We recently connected with Zoë Tirado and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoë, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I come from the most conservative of the five boroughs, Staten Island. Collaborating on Queer Van Kult, a queer arts collective, I am a founding member of, was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve ever had because of the sense of community it created in a space where that’s increasingly harder, and more dangerous to even come by.

Zoë, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Zoë Tirado (she/her/hers) is a complex female character born and raised in Staten Island, NY. When she is not juggling the joys of parenting her cats, Honey Yucky and Oscar Meyer Weiner, or her career in arts administration, Zoë creates work that explores identity, sexuality, and the grotesque. Referring to classical portraiture as a vehicle for her sometimes obscure subject matter, Zoë walks the line between what is considered traditional and what is obscene. She has participated in exhibitions on and off the island. Most recently, her work was shown in Dawn of a New Decade at Staten Island Art’s Artspace, Damaged Art at 98 Orchard St, and virtually in Touch with Moisturizer Gallery.

Zoë’s passion is to develop and present LGBTQ+ programs for children, families, and adults. Zoë has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and a MA in Museum Studies from the CUNY School of Professional Studies. She serves as the Education Director at the Alice Austen House (AAH). AAH is a nationally designated LGBTQ+ historic landmark and contemporary photography gallery dedicated to the life and work of photojournalist, Alice Austen.

Zoë was awarded NYFA’s City Artist Corps grant in 2021. Zoë is a founder of the experimental collective, Queer Van Kult, an experimental queer performance and installation collective that highlights LGBTQ+ locals working in new media and performance art, which was awarded a DCA Premier Grant in 2020, DCA Grant 2022 and a residency at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art in 2022.

Zoë is sorry/not sorry to those whose portraits she has painted.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Living in the present. I’m often worried about the past and allowing it to negative affect my future. That’s limiting, it’s prevented me from taking on opportunities, and I’ve learned I have to be grounded in the now and take risk.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Artist stipends, artist tax cuts, artist getting fairly compensated for their work.     

Contact Info:

• Website: zoetirado.com
• Instagram: zoe_tirado
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zo%C3%AB-tirado-457a23168/