through. That to me is the art I resonate with the most. The art that stems from pain, love, joy and struggle.
It was a huge risk to open our physical location during 2020 when we were in the throes of a global pandemic. We were trying to foster community without having folks be physically in the community. It was a really hard time that took a huge toll on me and those that are closest to me, but I think risk taking is synonymous with creativity. It takes risk to speak vulnerably, to speak about your failures and not just your wins, and to be honest with what you are going through and have been through. That to me is the art I resonate with the most. The art that stems from pain, love, joy and struggle.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flowershopcollective.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowershopcollective/
- Other: https://howtodismantleapomegranate.substack.com/
Image Credits
Surface to air Courtesy of SanieIrsay; ENTRE2MONDES Artist Cesar Kastro PhotoCredit PeterK.Afriyie; El Original Courtesy of Cesar Kastro; FSCHQ Courtesy of Flower Shop Collective; Critique Night Courtesy of Flower Shop Collective
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