Mizzou Alumni Tommy(N’ya) Fritz takes on AIR residency at Orr Street

Tommy Fritz and Ja’ Licia Gainer were selected to be part of the 2025-2026 Artist in Residence program at Orr Street Studios in Columbia, Missouri. The year-long program is arranged to help local artists who could benefit from a dedicated studio space. Fritz and Gainer moved into their respective spaces this past semester.

N'ya Fritz, or as her mother would call her growing up, Tommy, is a visual artist from Kansas City, Missouri.  Tommy uses charcoal in her works to depict African Americans in black and white while capturing their most vivid features. Fritz is 24 years old and turned to art as a method to express herself while she grew up in a low-income neighborhood. Tommy’s passion for her craft increased after her uncle, Curtis Fritz, took her on as a student when she was 13 years old. “My uncle stayed with my dad and I after he got out of prison. Everyday after school I would ask him to teach me. My uncle started with the basics and showed me how he would make artwork while incarcerated.”As a result of her years of artistic practice, she won the National Congressional Art Competition, displaying her social justice piece in the United States Capitol, during her senior year of high school. 

At the University of Missouri, Tommy founded the organization known as Mizzou Black Creatives while she studied English Education at Mizzou in order to provide other Black students with a safe space where they could inspire one another. “I founded Mizzou Black Creatives to help build more communities. It was the first time I gave people the space that I was making for myself. It was the highlight of my college career.” 

Fritz graduated with her Bachelor's of Science in Education with an emphasis in Secondary English Arts Education and a minor in Black Studies in 2024. Post-grad, Fritz began her educator journey as a special education teacher at Hickman High School in Columbia. Fritz aspires to teach art in low-income communities similar to the one from which she came. “Using art supplies like crayons, pencils, sharpies etc. that are more affordable and accessible to kids, I want to help teach them that you can make art without the most expensive supplies.” 

You can come see their studios every First Friday for the next eleven months at Orr Street Studios at 106 Orr St, Columbia, MO 65201.