Jessica Brown
 | This biographical article is written like a résumé. (March 2021) |
Jessica Brown is a Black American contemporary interdisciplinary artist, entertainer, actor, and activist.
Life[edit]
Jessica Brown was born and raised in and around Paducah, in the western part of Kentucky.[1] She currently lives and works in Rhode Island.
Education & Career[edit]
Brown's education includes a BFA in Furniture Design from Murray State University in Kentucky and a Masters of Industrial Design from Rhode Island School of Design.[2][3]
Brown currently works as a professor, designer, artist, and activist. She is the owner of Lady J Designs and is Assistant Professor of Design at the MID, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where she has taught since 2019.[4][5] [6] Before holding the teaching position at RISD, she was Toy Designer and Project Manager at Hasbro.[7][8][9] Also she was a contestant on Spike Lee's 2015 furniture design competition series, Framework on the SPIKE network―hosted and judged by Common.[10][11] She did not win the competition.
In 2020, her career was chronicled in the Paducah Life magazine.[1]
Artwork & Activism[edit]
Brown works in furniture design, installation, painting, performance, music, and photography. Much of Brown's work incorporates activism around social and racial justice and encourages collaboration and work with local communities.Throughout her career, Brown is also known by the names "Jess Brown" and "Lady J," corresponding to her various projects.
In July 2019, Brown presented a performance titled "This is MY House" at the RISD Museum, where she engage with the legacy of black nobility.[12] Part of the performance was recorded by artist Robert Houllah.[13] Also in 2019 at the RISD Museum, Brown participated in a roundtable discussion titled "Decolonizing Design, Imagining Alternative Futures," which had author, anthropologist, and philosopher Arturo Escobar discuss with RISD Design faculty, including Brown, Namita Dharia, Ramon Tejada, and Ijlal Muzaffar.
In 2020, she served as the emcee as "Lady J" for a free virtual festival “Urban Carnevale" in Providence, RI.[14] She created a body of photographs, created at the Bureau of Tactical Imagination, that feature her self-portrait among stereotypical and often racist images of African Americans form the past (including Aunt Jemima) and retro mid-century furniture pieces and backdrops.[15] A number of these photographs were exhibited in 2020 at the Yeiser Art Center in Paducah, KY in the exhibition "VISIBLE" co-curated by Tanya Gadbaw-Nietzke, Aida Vega, and Yeiser Executive Director Lexie Milikan.[1][16]
She (alongside TED Senior Fellow Sarah Sandman) conceptualized and carried out Our Wake Up Call, a climate justice procession.[17] This was part of a series of programs from Countdown from TED and Fine Acts.[18][19] During the action, participants were lead by an all womxn brass band, Clam Jam Brass Band. The participants were dressed as 'justice warriors' that were bright neon yellow and black tracksuits, which had the slogan "I WANT A FUTURE THAT ..." with a space below to write in personal messages like 'healing'.
Brown also worked in her community to complete a large "VOTE" mural.[20] With the letter O, Brown collaborated with Kendel Joseph (V), AGONZA (T) and Upsiempre (E) on a mural in downtown Providence, RI, which was a collaboration between RISD and the Avenue Concept.[21][22] That year, Brown was one of fourteen junior BIPOC faculty at RISD who wrote a letter as the risdARC (RISD Anti-Racism Coalition) calling for more institutional changes at the university.[23]
In 2021, Brown was the featured artist for the Black History Month events at Cedarhurst Center for the Arts in Mount Vernon, IL.[24] For this program, Brown produced a number of educational programs for children to engage them in issues of race, history, and afrofuturism.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 41353463. "Paducah Life Magazine - Fall 2020". Issuu. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "About". JESS BROWN. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ Jessica Brown RISD graduation speech, retrieved 2021-03-08
- ↑ "RI Made: Turning plates into designer art pieces". WPRI.com. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Jessica Brown | Faculty | Industrial Design | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Brand New Day". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ Admin (2016-04-27). "Silverman McGovern's EXTRAordinary People: Jessica Brown". Silverman McGovern. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Coming Tuesday: Hasbro employees behind band Toys 2 Men; Vieira returns to TV". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Hasbro's Toys 2 Men Playing At The Finals Of Fortune Battle Of The Corporate Bands Tonight". HissTank.com. 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ Framework (TV Series 2015– ) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-03-08
- ↑ Framework: Meet The Builders, retrieved 2021-03-08
- ↑ "Brand New Day". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ Houllahan, Robert (2019-07-25), This is my House Jess Brown RISD, retrieved 2021-03-08
- ↑ Duguay, By Rob. "FirstWorks to end 2020 on a high note with 'Urban Carnevale'". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Jessica". The Bureau of Tactical Imagination. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ Adeleye, Temi. "'Visible' art exhibit gives platform to underrepresented artists in west Kentucky". WPSD Local 6. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Our Wake Up Call". Fine Acts. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "About". Fine Acts. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Countdown: To a better future". countdown.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Adler's & The Avenue Concept - C2 Paint Donated For Outdoor Mural". Adler's Design Center & Hardware. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
- ↑ "Attend RISD Museum's Art and Activism Virtual Program". Rhode Island Monthly. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ VOTE, retrieved 2021-03-08
- ↑ "BI+POC Faculty Statement — risdARC". risdarc.cargo.site. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
- ↑ "Black History Month". www.cedarhurst.org. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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