Today we’d like to introduce you to Joi Conti.
Hi Joi, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
TAYO NA is a 40-page editorial magazine founded and photographed by me, Joi Conti. I consider myself to be a vibrant and bold storyteller who creates a spotlight for fellow artists through my distinctive visual perspective of showcasing people’s own tales to the world.
TAYO NA (Tagalog for “Let’s Go”) serves as both an invitation and an answer addressing the questions “Are there Filipinos in Austin?” and challenging the notion that being an artist isn’t a “real” profession. In a digital world where everyone posts content online, TAYO NA deliberately embraces print as a medium that truly values techne, the art and skill of making. By printing a physical magazine distributed free of charge to the Austin public, TAYO NA Filipino American artists on a pedestal, showing profound respect for their craft. I find that publishing someone through print is an act of reverence in our fleeting digital culture.
Drawing from my experience working with publications, I created a magazine that genuinely serves the people I photograph without charging them to be featured. All I ask is their commitment to being artists for themselves and their community. Here’s a piece of throwback I purposely put in: TAYO NA also functions as a literal yellow pages in the back, where readers can find ways to hire and connect with the featured artists.
This publication proudly showcases the thriving Filipino artist and maker community in Austin, Texas. It stands as my heartfelt embrace to the community that welcomed her with open arms. TAYO NA serves as a cultural bridge: an offering to both the Filipino community and to Austin itself.
Through TAYO NA, I created a space of true inclusivity, inviting everyone in Austin to participate in Filipino culture while celebrating the unique identity of being proudly Filipino American and proudly Austinite.
Currently two issues strong, TAYO NA is now fundraising for its next and final issue scheduled for publication in 2026. This entire year (2025) is dedicated to this fundraising effort. We even have special collaborations planned with local Austin businesses and artists to bring this important cultural project to its culmination.
TAYO NA represents cultural visibility, artistic validation, and community connection in its most authentic form a celebration worth supporting as it moves toward its final chapter.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Our biggest challenge is funding.
TAYO NA is deliberately free to the public because we believe representation, visibility, and cultural storytelling should never come with a price tag. But printing 1,000 copies of a 40-page editorial magazine costs nearly $5,000. On top of that, we want our launch party to reflect the values of the magazine: artists should be paid for their time and talent. That means compensating the event producers, musicians, performers, stage crew, administrative staff, and the venue that makes the celebration possible.
We’re currently relying on donations and looking for sponsorships from individuals, businesses, and organizations who believe in what TAYO NA stands for: a platform where Filipino artists are celebrated, respected, and seen. Sponsors can contribute in multiple ways by directly helping fund printing costs, supporting the launch party by covering essentials like venue, stage crew, and performers, or advertising in the magazine’s back pages where our community comes to connect with artists.
Yes, this is about printing a magazine as well as sponsorship that supports cultural visibility, creative sustainability, and community connection. When someone chooses to sponsor TAYO NA, they’re saying yes to artists being recognized as professionals, yes to diversity in Austin’s cultural landscape, and yes to a legacy project that will live long after the final issue is distributed.
We’re inviting people to celebrate and stand with us in honoring artists and investing in culture.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Thanks so much for asking! I’m a Filipino-American photographer based in Austin, Texas, who creates fashion-forward photography that captures art, energy, and edge. With a BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology and experience studying under editorial and fashion photographers in New York City, I bring a refined vision to her work that’s intuitively led and collaboratively inclined.
In Austin, I’m one of the cover photographers for Austin Woman magazine and have worked with The Foundation for the Preservation of the Historic Millett Opera. My work has been featured in exhibitions including Perlas ng Austin: A Celebration of the Central Texas Filipino Community (2023), Camp East (2023, 2024), Austin Studio Tours (2024), BUMUO: Rebuilding The Filipino Body (2024), and Look Mama We Made It (2025).
I’m the founder and photographer of TAYO NA magazine, supported by the 2022 Project Rebuild Small Business Grant and the 2023 NEXUS grant from the City of Austin, where she uplifts Austin Filipino artists and makers.
I also serve on the advisory boards of Asian Season ATX and the Central Texas Fashion Coalition. I am a Women’s Club committee member for the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce and actively contribute to local arts and community efforts.
My mission centers on making everyone feel embraced and celebrated. I love to weave dreams into reality with my craft of capturing movement and emotion in a way that feels both grounded and otherworldly. My photography tells stories with intention, creating images that have depth and genuine connection.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I have a list of people I would love to credit:
Lisa Crawford who is the designer and illustrator for the first TAYO NA and the second one called TAYO NA Sa Sabado Nights.
Travis San Pedro, our Art Director for the first TAYO NA
Michal Calairo, my business manager who has supported me through and through and continues to keep my focus is on track to wrap up TAYO NA in Austin
Asian Season ATX (Andy Dunlavey and Cedric Silan) and Nita Teng who produced our TAYO NA Sa Sabado Nights magazine launch party and vendor market
Pricing:
- TAYO NA is free while supplies last! It’s also available online if a print copy is unavailable
Contact Info:
- Website: https://austinfilipino.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinfilipinoguide/
Image Credits
JOI_DSC_9458+9475
-photography by Joi Conti
-model: dj jester the filipino fist
ProductStillLife_TAYO-NA_1_5x7_digital-25_designbyLisaCrawford_ArtDirectionbyTravisSanPedro+photographybyJoiConti
-photography by Joi Conti
-art direction by Travis San Pedro
-design by Lisa Crawford
RJ-MsCashmere-Dustbunny_TAYONASaSabadoNights_TAYO-NA_5x7__2024_28aug-24_photographybyJoiConti_designandillustrationbyLisaCrawford
-photography by Joi Conti
-design and illustration by Lisa Crawford
-artists from left to right: RJ Gualberto, Ms Cashmere, and Dust Bunny
TAYONA-1_JOI_DSC_6644_photographybyJoiConti
-photography by Joi Conti
-models: Emlyn Roesler of Solid Soaps and Tonee Sinsay-Carpio
TAYONA2LaunchParty_JOI_DSC_7208_photographybyMichaelConti
-photography by Michael Conti
-launch party for TAYO NA Sa Sabado Nights
-pictured above: bird’s eye view of launch party for TAYO NA Sa Sabado Nights artist and vendor market at Peached Social House
-pictured below: KinAugi food truck serving Filipino fare outside of the Peached Social House venue
TAYONA2LaunchParty_JOI_DSC_7367_photographybyMichaelConti
-photography by Michael Conti
-launch party for TAYO NA Sa Sabado Nights with artist and vendor market
-pictured above: designer Lisa Crawford as a vendor
-pictured below: founder and photographer Joi Conti interviewing artist and writer JJ Mayang
TAYONASaSabadoNights_JOI_DSC_9486-2_webready_CrinkleCookie
-photography by Joi Conti
WelcomeToSabadoNights_TAYONASaSabadoNights_TAYO-NA_5x7__2024_28aug-7_photographybyJoiConti_designedbyLisaCrawford
-photography by Joi Conti
-design and illustration by Lisa Crawford
