Nneka Jones is a
Trinidadian artist and activist based in the United States. Her work uses embroidery and mixed media, and mainly focuses on social issues. In 2020, her artwork was on the cover of
''Time'' magazine.
Life and career
Jones was born in Trinidad and lived in the
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
She attended
primary school at Newtown Girls’ RC and later attended
Bishop Anstey High School.
Jones studied art at the
University of Tampa (UT). She credits an experimental painting class she took with Chris Valle at UT, in which she was told to "paint without paint," with inspiring her to use embroidery as a medium. She made artworks with thread and other materials in that class.
In 2019, while still a student at UT, Jones won the Emerging Artist Award at the
Gasparilla Festival of the Arts.
She graduated from the University of Tampa in 2020
with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases.
Background
The Bachelor ...
and a minor in
marketing.
She created a mixed media series of paintings titled ''Targets'', which used condoms as part of the medium and focused on victims of sexual abuse and trafficking.
In June 2020, during ongoing
Black Lives Matter protests, Jones was approached by ''Time'' magazine art director Victor Williams about creating an art piece for a ''Time'' magazine cover. Although she didn't create a cover for that particular issue, Williams reached out again to commission her for another cover in August. Jones' artwork was featured on the ''Time'' magazine cover of their August 31-September 7 special issue about
racism in the U.S., titled "The New American Revolution". Her ''Time'' piece contained an embroidered
American flag, left intentionally incomplete.
References
External links
"The creative mind of Nneka Jones", interview from Fox 13 Tampa Bay"Targets Mask Women and Girls in Powerful Thread Portraits by Artist Nneka Jones", article from ColossalArticle about mural in Tampa Bay
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21st-century artists
21st-century women artists
21st-century Trinidad and Tobago people
21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women
Trinidad and Tobago artists
Trinidad and Tobago women artists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Embroiderers