Last Friday, I attended GloryLand—a two day art event for artists, art lovers, and art collectors in connection with Untitled Art Fair, Houston. GloryLand consisted of panel discussions, Q & A’s, film screenings and social gatherings at Hotel Saint Augustine.

I signed up for The Glory Pass which provided me full access to both panels, all social events, as well as a guided tour of Untitled Art Fair Houston.

Panel Discussion: “Art is Power, Are You Using Yours?”
Left to Right: Evita Tezeno, Visual Artist; Dr. Joy Simmons, Art Collector; Amarie Gipson, Writer / Editor, Founder of The Reading Room; and Moriah Alize, Art Advisor, Founder of GloryLand.

I checked in, received my credentials and found a place right in front for the first panel discussion: “Art is Power, Are You Using Yours?”

The panel included: Evita Tezeno, visual artist, Dr. Joy Simmons, art collector, Amarie Gipson, writer, editor and founder of The Reading Room in Houston, with Moriah Alise, Art Advisor and Founder of Gloryland, serving as the moderator.

I found the discussion to be incredibly enlightening and inspiring.

Dr. Joy Simmons, a prominent art collector from LA, shared how she began collecting art, her desire to support young emerging artists, and her passion for creating a home filled with art that inspires her, tell stories and invoke dialogue. She shared how collecting art not only gives her the opportunity to enjoy an artist’s work but also provides her an opportunity to assist the artist’s career, by loaning work to museums, joining organizations and boards to advocate for artists she believes in. Dr. Joy’s energy was warm, kind, open and inspiring.

Evita Tezeno is an amazing mixed media collage artist from Port Arthur, Texas. Tezeno was passionate, confident and so very encouraging—emphasizing to the audience to believe in themselves and in their work, reiterating to the audience to never give up. Tezeno shared her art journey, the early days, the years of hustle, and staying on the journey. It was such a privilege to see Tezeno’s work at Untitled Art Fair Houston and to have the opportunity to learn from her.

Evita Teezeno at Untitled Art Fair, Houston, TX.

Amarie Gipson shared her story of creating The Reading Room, an independent reference library for Black art and culture. Gipson shared an important question, that helps her overcome fear, “How can I become useful?” Gipson’s words emphasized the importance of service—serving one’s community, sharing books, dialogue and knowledge through social settings and community gatherings. She highlighted a consistent theme of purpose, of being useful, and helpful to others. This deeply resonated with me, for these are themes I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.

Moriah Alise was a fantastic moderator—asking great questions from a place of authenticity and true curiosity. The conversations were open, welcoming, and the knowledge was generously shared.

Wall Drawing Series: Gladys Nilsson at The Menil, Houston, TX.

After the Q & A of the first panel, I had a break until my guided tour of Untitled Art Fair, Houston.

I decided to walk across the street to visit the Menil Collection.

I first entered into the Menil Drawing Institute, where I experienced Gladys Nilsson’s site-specific work titled Drawing.

I then walked to the adjacent building, which was the Cy Twombly Gallery— containing the only permanent retrospective exhibition of Twombly’s paintings and sculptures from 1928 - 2011.

This was the first time I ever seen Twombly’s work in person.

My heart felt like it stopped. And then dropped into the pit of my stomach.

I was mesmerized.

I felt so deeply grateful, driven nearly to tears in gratitude to have made the leap to become an artist—for I have so much work to do.

I found myself wanting to stay there for hours, staring into each painting—and then immediately began planning my next visit. A date with Mark. Perhaps a free day with my sketch journal and materials.

This experience deserves its own separate post, (which I do foresee sometime in the near future).

My day, literally could have ended right then and there, but it only just begun.

I left the Menil to grab a quick lunch at my favorite coffee shop, Salento’s. I ordered me a flat white and lunch from their prix fixed menu as I wrote down my thoughts from the Twombly Gallery.

After lunch I raced to the George R. Brown Convention Center for my guided tour of Untitled Art Fair, Houston.

Our group received a personalized tour guided by Moriah Alise, art advisor and founder of GloryLand and Megan Olivia Ebel, curator and founder of Ruby Projects.

Left to Right: Megan Olivia Ebel and Moriah Alise at Untitled Art Fair Houston.

Our tour consisted of highlighting favorited artists and gallery booths from the fair, where we were able to receive a presentation on the art featured, directly from the artists or the gallerists.

The first booth we visited was Houston’s very own, El Franco Lee Jr, where he shared his work with our group and answered questions. El Franco Lee Jr is known for his figurative paintings that depict Houston culture.

El Franco Lee Jr. at Untitled Art Fair, Houston.

After visiting several booths, listening to the artists explain their process and their stories, I then had time to explore the art fair, taking in as much art as I possibly could, gaining immense inspiration.

From this experience, I began to see the profound purpose of art galleries—to tell important stories of artists with varying perspectives, cultures, and history—to share their wisdom, their art, their work and their process, and expand worlds and minds to people, culture and new possibilities.

After the Untitled Art Fair, there was one final panel to attend, “Don’t Just Buy Art, Build Wealth.” The panelists included, Lester Marks, art collector, Ayesha Selden, art collector, Richard Beavers, gallerist, with Moriah Alise serving as the moderator.

Left to Right: Lester Marks, Richard Beavers, Ayesha Selden and Moriah Alise.

This panel discussion was top notch. I was so grateful to be in the room and to absorb all the knowledge and wisdom from each of the panelists.

Lester Marks was open, honest, humorous and extremely passionate. He shared his early journey to collecting art and how art changed his life. I could feel his true love for art and for the artists he supports. Marks gave many nuggets of wisdom for artists and collectors.

Ayesha Selden was brilliant. Selden shared her art philosphy in building her personal collection. Selden not only supports artists by collecting from them, but also advocates for the artists she collects, playing a vital role in assisting in their career growth. Selden shared criteria of what she looks for in artists, such as, being committed to one’s craft, networking and artists creating opportunities for themselves.

Richard Beavers was a mastermind, who generously shared his knowledge, wisdom, along with specific examples. It was truly a privilege to learn from a gallerist who is deeply passionate about growing an artist’s career, setting them up for long term success.

Moriah Alise, again was deeply engaging, asking great questions, facilitating a conversation where everyone in the room left transformed and inspired.

At least I , for sure, left that day, truly transformed and inspired.

Unfortunately, I could not stay for the social gathering that took place right after the Q & A. I had to get back home to my little one after a gloriously inspiring day.

I must commend everyone who was involved in creating such a great, insanely valuable art event.

I am still marinating on all the information, ideas and inspiration I received from such an epic day.

GloryLand 2025