Jess Owens-Young

About this episode

Jess Owens-Young discusses her journey as a collage and mixed media artist, exploring themes of Black life and identity through her work.

In this episode of The Truth In This Art, the guest is Jess Owens-Young! Who is Jess Owens-Young: Maryland-based collage and mixed media artist and professor who creates work informed by her experiences as a Black woman, mother, and former athlete, using vintage magazines (Ebony, Jet, Essence) to explore the joy and melancholy of Black life in the United States. In our conversation, Owens-Young talks about her transition from semi-pro soccer player to artist in 2018 and her two favorite series: Oak Bluffs Golf Club (exploring Black leisure and the hidden history of golf) and Hoop Dreams Never Die. As she puts it, "I use sports and our everyday experiences as storytelling vehicles to share our stories about joy, hopes and dreams." She recalls creating in her laundry room studio— "If I am waiting for a load of laundry to finish, like it has five more minutes, I might take out some paint and make papers" —preparing materials in 20-minute sessions so she's ready when inspiration strikes. We get into how motherhood has made her practice more focused, how teaching public health feeds her art, why her initials spelling JOY matter now, working with vintage magazines as time capsules, and…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Lee

Guest: Jess Owens-Young

Topics covered

• collage art
• Black identity
• motherhood
• sports
• art education
• mixed media

Keywords

• collage
• mixed media
• Black woman artist
• soccer player
• artistic process
• vintage magazines
• storytelling

Sponsors

William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Maryland State Arts Council

Books & works: Oak Bluffs Golf Club, Hoop Dreams Never Die

Places: Maryland

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