About Ms. Jae
Born and raised in the 19th-ward of Rochester, NY, Jae is a photographer, film-maker, spoken word artist, wellness facilitator, community gatherer, and mama to a two-year-old daughter.
In college, Jae majored in social sciences with a concentration in mental health. Over the last 10 years, Jae has served in various group homes and mental health clinics. In 2020 she obtained her 200-hour yoga teacher certification and is currently going for her 300-hour. Jae has had her photography featured on NBC nightly news with Lester Holt, published in YES! Magazine, and locally exhibited by Geva Theatre, MAG, and RoCo.
Jae’s documentary style of photography and film-making is her main method of advocacy and social justice as her works aim to tell the stories of those who are underrepresented within her community and beyond. She is devoted to creating spaces that blend healing and wellness with creative expression and acts of service.
Inspirations/Influences:
My family
Organic conversations
My late friend Jimmy "Rook" Hawkins Jr.
Imani O'Lear
Arleen Thaler
Boogie
Mara Ahmed
Spike Lee
Brooklyn New York
Rochester New York
Eminem
90's hip hop and 90's aesthetics
You can contact Jae directly at thejaeera@gmail.com.
EXHIBITIONS & PROJECTS:
- 2023, Behind the Glass First Friday, Three-Person Exhibition
- 2021, MAG, Season of Warhol Black Artists Engagement Project
- 2020, Geva Theatre, The Resurrection of Michelle Morgan, Virtual Art Gallery
- 2020, Black House Narratives: Black Don’t Get Back
- 2020, Cabarets for a Cause, Virtual Art Gallery
- 2020, RoCo, "Underpin and Overcoat"
- 2020, The Injured Body (Film), Lead Photographer
- 2019 UUU Art Collective, "Make Yourself at Home", Three-Person Exhibition
- 2018 Qween City Live, Buffalo, NY "Qween City Live", Three-Person Exhibition
- 2017, Flower City Arts Center, "Plastic: Our Weakness", Three-Person Exhibition
FEATURES & PUBLICATIONS:
2022, YES! Magazine
2020 InVisible Culture issue 31, "Black Studies Now and the Countercurrents of Hazel Carby", an electronic journal based in Rochester, NY
2020, The Deadline E-Newsletter, Rochester, NY
2019, Open The Black Door, blog based in Buffalo NY
2018, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
2018, Great Big Story
2018, Post Magazine, Spring Issue, Rochester, NY
2016 The South Wedge Quarterly Volume 4, Issue 2, Rochester, NY
ACHIEVEMENTS
- Project Review Panel for “My Rochester Murals”, March 2023
- The Spirit of Sankofa : Collaboration and Representation in the Arts, Panelist, October, 2022
- Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Guest Curator, May, 2021
- Prints for Prude Exhibition and Fundraiser, Director, October 2020
