BIO
Janna explores the connections between cognitive psychology, language, and sociopolitical concerns, alternately as curator, artist, writer, and researcher. With a robustly interdisciplinary approach, she pursues her work as a space for investigation and collaboration. As a curator she has worked with numerous New York-based nonprofits, including Booklyn, NURTUREart, Eyebeam (Chelsea), the New York Center for Art & Media Studies, the Rubin Museum, SOHO20 Gallery, the Chelsea Music Festival, and others. Her curatorial and writing projects have appeared in publications such as ArtForum, Art in America, the New York Times, BOMB, Hyperallergic, Art Critical, and 1000 Words (London). She is a MFA graduate of Hunter College (2015), and has completed studies in cognitive neuroscience (CUNY), post-conceptual art (Hunter), poetry (St. Mark’s Poetry Project), lens-based theory (School of Visual Arts), and art and literature education (Universidad de Murcia, Spain). As an artist, she has exhibited at such spaces as the Beirut Art Museum (Lebanon), 205 Hudson (NY), and 601Artspace (NY). Her work has appeared in the New York Times, ArtSlant, Curator Magazine, SEEN, and L’Orient du Jour. She is the recipient of residencies, grants, and fellowships from A.I.R. Projects (Beijing), Marble House (VT), NARS Foundation (NY), PLAYA Art & Science (OR), Byrdcliffe (NY), Making/Thinking (NY), and the Rema Hort Foundation (NY). Readings of her experimental writing have occurred at the St. Mark's Poetry Project, Hercules Art, and the Brooklyn Library (BedStuy), among others. As a researcher and curatorial and archive advisor, her freelance work with artist archives and estates has led her to a wide-range of projects, including with the Barbara Hammer Estate, Yto Barrada, the Walter Ferro Estate, and others. She is currently the Director and Curator of Art Galleries and Collections at Goucher College. A 2nd-generation Dutch American raised in Los Angeles and the Pacific Northwest, Janna lives between New York City and Baltimore with cat and partner.
