What Is The IMPOSTERS Art Show In El Paso?

It all started on June 7 with a bingo ball roller filled with ping pong balls and a lot of nerves.

We were gathered for Selection Night for the second edition of IMPOSTERS, a community art show where every artist randomly draws the name of another local creator and spends a month imitating their style. It’s an exercise in stepping outside your comfort zone, falling on your face, and learning something in the process. And yes, it’s just as chaotic as it sounds.

Imitating Alejandra Rocha’s Watercolor Style

When my ball came out, I saw the name Alejandra Rocha, aka @dannyrocha_art. She’s a brilliant watercolor artist. I am... absolutely not. Watercolor and I have beef that goes back to middle school. But that’s the point of this whole show: artists of all skill levels get to try something new, wrestle with mediums they usually avoid, and lean into the unknown.

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So I did. I spent the next month fighting puddles and pigment, learning, layering, and laughing at myself the whole way through. The piece didn’t turn out great, but I finished it, and honestly, I’m proud of that.

How Junk Dredz Transformed My Poetry into Art

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But IMPOSTERS isn’t a one-way mirror. Someone had to impersonate me too.

That honor went to Junk Dredz or Janice Griffin, an amazing fashion designer who also happens to be one of the founders of the El Paso Black Arts Association. At first, Janice told me she struggled with how to approach my work. My poetry tends to be raw, personal, and vulnerable, far from the structured craftsmanship she’s used to in fashion or in her own writing.

But she leaned in. She ended up writing a powerful poem about how past relationships can feel like past lives, and then went even further and created a whole video to go with it. It was creative, thoughtful, and honestly kind of surreal to watch someone interpret and reimagine my voice through their own lens. It was one of the most flattering and inspiring parts of the whole experience.

July 5 Art Show at Old Sheepdog Brewery

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On July 5, we unveiled it all at The Old Sheepdog Brewery, and the range of work was stunning. Thirty artists showed up and showed out with everything from collage, clay, clothes, and paintings to paper mâché, photography, glass-encased fairy gardens, spoken word, and even video art. The place was buzzing with people, music, and that rare kind of energy that only happens when a community genuinely shows up for each other.

A Successful Silent Auction for Local Artists

This wasn’t just a show. It was a silent auction, and according to the show's creator JD Viz, every single piece sold. That’s 30 works of art, gone to new homes, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to the artists. Yes, even my chaotic watercolor self-portrait of actual bear Grizz in the KISS FM studio found a buyer. Miracles happen.

Why Old Sheepdog Brewery Deserves Local Love

Let’s take a second to appreciate Old Sheepdog Brewery, because this place is a pillar of the El Paso creative scene. It’s not just a brewery, it’s a community hub. I’ve seen open mic nights, live concerts, vendor markets, art galleries, book fairs, lucha libre matches, business mixers, and even comic cons in that space.

They host pet-friendly events on the regular, and the night of our show, there was a Pet Art Gala happening in another part of the building, where dogs and artists literally collaborated to make puppy art. No joke.

Old Sheepdog also goes out of its way to support every kind of event that rolls through their doors, often creating specialty beers for big occasions. Their beer was even featured on-screen in the Blue Beetle movie. That’s how deep their support of local culture goes.

If you’ve ever been to an event at Sheepdog, you know what I mean when I say this place is legendary. They give back nonstop and deserve all the love.