Meet Tina Rea

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tina Rea.

Tina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was a young girl, music took me to another world. It was as if these tiny speakers I would pore over brought messages from an existence beyond mine. messages of hope, togetherness, beauty and color. Love. Those felt far from the days I was in, so I would press my ear in and let my heart listen.

So when sign up came for starting Junior High band, I eagerly put my name on the line next to “percussion.” As I learned how to throw sticks and mallets in time and harmony with others, it brought things from the depth of me out, even for just flickering moments. Albums and shows and moving symphony movements emboldened my heartbeat and steadied it, made it audible to myself and others. I threw myself into that world- I played in jazz band, drumline, went to rock shows, orchestra and anything else that would take me.

When I turned 20, I was thick into audio engineering. I was obsessed with learning how the physics of the world clicked together and carried art. How sound waves worked and propagated.. the mystery of electricity and lightning and that they moved paper cones to bring us voices we might not otherwise ever hear. But at some point during this stretch, the flame went out. Music became a job (I literally had a job as an audio engineer at this time.) Somehow the rat race had crept in and I felt empty. Thus began my spiritual journey.

As I sorted through different accounts of how the world works, why we are here and what our purpose is if it’s given or created and these big questions that haunt us all. To make an extravagant story offensively short, the story of the world that Jesus tells spoke to that deep part of me where the flame had gone out. So I searched and read and asked and weighed.

Creating QRZDenver came out in that place of deep searching, exploring the longings of the human heart. To me, Jesus and who He claims to be is the most compelling story that there is, capable of great purpose and lighting passions again. So QRZ seeks to be a place where people can explore their story and their purpose through art, creativity and community. We hope to be a place that people who follow Jesus can find encouragement and people who don’t know where they land on their spiritual journey can come and explore and belong.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve spent a lot of time avoiding pursuing starting my ministry. It’s both exciting and extremely daunting to feel like you are paving your path. One of the biggest hurdles for me has been raising financial support. I’m confident that we occupy a needed place in the city, but it is hard for me to ask people to sow their finances into what we are doing. Having faith in the work I am called to means also believing God will provide our way. So it’s bent and exposed ways that I am incongruent in my own beliefs and challenged to step out and trust.

Please tell us about your work.
QRZ Denver is a spiritual creative collective in Denver. We seek to occupy the space where art, faith and culture collide. We host monthly events that vary in nature. Sometimes we do house shows, discussion group oriented gatherings, have guest speakers share their story and their art is a few examples. This coming November we are excited to host a live recording of the Makers and Mystics podcast that will include an art gallery, dance troupe and other exciting things. I think what makes us special is that we are not tethered to a specific church or demographic, but we are a group of people that are fully participating in our respective arts- in the music scene, fine art or others- and we are trying to be an authentic community to seek the big questions together and create from those places. I truly want to be a place where musicians and artists come to be encouraged, feel apart of the community and can honestly wrestle with existence, no matter where they come from or what they believe. A lot of the great things that have happened thus far I can owe to a mission that others are passionate about- and that has helped us to gain friendships with other influencers and ministries that have been crucial for us. In most ways, it feels like we’re just getting started.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t have let discouragement in whatever form distract me from pushing forward momentum in something I knew I was made for. I think also we would have benefited from some more market research and groundwork beforehand which now I am going back and doing. At the same time, I tend to wait until I feel like everything is perfect to start something. And it never will be. So I’m honestly thankful that we got it off the ground and just trying to be faithful going forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.qrzdenver.com
• Email: qrzdenver@gmail.com
• Instagram: @qrz_denver

Image Credit:
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