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Meet the Artspace Team: Tambira Armmand


Tambira Armmand joined the Artspace team as Director of Community Engagement. Tambira has been a long time community volunteer organizer/planner and enjoys connecting people and organizations to create activities that showcase a vibrant and thriving New Haven. She has been a volunteer organizer/planner of Cluefest New Haven, with The Group That Has No Name, TGWNN, The Chatham Square Neighborhood Association, CSNA, Riverfest and Fall Festival, and Elm City Cycling.

What excites you about the myriad of New Haven (beyond Artspace) projects you are involved with?

There are so many hidden gems to discover in this city. New Haven is a town for those who are curious, self-determined and adventurous. If you just go to work/school and home, it’s not going to bloom for you. You have to be willing to go out and explore the different neighborhoods, go out and participate in the events and happenings and then, slowly and steadily, you will begin to find connections to the city and the people who live here. It’s exciting and continues to grow and expand.

You’re planning an evening out and about in New Haven. What are your favorite spots and why?

I love to create my own “summer projects”. Summer is a time to discover the city through “tourist eyes”. Did you know that the city of New Haven has 14 splash pads? A friend and I discovered this while looking for public pools. We printed out the map, and planned out route, we wanted to try all of them in one day. We even create a questionnaire, with rankings based on water features offered, how well maintained the splash pads were, etc. Splashpadapolooza was created! It was 3 adults, in swim suits and flip-flops, traveling by car, across the city, to the different neighborhood splashpad parks.  We had a blast! And also sampled from a bunch of ice cream trucks. Thinking about this reminds me of the Billie Holiday song, “Getting Some Fun Out of Life”. You can’t be passive in life, you have to make an effort to make the most of the time that you have while you have it.

What has been the most satisfying aspect of your Artspace work so far?

It’s only been a month, but it’s been one of the most exciting introductions in my professional career, to date, from the welcoming by and working with my fellow Artspace colleagues, to the autonomy of working on projects and the being apart of New Haven’s pioneering exhibition space and public arts presenter doing work that I love, which is being able to connect and introduce people and organizations to each other, fostering and building new Artspace partnerships and community connections to connect Artspace to the community and the community to Artspace.

If you could have meal with any person, living or dead, who would you pick and why?

Zora Neale Hurston, American author, and Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian Barogue painter and follower of Carravaggio (love him, too!). Late Night Musings of Women Who Make the Devil Himself Curse Menu: Bourbon, jambalaya, chocolate cinnamon torte, and cigars.