Hi, I'm Jess. I help people make the world they imagine through transformative experiences in creative community. As an artist, educator and community builder, I have always been drawn to creation as pedagogy which, as an act of transformation, helps us better understand ourselves and each other. My current work includes leading Engine, a creative economy non-profit organization in Biddeford, ME, curating public art and residency programs, and exploring embodiment practices for radical welcome and hospitality. I am always looking to connect with other humans for accompaniment in this work - drop me a line. You can sign up for my occasional newsletter below.
Organiations I have worked with Artisan’s Asylum, Boston Advocates for Dance, Boston Community Leaders Cohort, Boston Children’s Museum, Boston University, Call to Arts, Center for the Arts at the Armory, CraftMass, Dance For World Community Festival, DNAWorks, Factory 3, Green Street Studios, Harvard Divinity School, New England Foundation for the Arts, New Movement Collaborative, OnStage Dance Company, Permaculture Institute of the Northeast, Permaculture FEAST, Sacred Design Lab, Somerville Arts Council, The Umbrella Arts Center, Village Art Room, Waltham Fields Community Farm, Waltham Woman’s Club, Watch City Arts
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Curatorial Projects 2020 Hope Shadows, Somernova Art Project, Somerville, MA 2019Art Ramble 2019: Witnessing Change, Hapgood Wright Town Forest 2019 Earth Press Project: Witness, Minute Man National Historical Park Inaugural Art-in-the-Park Project 2019 Migration, curated fiber arts exhibition, The Umbrella Arts Center Main Gallery 2012-17 National Choreography Month (NACHMO) Boston annual dance performance series
Facilitation / Teaching / Talks 2021 Choreographer and Dance Educator, Collective Motion Arts, Saco, ME 2020 Arts in Emergency talk on creative responses to COVID-19 2019- Student Resource & Mentor, Arts & Culture and Social Impact, Boston University BUild Lab 2018Panel on Artist Residencies presented by the Somerville Arts Council, Center for the Arts at the Armory 2015-2018 General Assembly, Creative Somerville talks on small business and local manufacturing 2011-15 Facilitator, Modern Dance Community Classes: Onstage Dance Company, Newton Community Education, the Dance for World Community Festival, Moving Target, Nazar Bollywood Training Series, Collective Motion Arts Center 2013Teaching Assistant, Permaculture F.E.A.S.T. Certification Course, Holyoke, MA 2009TEDx NYU Talk on Embodied Education 2008-09Teaching Assistant, New York University, Dangerous & Intermingled: Subaltern NY 2006-2008 Head Dance Instructor, BB&N Summer Day Camp 2008Co-facilitator, Dance Theatre Etcetera @ Brooklyn International High School 2007Teaching Assistant, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Political Ecology of Food & Gender & Sexuality Studies 2006-08Flatfoot Dance Company Dance Development Programs, Durban, South Africa
Select Dance/Choreography/Performances/Residencies 2012-17 Intimations Dance, Artistic Director and Choreographer, 2012-2017 2015 Somerville Arts Council Dancing in the Streets, mentored by David Dorfman 2015aMaSSiT Program 2015 Green Street Studios Company Residency 2014GreenWorks Residency 2008-2015 Independent Choreographer with work presented at JOMBA! International Dance Festival, Somerville Arts Council's ArtBeat, OnStage Dance Company, Dancers/Choreographers Alliance, MIT/Hacking Arts 2006-2015Performer for Flatfoot Dance Company, Cambridge Dance Company, Moving Target Repertory/Annie Kloppenberg, Hearbeat/George Woods and Jennifer Kuhnberg, Dear Olivia/Selmadance, OnStage Dance Company, DanceWorks Boston, Heather Inglis/PMT Dance Studio, Crabtree Carabetta Collective, 24Hour ChoreoFest/Sarah Mae Gibbons
Education / Training / Certifications 2019 University of Pennsylvania, Executive Program in Arts & Culture Strategy 2009 New York University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study, B.A. with Presidential Honors, Dance in Education as Transformative Pedagogy 2006-2007 University of KwaZulu-Natal, Dance & Performance Studies and Economic Development 2017Daring Leaders Training by Bréne Brown 2012Master Gardener Certification 201172 Hour Permaculture Certification 1989- Study in a variety dance, movement and embodiment practices