Jess Atieno’s practice is informed by studies on African modernisms and visual culture from a post- colonial perspective. Within this, she has focused her research on photographic archives, guided by artistic gestures that centre decolonized interpretations of history. Atieno makes time travels through history’s material remains such as photographs, maps and documents, incorporating them into the making of screen prints on large canvases and intricate woven tapestries. Her work is a captivating exploration of history and memory, challenging us to reconsider the past and its ongoing impact on contemporary identity and culture.

 

​EDUCATION 
  • School of the Art Institute of Chicago- MFA 
  • Technical University of Kenya- B. Tech. (Visual Communication)
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL FORMATS
  • The New Art School Modality- MCA Chicago
  • Àsìkò Art School  (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 
  • Odyssey,  Galerie Cecile-Fakhoury, Dakar Senegal, 2023
  • Of Land, Body and Water, Montague Contemporary, New York, 2023
  • The Moon Man Has Gone Under The Sea, Red Hill Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya ,2022
  • Of Ghostly Silences and Constant Yearnings, Galerie Cecile-Fakhoury, Abijan, Ivory Coast, 2022
  • To Stand on a Grain of Wheat, Red Hill Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya, 2019
  • Full-Frontal, Kuona Trust Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya, 2015​

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 
  • Black is the Colour of the Cosmos, Arts and Public Life, Chicago 2023
  • The Armory Show 2023, Galerie Cecile-Fakhoury
  • Shelters, Cecile-Fakhoury Gallery, Paris, France, 2023
  • We contain Multitudes, High Line Nine Galleries, New York, USA, 2023
  • Sovereign African Art Prize, Norval Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa, 2023
  • Bamako Encounters: African Biennale of Photography, Bamako, Mali,2022
  • Unravelling The (Under) Development Complex, Savvy Contemporary Berlin, Germany,2022
  • GroundFloor Biennial, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, USA, 2022
  • 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, New York, NY, 2022
  • UBUNTU, World Trade Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, 2022
  • Out of Place, Public Art Project courtesty of RedBull Arts, Chicago, USA, 2022
  • I Have This Memory, it is Not My Own, Galerie Cecile-Fakhoury, Dakar, Senegal, 2020
  • 730 Servings of Yesterday's Terror, Lagos Biennial, Lagos Nigeria, 2019
  • I Will See What I Want to See, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya, 2019
  • The Making of Worlds, Festung Hohensalzburg, Salzburg, Austria, 2019
  • Line Gauge, Centre for Contemporary Art,Lagos, Nigeria, 2018
  • Being Her(e), Banco Economico, Luanda, Angola, 2017
  • YouTopic, Millerntor Gallery, Hamburg, Germany, 2017
  • Here & Here, Asni Gallery Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2016
  • African Contemporary, Red Hill Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya, 2015
  • Kenya Art Fair, Sarit Center, Nairobi, Kenya, 2015

RESIDENCIES 
  • Art and Public Life, University of Chicago Arts, Chicago, USA
  • Artist in Residence for the Lagos Biennial, Lagos, Nigeria, 2019
  • ​Salzburg Summer Academy, 2019
  • Jackman Goldwasser Residency, Hyde Park Center, Chicago, 2018
  • Art Millerntor Gallery, Hamburg, Germany, 2017
  • British Council East Africa Artists Exchange, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2015

COLLECTIONS
  • The Rockefeller Foundation
  • The African Arts Trust
  • Redhill Gallery Collection
  • Africanna Art Foundation
  • Alfred Taubman Foundation

GRANTS 
  • The Braid Fund
  • Abakanowicz Arts and Culture Charitable Foundation Grant 
  • Goethe Institute Project Fund 
  • James Nelson Raymond Fellowship 
  • Graduate Dean Professional Development Award 
  • New Artist Society Scholarship 
  • The Bisi Silva Grant 
 

SPECIAL PROJECT

Nairobi Print Project (NPP) – Founder

NPP is a 3-part project dedicated to open access scholarship and conversation on art and curatorial practice

in Africa and the Black Diaspora. It consists of a journal, podcast and studio and is the first of its kind in East Africa.

nairobiprintproject.com

 

TEACHING PRACTICE

  • Lecturer - Fiber and Material Studies Department. School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 2021- current         
  •  Teaching Artist, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, Illinois. 2021 - current.
The Center has the only fully Open Arts Program in the USA. I founded its Weaving/Fiber department in 2021
  •  Public Schools- Kozminski Community Academy, Chicago, Illinois. 2021 - 2022
  •  Teaching Artist, Kuona Trust Art Center, Nairobi, Kenya. 2015 - 2018
  •  Part-time Art and Design high school teacher- Peponi School (II), Nairobi, Kenya. 2016 - 2017

 

AWARDS

  • Norval Sovereign African Art Prize, Shortlist, 2023
  • Henrike Grohs Award, Shortlist, 2022

 

TALKS

Guest Artist, The Future of the Past: Artists & Archives, Photography Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2024

Panelist, Odyssey x Along Way from Holmes, Green Line Performing Arts Center, Chicago, USA, 2023

Panelist: Perspectives in Photographic Practices, Latitude Chicago, USA, 2023

Guest Artist, Photo seminar, Photography Department, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2023

Presenter: Praxis & Practice. Digital Weaving Conference. Cleveland, USA, 2023

Panelist: Perspective in Photographic Practices, Latitude Chicago, USA, 2023

Panelist: Radio Book Rwanda, Goethe Institut, Nairobi, Kenya, 2018