Tess Mosko Scherer has had a diverse career in the arts spanning more than 40 years: gallerist, professional artist, life coach specializing in working with artists, and leadership in non-profit arts organizations. Additionally, she serves on the advisory board for the World Academy for the Future of Women and facilitates programs on leadership in China and Bangladesh. While in China, she facilitated art programs in rural villages. Since 2019, she has served as the Executive Director of the Arizona Art Alliance, mentoring the leadership of Arizona arts organizations, hosting exhibitions for their membership, and workshops for professional development.
As a coach she has developed several workshops for artists including Selling from the H.E.A.R.T, digital media labs, and Giving Voice to Your Art. She has mentored artists working in a diversity of mediums and at various stages of their careers.
Mosko Scherer is a grant recipient from the City of Phoenix, and the Arizona Commission on the Arts and is the recipient of a research grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study the impact of a leisure arts program on veterans’ cognition, mood, and sociability. In addition to Veterans, Mosko Scherer has worked with varied segments of our community who have experienced trauma. Among the groups she has worked with are Survivors of Suicide, young women who have been sexually abused and trafficked, native American Elders and Non-English speaking adult refugees. These diverse groups have differing experiences yet have had positive outcomes participating in group leisure-arts activities. She is the co-author of “Open Me Up!” a book of art prompts.
Her work is represented by Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery, Prescott, and has won several awards in juried shows in Arizona. Mosko Scherer was named one of the ‘100 Creatives You Need to Know’ by the Phoenix New Times in 2016.
Mosko Scherer lives in Phoenix with her artist husband. They both maintain studios on their urban farm oasis surrounded by their flock of chickens, gardens, orchard, fish, dog and cat.