Odeta Xheka shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Odeta, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
What I am most proud of building that nobody sees is the invisible work of shaping OXH into more than a gallery. From the beginning, I wanted it to operate as both a stage and a hub, a living system where art, community, and entrepreneurship coexist. It’s about building a place where cultural equity is not a slogan but a practice and every partnership, every logistical decision, and every conversation is rooted on the intention to make art engagement feel organic and reciprocal so that visitors start to view the space not as a white cube but as a gathering ground inviting in equal measure to artists bringing ideas still in progress because they trust the process and the OXH team and local collaborators who reach out with unexpected proposals that expand the gallery’s language as a communal effort to create a rhythm that feels both natural and necessary for a forward-looking city like Tampa.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an artist and curator, and the founder of OXH Gallery in Tampa, a space I built as both a creative experiment and a commitment to cultural equity. OXH was born from a simple yet ambitious question: what if an art gallery could function not only as a place to show work, but as a stage, a hub, and a living organism that connects artists, audiences, and ideas in meaningful ways? Since opening, it has become a platform for women and underrepresented artists whose practices push against easy categorization, embracing vulnerability, humor, and social reflection.
What makes OXH unique is its refusal to separate art from life or entrepreneurship from creative practice. Each exhibition is conceived as a dialogue rather than a display, shaped around a strong conceptual point of view that grows in collaboration with the artists. This fall, OXH is moving into a new and larger home as the anchor tenant at Hyde House Public Studio, aligning perfectly with Hyde Park and Public Studio’s vision of creating elevated, experiential spaces that blend art, design, and community. It feels like a natural evolution and a genuine opportunity to expand what engagement with art can look and feel like.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
Before the world told me who I should be, I was someone whose life centered on subtle, expressive ways of seeing and understanding the world. Art and creativity were my guides, helping me make sense of both my surroundings and myself. My father recognized this in me long before I fully understood it, and he nurtured it with care. It offered no promise of financial security or a conventional career, especially for someone like me, born and raised in Albania and coming of age as the country emerged from its communist past. Because of him, I learned to trust myself and honor my deepest needs. That trust allowed me to follow my impulse to create, observe, and explore, even before I realized it was the beginning of the path I would eventually walk.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I never gave up on the idea of art as an organic, enriching experience, but for a time I stepped back from actually creating those spaces. For years, I was fully caught up in being a mother, wife, and daughter, focused on caring for those around me and often neglecting the core of who I am. It wasn’t that I stopped believing in art, but I had forgotten that making space for others and for myself was part of living fully. Finding my way back to that felt like finally remembering who I really am.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
As it may already be clear, I am deeply committed to building OXH Gallery into a living hub of human interactivity, one that grows naturally and is rooted in genuine connection. I want the gallery to be a place where art not only exists through dialogue, curiosity, and shared experience, but also sparks them. I see it as a vibrant space of human sharing, where encountering an artwork becomes a bridge into fellow feeling and a reminder of our capacity for empathy, imagination, and collective meaning. It is a long journey, but one worth taking with care and intention.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I would build a stage and a hub where we could all shed our labels and forgo expectations. A place where art, conversation, and presence allow us to meet one another beyond categories and opinions. At the heart of it would be the recognition of something deeply human—the need to feel seen and heard, not judged, not required to take a stance or have an opinion on everything, but simply to exist in a space of ease and acceptance. To feel the joyfulness of belonging, where connection comes from presence rather than performance, and where empathy and curiosity guide our encounters. In this space, as Carl Jung said, “Know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul, be just another human soul.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.oxhgallery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/odeta_xheka_visuals/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/odeta-xheka-8634932a9/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@OXHgallery
Image Credits
credit: Odeta Xheka/OXH Gallery
