Summary: Guest host, Tre Borden, launches his four part series, The Black Creative, with artist Jessa Ciel. Together they discuss Jessa's definition of an artist, what a black artist’ role is in society, what it was like for Jessa to navigate Cranbrook, her experience of making art post MFA, and how her identity factors into her response to our current social and political moment. The Black Creative theme aims to offer a glimpse into the art world from the viewpoint of a black person and offer some commentary on inclusivity and how one tries to navigate space as a black artist. -About Jessa Ciel- Jessa Ciel is a video and still artist, filmmaker, and creative director. Ciel is the creator/host of new podcast: Black Art School Graduates. She was the creative director and curator of the 10-week projection installation BEACON: Sacramento. Ciel has shown artwork at the Cranbrook Museum in Bloomfield Hills, MI; the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, CA; and a number of galleries on the West and East Coasts. Her art works to trigger empathy in relation to womanhood, charged racial relations in America, land, and personal grief. She often incorporates text, audio, video, photography, and installation to create a mixed-media "setting." Ciel is also a filmmaker who directed the short film, "Like Home" in 2018, and worked on the Oscar-nominated film LadyBird. She has an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA from Cal State LA. You can learn more about Jessa Ciel at www.iamciel.com or follow her @ArtisCiel
