Loria Mendoza👄

The reviews are in! “It’s nice. Really nice. Big article, too!” A massive shoutout to @c_carys99 for her really nice, thoughtful, and seductively raw cover story highlighting the literary scene in Austin and small presses @redlightlit @awstpress and @hostpublications . Her solidarity with writers was a much needed reminder of the power of community🫶 Link in bio to read the story in @austinchronicle where I had the opportunity to talk with Carys oh-so-candidly about poetry, pleasure, and surviving as an artist in #atx . Grateful beyond words for RLL founder and editor @jenniferlewiswrites for my dream job and all the opportunities it’s brought. I’ll never forget this one 💖🥹 Big love and thanks for all the energy and support from everyone who’s ever read, played, performed, or made it out for a #redlightlitaustin performance or open-mic. You make the literary scene in Austin more deliciously alive with every word you share. As we continue to figure out the “how,” y’all have always been and continue to be the answer to the “why.” Can’t wait to share a stage with you again💋 Oh, and can’t thank @john_jack_anderson enough for the killer captures. My eyes are open and everything!

Hosting @redlightlit Austin next week is Loria Mendoza, a queer Chicanx writer, curator, community art producer, and performance artist from Austin, Texas. Their book of stories, Life’s Too Short, won the Michael Rubin Book Award, and their debut poetry book, The Body Can Tolerate, is forthcoming in 2025. They are the curator of Red Light Lit Austin and a big time believer in the healing power of art, community, storytelling, and love. See for yourself next Friday, 6/28 10 PM at @darkhorsetcb . $15 suggested donation but all are welcome! 📸 by @ameliakhamilton

Been thinking about some of the problems that artists in Austin have been facing for a while, then saw a post by @marcellaispainting about a so called “affordable” art fair in town and I just wanted to share my thoughts on what’s been happening behind the scenes. Text reads: My thoughts on the “Affordable” Art Fair Austin… I see so many people trying to turn what has made Austin unique and a draw for the millions of people who’ve moved here over the years (ART/ THE ARTISTS THAT MAKE IT) into an avenue for profit. And not for artists. For themselves. Asking artists to pay $10k or more for art booths is not accessible to most artists in the city and thus not representative of Austin. Bye. As some of y’all have noticed, many artists, myself included, who have regularly put on art shows have had to slow down (if not stop entirely) due to this type of capitalist greed. This fair isn’t the first to try to take advantage of this community. Rather, this is an ongoing struggle within the city itself. Venues and galleries that claim to be pro-art and pro-artist are charging ridiculous amounts for us to showcase art in their spaces, despite the fact that we’re bringing business through their doors and putting dollars in their pockets. The ongoing dialogue I’ve had on this subject with fellow artists has made me realize how much we’re all struggling to stay housed/ fed/ insured/ etc. in this city. I’ve slowed down on producing art events because the higher the cost of venuespace= the more artists pay to participate, because the general public simply will not pay more money for tickets to see art than they’re already paying, and the money to put on these shows has to come from somewhere. (Text continued in comments)

Inner child work, but make it sparkle with ethereality/ but make it tactically delicious in taffeta and pleather and rhinestoned cowboy boots/ but make it sit with the present in the full spectrum of all their favorite colors/ but make it feel held by shining a disco light on it in the darkest of rooms/ but make it whatever love looks like to you now/ now that you know whatever that means/ it’s not the same as before/ thank god it’s not the same. 📸 @leah.creative (book them for a boudoir shoot like the one above💕✨)

Mi ❤️‍🔥 está lleno porque mañana estaré aquí compartiendo algunos poemas… ¡en español! Gracias a @brandix.mp3 por organizar esta noche de poesía y a @richesartgallery por recibirnos✨ Emocionadx de leer junto a lxs talentosxs @2spiritqueer y @paulamoralesstudio 🌹 El micrófono está abierto cariñ0s, pues ven❣️ PALABRAS: 8 pm, 2511 E 6th St.

I know I’ve locked myself in my room but I’ll open up the door and try to love again soon 💖 tysm @thereal_mrsmurphy for the sweet escape 💕💕💕

We are thrilled to have @textualseduction back on the West Coast to host and read at this Thursday’s Red Light Lit @sonomastateuniversity Writers Festival. Loria Mendoza is a queer Chicanx writer, curator, and performance artist from Austin, Texas. Their book, Life’s Too Short (Fourteen Hills Press) won the Michael Rubin Book Award and their debut book of poetry, The Body Can Tolerate is forthcoming in 2025. They are the curator and host of Red Light Lit Austin, Director of Events for the South Austin Art Project, and a big time believer in the healing power of art, community, storytelling, and love. #loriamendoza #redlightlit #redlightlitaustin #queer #chicanx #curator #writer #author #lifestooshort #storytelling #storyteller #thebodycantolerate

🚨Only one day left to get your SAMi Passport for just $30 (day of $40.) Go to southaustinartproject.com to get your ticket into our mural fest and bar crawl through 13 South Austin venues featuring brand new art, curated SAMi cocktails, live music, and a chance to win a @tequila512 paddle board adventure for you and your 9 besties plus a work of art valued at $6,000! 🎉💯 There’s still a few spots left for our exclusive pink speak easy experience curated by @thereal_mrsmurphy , so be sure to grab em while you can! 💖 See you Saturday @southaustinbeergarden to pick up your map starting at 1 pm. 🗺️✨ Huge thank you to our 501(c) sponsor @nightlifetherapy for helping us make sure 70% of proceeds go directly to artists! And a huge thank you to YOU for following and supporting SAAP, where Supporting Artists is Always Priority✨

Get exclusive access this Saturday 3/16, from 5 to 10 pm, to South Austin’s newest Speakeasy! The first 100 tickets to the South Austin Mural Initiative (SAMi) mural fest/bar crawl get access to SAMi’s top secret speakeasy curated by the Queen of Shag, dazzling designer, and acclaimed artist @thereal_mrsmurphy !! Step into a Barbiecore fantasy with hot pink shag walls, vivacious vintage vibes, and an exclusive SAMi X SABG frozen cocktail collab, The Pink Life💖 Be sure to follow @thereal_mrsmurphy for all of your boudoir photography and creative curation needs and to snag your SAMi passport from @southaustinartproject now at southaustinartproject.com (link in bio). Will call for SAMi Passport opens this Saturday starting at 1 pm at the friendliest beer garden in Texas, @southaustinbeergarden

Meet TVHeadATX. TVHeadATX is most well known for his thought-provoking street art, yet his work often goes beyond that definition. Disregarding what art is “supposed” to look like, he creates dynamic designs, subversive sculptures, and paintings that viscerally engage the viewer. Complex and intuitive, TVHeadATX is institutionally-trained and proficient in multiple practices, including portraiture, design, sculpting, painting, and film. However, his preferred creative outlet is street art, saying, “I find the streets to be my favorite canvas — that’s where I spread my propaganda. You can make art out of anything, and it’s free to put it up in the streets. I was quite nervous the first time I ever wheatpasted an 8x10in poster on a metal electrical box, but the most adrenaline I’ve ever felt was trying to unfurl an 8x8ft hand-painted paper poster on top of a 60’ tall billboard along I-35 in downtown Austin without railing or anything to hold on to.” Over the past 20 years, TVHeadATX has continually reinvented himself, creating works of light and color while strictly maintaining his code to stay anonymous and keep to the shadows of the street. Check out his newest work this March (southaustinartproject.com). @tvheadatx We are South Austin Art Project. Come and Make It. #local #austin #texasart #streetart #murals #grafitti #grafittiball #stinsonbartrail #bartrail #barcrawl #nonprofit

Walking down the aisle✨ A very sweet Texas meet cute: I met my now husband (!) Abel in the candy aisle at @heb four months ago looking for Halloween candy for an event! I stood there trying to find sugar free caramels a client had requested and I started to disassociate thinking about all the things I still had to do for the party, when all of a sudden I heard a voice asking if I needed help finding something. He immediately found what I needed and pulled a bag of @smartsweets from the top shelf for me (I’m short, ok?!) We chatted a little before I thanked him and left. When I came back the next day for dry ice for the event, we locked eyes at the front of the store and I left without saying anything because I remember thinking he probably thought I was a total weirdo stalker 😂 Then the day after that we ran into each other at a nearby pub and he asked me if I was stalking him (knew it!!!) before he offered to buy me a drink. One thing led to another and last Thursday we walked down the aisle together as newlyweds and then returned to the aisle where we met with @leah.creative to take these cute pics! 💞🍬✨ Abel, in those first minutes of meeting you, you showed me exactly what I could expect from you as a partner. You were outgoing, helpful, gentle, and easy to talk to. You made me laugh. You made me feel safe. You listened to my frustrations, and showed me empathy. You listened to me when I told you what I needed. You helped me find exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for bringing such sweetness into my life. That’s my @heb and that’s my hub…by. (Cue that ringing-up beat from the commercials that totally slaps… IYKYK) 🛒🤍🛒🤍🛒🤍🛒🤍🛒🤍🛒🤍🛒🤍 #austin #meetcute #texaswedding #justmarried

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 (details) 2023 Oil on panel, 18x24 Part of a diptych, for full paintings go to my website Link in bio .. .. #artwork #oilpainting #oilonpanel #figurepainting #contemporaryartist #contemporarypainting