We recently connected with Tamir Bejar and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tamir thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Probably the biggest risk I have taken to date is the artistic journey I am currently on. I graduated from Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2020 at the very beginning of the Pandemic. Going into art school I knew I enjoyed making art and that I was pretty good at it, however at the time I did not necessarily consider myself to be an artist nor did I have any idea where it would take me. By Junior year of college I had stuck with it and deepened my love of art and creating instillations within spaces for my peers to get together, experience art and simply have an excuse to be together. That year I was living in a really cool loft and decided to host an art show there. I gathered a handful of my fellow artist friends, curated my first show titled Up in the Clouds (the loft was on the second floor with a steep staircase and used to be a smoke shop with clouds painted on the walls) and we had an amazing turn out and time.
After graduating I started a group called daHub. Our mission is building a community around the arts and showcasing and supporting independent artists from all walks of life in physical art exhibitions, less formal pop-up shows and online on our Instagram page. Post graduating I realized quickly it was difficult for myself to be inspired to create and have tangible deadlines to complete projects. These shows are a perfect antidote around that. I do all that I can to empower my fellow artists and work hard to ensure I represent everyone to the best of my ability without taking advantage of anyone. In this spirit I do not take commissions from any of the artists. As an artist myself, I tend to be cautious and uneasy when anyone offers me an opportunity to showcase and sell my art but ask for a large submission fee and commission. The Pandemic taught me that while the established artistic scenes are important (whether it be music, visual arts, comedy, etc.), the independent route is possible for those who have community.
With limited resources to organize these shows I take it upon myself to figure out the theme and title of the show, figure out which artists are the best fit, recruit them, create google forms to collect all necessary information, put together artist profiles, press releases and catalogues, facilitate the drop off of art work at the venue, curate, install, advertise and host the events. This journey I have begun is extraordinarily risky and riddled with uncertainty, however it is equally rewarding. On multiple occasions I’ve been informed that the art shows which I’ve organized are the first art gallery events some people have ever been to. At a recent art show someone approached me and told me that they had been to my first one. At first I thought she meant the first art gallery since graduating but she clarified that she was at the very first show I organized Junior year of college – Up in the Clouds.
Seeing how energized the artists I recruit become, witnessing the community grow, and hearing the positive feedback from patrons (including one returning guest who collects our catalogues as memorabilia) truly motivates me and makes me believe this risk has been and continues to be well worth it. I am currently working on our eighth gallery event as well as a third pop-up show and art workshops, such as abstract sip & paints and drawing workshops. It is my belief that regardless how stressful and uncertain this path may be, the risk being taken is well worth it.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Tamir Bejar. My father was born in Santiago, Chile, my mother was born in New Jersey, and I was born in Israel, moving to New Jersey before the age of two where I have been living ever since. I am a multi-medium artist, meaning I enjoy using and experimenting with an array of mediums. These include but are not limited to oil paints, acrylic paints, graphite, charcoal, chalk/oil pastels, collage, etc., sometimes utilizing multiple mediums in a single piece. For as long as I can remember I have been drawing. I used to take books out of the school library in the 1st grade about insects and would use them as reference to draw. Growing up my group of friends in school were all artistic in their own right and we would spend down time drawing dragons, animals, and stories.
Since an early age music has been a passion of mine as well. While I have played guitar from a young age, I never seemed to be able to master the instrument. Over time I discovered through drawing and painting I could use music as my muse and channel the energy of songs to create. Most of my artistic practice revolves around music in some aspect. The art shows I curate include curated playlists to accompany the art on display, adding dimension to the installation.
Art was always important to me. In Elementary and Middle School I’d take any opportunity to create art for a project. During my time in High School community building became important to me. I had been part of the soccer team, different clubs (such as the film appreciation club I had helped start), peer leadership, president of Sunday School, etc. Art remained my passion, taking 3D animation when the art class was full and making sure I was able to take AP Art Senior year. Up until this point I exclusively worked in Realism. Through my time in art school (Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts) I learned about the history of art and how to push the conceptual aspects of my work. This is when I was introduced to Oil Paint as a medium and Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism as genres that I had the ability to work in. I was also exposed to the different elements of instillations and setting up a gallery. The four years of Art School ends with a large Thesis Show within the school Gallery where we showcase our work to the public in a formal setting.
Before graduating I had strongly considered becoming an Art teacher, coming from a family of many teachers. Graduating in 2020 at the start of the Pandemic I was in the situation where I had drifted away from wanting to be a teacher yet still having the passion to teach, build community and create art. Fortunately I was not alone in my passion. At the same time that I had begun making plans for what would be the group that I ultimately began – daHub. – a group of Artist friends of mine had very similar plans and goals. They had formed a group of artists called BOKEH and in the spring of 2021 they included me in their first art show in Brooklyn, NY. They invited me to be part of two more art shows in NYC and we were off to the races. Having previously hosted an art show in my Junior Year of college loft, going through the experience of working on my Thesis Show and having taken part of at that point two art shows in NYC with BOKEH – which I also helped with the curation and instillation – I launched my own group called daHub., with the help of some college friends I lived with, in January of 2022. The summer before launching the group, I along with a good friend who was one of my housemates who helped start the group, drove cross-country for three months. While our primary goal was visiting as many National Parks and Cities in between, we made it part of the mission to scope out the different art scenes within different cities and see how different galleries and communities worked.
Our goal with daHub. is the creation of a community of lovers of art and independent artists as well as introducing everyday people who do not consider themselves as part of the art world to the community and experience. We work to help independent artists to network, collaborate and gain experience showcasing their work. It is incredibly important that we do not exploit our artists or mess with the integrity of their work. We do all that we can to promote people’s art and events without tying them down to any commitments to exclusively work with us, nor do we take commissions from any art sales within our shows. Independence is our ethos. We believe succeeding in art, whether it be visual arts or performing arts, takes a village. We have also begun offering different art workshops for people of all artistic backgrounds. These include BYOB abstract sip/puff and paints (depending on the venue) and drawing workshops. The drawing workshop we have done consists of a group of people gathered around a still life I set up with an array of basic drawing tools (pencils, pens, markers, crayons) and reference books. I play a curated playlist and we all begin drawing whatever we want. This can include drawing each other, doodles, writing lyrics or thoughts, anything. Every few minutes we swap paper, continue drawing, repeat until our original page is returned. For the Abstract Sip and Paint I guide everyone through the process of creating unique abstractions using music as our muse. These workshops are specifically designed for both artists and ‘non-artists’ alike, taking away any pressure to have any inherit skill and to embrace creating art just for the sake of creating.
Being a grassroots group, we do not have our own brick and mortar venue that belongs to us. Rather, we are fortunate to have met a number of local businesses with space that allow us to host events within their facilities, such as flower shops and dispensaries. We are always looking to expand to different locations such as coffee shops, yoga studios, restaurants, event halls, etc. until we can afford a location of our own. In the meantime we are diligently working on organizing more gallery and pop-up events as well as hosting more art workshops for all. It is exhilarating the feedback we have received. Artists have told us how their inspiration and enthusiasm for creating has returned and grown, people have explained how our gallery shows are the first they’ve ever been to and want to return, and the workshops have been enjoyed by both artists and people who have claimed to “ruin stick figures” alike. It may be unconventional, however as the years go by we continue to grow and add to the workshops we provide, roster of artists we showcase, and community we are building.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
A supportive community is, in my opinion, the most important factor for artists and creatives to succeed. There are a number of things society can do to help support and foster a thriving ecosystem. It may seem trivial to many, but in todays age social media is of great importance. Every single like, comment and share on an artists’ post goes a long way. If an artist posts a new painting, drawing, photograph or sketch, if a singer or musician posts a new song or video, and if either post that they have an event coming up, share it! Post it to your story, share to a friend you think would be into it. If they have a poll or question on their story, respond. Interacting with creatives content and social media truly goes a long way. In person, show up. If someone you know has an art gallery, make an effort to show face. If someone is performing live, try and show up, and bring friends and family if you can.
Lastly, commissions are great for helping artists stay artists, but buying original art is better! Commissions can take up valuable time and don’t necessarily add to an artists practice. Inherently commissions are ideas a patron has that they want someone else to create. I have certainly been blessed to have a number of commissions that truly added to my portfolio and skill sets, however I find the best way to support an artist like myself is to purchase an original painting or drawing.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think the number one aspect of my journey as a creative people may struggle to understand is why I would choose a path with so little security. It is true that this journey of mine is not easy nor is it comfortable. A career in the art world is not one of certainty or security. Art is my passion. My career is Art. I was born with a set of skills I have spent my life developing. I have the ability to see, and more importantly notice details and color very well. Most importantly I have the great fortune of having an incredibly supportive family backing me up, who encouraged me to go to art school and chase my dreams. Not many people are so fortunate. I have also been extraordinarily lucky and privileged to have different opportunities seemingly be handed to me, such as my friends including me in their art shows and being in the right place and right time to be presented with different businesses looking for people to organize and host the type of events that I have. It feels like with the position I am in with the support and opportunities given that most people do not have, it is my responsibility to pick up this ball and run with it as far as I possibly can. I believe that if I stay true to my morals and continue to act in good faith, with time the security will come.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Art Page: @tdotgallery Group Page: @dahubgroup
Image Credits
Nala Media Production