JULIAN JAMAAL JONES •   Noblesville, IN

Julian Jamaal Jones is a multidisciplinary artist and educator born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jones received his Bachelor’s degree in Photography in 2020 from the Herron School of Art + Design (Indianapolis) and a Master’s in Photography in 2022 from Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI) under the tutelage of Chris Fraser. He was the recipient of the 2023 CICF Artist Ambassadors Travel Grant, the 2022 ArtsConnect’s “Artist to Watch” award, the 2022 Playground Emerging Artist Fellowship, and the prestigious 2022 Museum Purchase Award from the Cranbrook Art Museum. Jones’s works are in the permanent textile collections of Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Richmond Art Museum (Richmond, IN) and The Book Tower Detroit (Detroit, MI).

Jones merges a range of mediums to express his perspectives around black identity. His works bridge drawing, sculpture, and textile to memorialize black culture. In addition, Julian communicates through the historical language of African American quilting by implementing abstract forms and vibrant colors in his works to bypass the viewer’s critical faculties and open a conversation around his Black experience.

"A line runs from my art practice through the nurturing practices of my great grandmother, the family quilter. Grandma Elsie not only constructed colorful, elegant, and sophisticated quilts for her eight children, she also made garments for everyday wear. From her I inherited an appreciation for quilting, fashion, and art.

I grew up in a strict, Christian household on the northside of Indianapolis, in a predominantly white neighborhood. Raised in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, I learned the value of the Black community. But surrounded by whiteness, I dealt with loneliness and social anxiety. I didn’t want to be seen or identified by my white peers. After school, I would recuperate by watching 106 & Park on B.E.T. Watching videos of Lil’Kim, Missy Elliot, Crime Mob, and Lil Wayne, I witnessed people who looked like me. 106 & Park introduced me to Black hip-hop culture, which influences all aspects of my practice.

I best express myself through sketching. My drawings are colorful, abstract, gestural, and ultimately unexplainable. Even I can’t quite comprehend what comes out of my sketchbook. Due to my learning disability, drawing has been my most direct form of communication. I approach the making of quilts as a sketching process, working quickly to creatively process the sense of alienation that comes from being a Black man in white spaces."