Tiger Strikes Asteroid (TSA) is a 501c3 non-profit network of independently programmed, artist-run exhibition spaces with locations in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Greenville, SC. TSA’s goal is to collectively bring people together, expand connections and create community through artist-initiated exhibitions, projects, and curatorial opportunities. TSA seeks to build an ethos of cooperative achievement in the visual arts, creating the physical and emotional space for artists to show their work and exchange ideas on their own terms. Their artist-run model expands the artist’s role beyond that of studio practitioner to include the roles of curator, critic, and community developer and provides an alternate model to the conventions of the current commercial art market.

The core of TSA’s mission is their exhibition program at their five locations. Each site curates independently; at the same time, the network functions collectively through programming exchanges and the sharing of resources, connections and governing structure. While their unique, grassroots organization of spaces in multiple locations allows us to curate exhibitions that are sensitive to the needs and interests of their respective cities, their geographic reach also offers opportunities to connect local artists to a national conversation. Through a model of horizontal, rather than vertical growth, they are trying to rethink the way an arts institution can work, providing more space and opportunities rather than consolidating time and resources into a single space or vision. Tiger Strikes Asteroid wants to create a true network of artists, a dynamic exchange of ideas between cities and an enriched dialogue at each space.