Jennifer Nelson

BFA Art – New Genres, San Francisco Art Institute, MFA Art – New Genres, University of California, Los Angeles

Research: Jennifer Nelson works on creative form-finding at the intersection of art, ecology, sound, and screen-based technologies. Nelson utilizes a performative approach to reimagine social and ecological choreographies, highlighting fragile resources, natural and human, and the global sculptural flow of power and matter. She incorporates her work with restorative justice (brave spaces), trauma therapists (safe spaces) and permaculture in the collaborative, trauma-informed, sustainable making of art. Her current research investigates the use of embodied, whole-brain and interpersonal methods of learning to challenge our collectively destructive daily habits and materials.

Nelson received a Guggenheim grant for Visual Arts. She has exhibited work in museums and festivals, including Goethe Institut Athen, Museo MADRE, State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki, and Kunsthalle Düsseldorf. She was the first Artist-at-Work at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, with the durational project Waste (Inheritance).

Nelson is currently a member of the Research and Technology and Innovation Network RTIN and the Center of Excellence for Sustainability

Teaching: Jennifer Nelson was a founding member of the Visual Arts Program, creating and teaching courses in time-based media, video art, and digital image, as well as working with senior students on their capstone projects. With her cross-disciplinary background and research, she has also developed classes for Theatre Arts and Cinema Studies.

Service: Nelson currently serves as the Program Coordinator for Visual Arts and as advisor for the Visual Arts Society. Over the last 15 years, she has developed community-based art projects and workshops with children, incarcerated people, residents of psychogeriatric facilities, and immigrant communities.

Research Projects

• Waste (Inheritance): A participatory performance and sculpture project at the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST), where Nelson collected her family’s packaging and material waste over a year. The resulting mass was sculpted into wearable forms, confronting the individual and collective impact of daily consumption.
• Everything is in a State of Change (Venue: Goethe Institut Athen): An environmental film and workshop project exploring the legal voice of lifeforms within the ecosystem of Mt. Hymettus, aiming to reimagine social and ecological choreographies.
• Transit-4 (Venues: Museo MADRE in Naples and State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki): An exploration of migration and cultural exchange, reflecting on the movement of people and ideas across borders.
• Securing a Free State: The Second Amendment Project (Institution: ASU Art Museum): Developed during an artist residency supported by an Andy Warhol Grant, this project examined the physical and emotional paths individuals take to feel “secure,” engaging with trauma therapists, violent trauma survivors, and martial arts trainers for self-defense.
• Anatomy of Political Melancholy II (Venue: Athens Conservatory): A performance pieceaddressing themes of political disillusionment and societal transformation, utilizing sound andvisual media to evoke emotional and intellectual responses.
• Handmade: On the Social Dimensions of Craft (Venue: Art Space Pythagorion, Samos): An exhibition exploring the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary art, highlighting the social and cultural significance of handmade objects.
• Expanded Ecologies: Perspectives in a Time of Crisis (Venue: National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST)): A project examining ecological issues through artistic expression, encouraging dialogue on environmental challenges and sustainability.
• No Country for Young Men: Contemporary Greek Art in Times of Crisis (Venue: BOZAR, Brussels): An exhibition showcasing contemporary Greek art, reflecting on the socio-political landscape and the impact of crisis on artistic expression.
• (Out)topias: Performance and Public Space (Venue: Benaki Museum, Athens): A performance series exploring the concept of utopias and dystopias in public spaces, challenging perceptions and inviting audience interaction.
• Social Dream Lab (Venue: De Young Museum, San Francisco): An immersive installation inviting participants to engage in collective dreaming and imagination, addressing social issues through collaborative art-making.