Estuary is an emerging organization that coordinates arts programming and connects networks of African diaspora artists in South Florida. Founded by Tayina Deravile and Allison Bolah, Estuary produces and shares online an archive of studio visits that explores the communities, experiences, histories, and ideas that link each artist’s practice to the conversations that drive Contemporary art.
Tayina Deravile
Tayina Deravile began her career in art administration at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. During her tenure there, Tayina facilitated outreach programs, studio art classes, and engaged the community through various Education Department initiatives.
She is the current Gallery Manager at Girls’ Club Fort Lauderdale, a 501(c)3 private foundation and alternative space established in 2006 by Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz; the Program Assistant in the Arts Education and Cultural Heritage Tourism Department at the Broward Cultural Division with a focus on Destination Sistrunk: the gateway to Black History of Greater Fort Lauderdale ; the Arts Administrator at FATVillage Arts District and a Fellow at Prizm Art Fair, an art fair focusing on contemporary art of the African Diaspora during Miami Art Week.
Tayina holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida. She furthered her education in the social sciences with a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling at Nova Southeastern University.
Allison Bolah
Allison Bolah is an artist and educator who participates in collaborative and educational artistic endeavors that join community and academic work with her studio practice.
As an artist, Allison’s interdisciplinary practice draws on her experiences in literature and photography; in installations of video, sound, and paper-based objects, she documents the ways that gesture and language are shaped into specific narratives. As an arts and letters educator, Allison helps her students develop the habits of mind and technical skills that can deepen their understanding of the world, finesse their relationships with their many communities, and shape their self-perception for the better. She is currently the Language Arts Department Chair at a South Florida public high school.
Allison holds a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and a Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies from Florida Atlantic University, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Howard University.