Today, we’re going In the Studio with artist Hailey Jordan. Her artwork is on display in the Chesapeake Arts Center’s Creative Freedom: Celebrating Black History Month gallery exhibit, on view from January 29 - March 3, 2024.

The gallery reception for the show is on February 22, 2024 6 - 8 pm.

RSVP HERE

Do you consider yourself an artist? Why or why not?

I believe in the expansive definition of ‘artist’, one that exists beyond any medium or artifact or scene. My creativity flows in mediums like graphic design and collage, and also conversations and futuring and systems building. To be an artist is to take in what the world is and make a contribution of our own. I believe we all have the power to open ourselves up to our creative lifesource and let it flow through us, reimagining this world we live in.

What emotion(s) fuel your work?

My work has become the soft-place for my big feelings to land. In swells of rage or loneliness or despair, I can breathe life into an illustration that holds that grief for me and hopefully connects with someone else in the world. And in that way, I do find my way back to the abundance of joy through my work. When there is loss, there is a beauty of life; when there is pain, there is a conviction toward justice; when there is loneliness, there are invitations to connection.

What does your artwork represent?

My illustrative work serves as seeds of futures where Black, Queer, Disabled folks thrive. Pieces like ‘The Future is Queer’ was created in response to the unforgivable loss of Donnell Rochester and Mikayla Miller, two black queer young people who deserved more from us. The colorful leaves pouring out of this rather giant mouth represents the necessity to allow our voice to not just wail in mourning, but speak into existence vibrant and colorful systems that keep our people safe and whole. I believe that the Black and Queer and Disabled imagination will get us free, and it has the power to build radiant and abundant worlds.

When do you art? (before coffee, after bed, when inspiration strikes...)

What a sweet question. I art in the mornings. Just after I’ve taken my morning stroll through the neighborhood, I make my way back home and find a cozy spot by the window to sketch a few scattered ideas. Before I pour into other spaces, I protect a bit of time to let my creative energy flow through me for me.

How does art impact our society?

Art has the power to create portals. Portals that connect us to one another, portals that bridge us to new futures, portals that allow us to trace our way through the diaspora back home. In a white supremecist, patriarchal, capitalist state, the act of self expression and creating can be a powerful form of dissent and diversion from the systems that keep us tired and disconnected. We are all creative beings, and I know that my own creative practice can serve as a lighthouse to others still wading in waters of self doubt. The more folks are willing to take up space with their creative energy, the more we can begin to reclaim and uplift our communities that reflect who we are. When I walk through my neighborhood, I want to see community gardens with garden-beds painted by our neighbors, I want to see murals of our elders, I want to see parks chalked up with kiddos imaginations; to me, these are signs of the living.