“100 Fridas” community art event in Fort Worth musters a mere three Fridas

by Laura Evans

Photo by Laura Evans

Tammy Gomez, local artist/spoken word performer & organizer of the event

FORT WORTH — In celebration of Frida Kahlo’s 100th birthday anniversary, local artist/performer Tammy Gomez organized a "100 Fridas" community art happening in Fort Worth this Sunday. The plan was to get 100 local Frida fans to come together on the corner of Magnolia and Henderson decked out in Frida costumes, unibrow and all, to celebrate her art, life and creative spirit.

As a photographer and Frida fan, I was excited for this photographic opportunity. All the more disappointing when, an hour into the event, only nine people showed up, and only three in Frida costume. No wait -- make that three and a half. One man painted on a unibrow with the designated "unibrow paint".

Attendees made the most of the evening, however, sharing with each other how Kahlo’s work affected and inspired them, and reading aloud famous Frida quotes while adding the famed cookie fortune teller "in bed" line at the end (i.e. "I never knew I was a surrealist till Andre Breton came to Mexico and told me I was"…in bed).

Gomez said that, while she expected at least 20 Fridas to show up, she wasn't disappointed by the small turnout and was just happy that nine people came out to celebrate. She labeled the celebration a "flash mob" event, a term used to describe "a large group of people who assemble in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief period of time, then quickly disperse." And while she does not plan to host another "100 Fridas" celebration, she does intend to plan more flash mob events in the area.

She held the event in a public spot -- on a corner next to a building her friend owns -- because of a lack of venues available in the Fort Worth area. "Local artists are struggling to find locations to show their work," she said.

Two venues that previously made their space available for spoken word artists, The Wreck Room and The Black Dog Tavern, have recently shut down, leaving performers and artists like Tammy "homeless" in terms of not having venues to publicly perform and display their art. She wanted to use this event as a way to show artists and citizens that they can show and perform their art without a space, and she was encouraged when she realized that passers-by would slow down in their cars to see what the hubbub was about, thus inadvertently becoming part of the event.