Q+Art is a series featuring the artists behind our First Friday Exhibitions. Today, we're talking with Rio Grande Valley-based artist Alicia Garza, whose work is featured in our January 2026 exhibition, Lone Star: New Takes on the 28th State.
Alicia Garza is the kind of artist who sees endless possibilities in a thrifted t-shirt. Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, she was surrounded by a patchwork of cultures and lifestyles from an early age. Now, she gathers up secondhand textiles—faded shirts, worn denim, scraps with stories—and turns them into something bright and unexpected, somewhere between fashion, craft, and activism.
“In South Texas, resourcefulness, such as in swapping clothing and thrift shopping, is ingrained in the culture and economy, where ropa usada—massive used-clothing warehouses—and proximity to international trade ports facilitate the mass movement of secondhand textiles through the region,” Alicia explains. “My interest in upcycling stemmed from a need to fix minor thread snags, missing buttons, or stains in otherwise high-quality or style-fitting garments, creating a wardrobe that feels individualized with truly one-of-a-kind pieces.”
Alicia’s work channels the region’s “unique, amorphous identity,” drawing on everything from Tejano aesthetics and Indigenous textile traditions to the “ever-evolving clash of dualities” that defines life along the border. “With deep roots in traditional Southern cultural values (family, friendliness, faith), the regional culture is shaped by long-enduring traits of Indigenous cultures, hybridized with those who migrated through and eventually settled in the region over centuries,” Alicia explains. “Texas culture is a deeply immigrant culture.”
How has Texas shaped your work, and what aspects of the state's identity do you find most compelling beyond the usual stereotypes?
Alicia Garza: I’m heavily influenced by Texas's diversity and the broad range of lifestyles and cultures experienced. With deep roots in cultural blending, my artwork is inspired by its evidence in daily life, such as in music, food, and language. From cowboy culture and Mexican influence to a broad range of environmental conditions and economic interests, daily life in Texas can hardly be attributed to one identity but an ever-evolving clash of dualities. I draw inspiration from the South Texas region, where I am from and am currently based, and in newer projects, I’m seeking ways to emphasize the historical context of garment manufacturing, cotton, and Indigenous crops cultivated by humans for centuries; there’s a lot of creative inspiration to be found in what makes this region unique. I am motivated to explore this unique, amorphous identity, particularly in South Texas, tending to represent Tejano aesthetics and the natural environment in my artwork.
What impact has your upbringing and cultural background had on your work, and how has it influenced your approach and aesthetic?
AG: My upbringing in the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas instilled a sense of curiosity and a feeling that life here is very different from that in other parts of Texas and, certainly, the US. In my time in Southern California, I learned a lot about Chicanx/ Latino culture, which later helped me better understand Tejano-Chicano culture back in the RGV. The major rivers of the state (Nueces and later the Rio Grande) were developed into volatile borders that became sites of coalescence, and instilled in me an understanding that the inability to define Texas culture — like the region I’m from—means it’s not quite the American South and it’s not quite Mexico. This has influenced my approach, leading me to integrate multiple media into my work and to resist the impulse to stay within the confines of a single concept, or even within the confines of my own ability, by pursuing collaborative artwork.
My work incorporates and celebrates resourcefulness as an extension of my Rasquache art explorations with found material. I started using secondhand textiles because they were widely accessible and often free, sourced from my family’s or my own closets.
What advice do you wish you could give your younger artistic self?
AG: Advice I would give my younger artistic self is to keep a steady doodling practice. I wish I had spent more time doing illustrative exercises, practicing quick drawing, and repeating them. While I enjoy the experimental process and figuring out how to incorporate them according to each piece, drawing is the foundation. I would encourage myself to draw more, even throughout the material experiments—though it’s never too late to start.
What are the advantages and challenges of building an art practice in Texas compared to coastal art hubs, and how does regional identity influence how your work is received?
AG: The disadvantages seem to come to mind more quickly: the large geographical expanse, institutional censorship, and current political instability make building an art practice in Texas difficult. Major metro cities, such as Austin, Dallas, and Houston, offer numerous paid art opportunities, which also tend to draw many artists not only from surrounding smaller cities but also from across the US and internationally. Outside of these hubs that are comparable to the coastal art hubs with similar competitive, creative opportunities, regions like the Rio Grande Valley have an abundance of creative, talented people eager to work, but not enough resources or capital to facilitate meaningful opportunities that would allow for an artist to make a living, develop expterise, build community, and contribute to the beautification of the state. The ideas and the ability are plentiful, but bureaucratic and administrative barriers have suppressed this growth not only culturally but also economically throughout Texas. In a place where much of the funding at the state, county, and city levels is funneled into policing and militarizing the state, there isn’t much left for the arts.
There are advantages, such as the wide access to materials to incorporate into art, in my case, secondhand textiles. There is a ton of open space! In a state as big as Texas, the space can encourage larger-than-life work, in scale or concept, such as the 30-ft tall giant eyeball sculpture The Eye by Tony Tasset in Dallas, or Falling Water by Mark Reigelman, a sculpture in San Antonio that also serves as sustainable infrastructure collecting rainwater runoff through native plants, filtering polluted runoff before it arrives in waterways. The unique qualities and history of the Rio Grande Valley shape how artists and artworks are perceived, including a bias towards traditional fine art.
Nonetheless, there are many artists and institutions throughout the state that share an interest in innovative and exploratory art-making, using new media or community engagement to connect with the local population, adapting to local interests, cultures, and learning needs.
When I am able to see the public interact with my work, in a gallery or at an art market, I often see an appreciation for the use of a sewing machine and textiles, which sparks conversations about the matrilineal practice of altering and producing clothing as a household skill, back in the day. My work with sustainable fashion and art, although presented in a contemporary fashion, speaks to the long-held proficiency with textiles practiced by many generations of women, the costureras (seamstresses) of the family and community.
View Lone Star: New Takes on the 28th State
Our January 2026 First Friday Exhibition features work by Alicia Garza.
Exhibition | Curator’s Statement | First Friday Exhibitions
Follow Alicia Garza
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. All photos published with permission of Alicia Garza; featured artwork: “Rio de Muertos: River of Remembrance.”