Jasmine Jones is a photographer, filmmaker, curator, and publisher from Hartford, Connecticut. She is the founder and publisher of Aislin Magazine and the Creative Coordinator for SPIN Magazine.
Her work documents daily life, overlooked moments, and ignored communities. Her goal is to showcase those who should be seen and heard and to use her art as an outlet for them to tell their own stories. Jasmine’s journey as a photographer began at a young age while exploring different art forms. Photography provided a dual purpose, allowing her to create art while documenting and archiving her life and the lives of those around her.
While studying photography and video at UConn, Jasmine continued to create work for herself. Her short documentary film on a fellow art student landed her a job with UConn’s Enrichment Programs to shoot and edit video portraits of OUR IDEA Grant recipients. Jasmine’s first solo exhibition in 2016 showcased Voices: Volume 1, Ballroom, her first funded short documentary film. Voices highlighted voices from NYC’s Ballroom scene and explored its history, the appropriation of Ballroom, and whether or not sacred cultures should be shared on a mass level.
Today, she continues to create art for herself, take on commissioned projects, and run/publish Aislin, an arts & culture magazine focused on emerging and underground artists.
Education
2020, Capella University, Minneapolis, MN, M.S. Ed., English Language Learning and Teaching
2017, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, BFA Photography + Video
2015, ISI Florence, Florence, Italy, Study Abroad Studio Arts
Grants + Awards
2023, Capacity Building Grant Program, MASS MoCA's Assets for Artists, North Adams, MA
2023, Artists of Color Accelerate Fellowship, The 224 EcoSpace, Hartford, CT
2022, Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Arts Administration Fellowship, CT Office of the Arts, Hartford, CT
2021, Independent Artists Fund, Free Center, Hartford, CT
2021, Back in Business Grant, Greater Hartford Arts Council, Hartford, CT
2017, BFA Exhibition Faculty Award, Uconn Art + Art History Department
2017, Student Choice Award, Uconn Art + Art History Department
2016, Charles and Pasqua Alaimo Scholarship, Uconn Art + Art History Department
2014, OUR IDEA Grant, Office of Undergraduate Research, Storrs, CT
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
2016, Voices, Volume 1: Ballroom, VAIS Gallery, Storrs, CT
Curated
July 9, 2022, Aislin Magazine's Secret Garden Party, Free Center, Hartford CT
Group
2023, Interpretations of Black Excellence, The 224 EcoSpace, Hartford CT
2022, Picturing the Pandemic, Hartford Public Library Downtown Branch, Hartford, CT
2020, PERSPECTIVES OF A PANDEMIC, The Galleries @ WORK_SPACE, Manchester, CT
2020, #ThePeople, Artspace, Hartford, CT
2020, PERSPECTIVES: We Are All Different, We Are All One, HPATV, Hartford, CT
2019, PERSPECTIVES: We Are All Different, We Are All One, The Galleries @ WORK_SPACE, Manchester, CT
2019, Open Studio Hartford, Colt Gateway, Hartford, CT
2019, PRIDE Community Arts Exhibit & Arts Series, Free Center, Hartford, CT
2018, Ekphrasis: Poetry, Music & Dance Inspired by Visual Art, Artspace, Hartford, CT
2018, no walls, Wherehouse, Hartford, CT
2018, Open Studio Hartford, Colt Gateway, Hartford, CT
2017, Borderlands 2017 – Inequality: Transmutations and Contestations, Student Union, Storrs, CT
2017, BFA Exhibition, ArtSpace Windham, Willimantic, CT
2017, Spring 2017 Student Art Exhibition, Wilbur Cross, Storrs, CT
2016, Art Clash 2016: Breaking Down Walls, Building Bridges, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, Italy
2016, MFA 2018 Auction, Uconn School of Fine Arts
2016, Make Your Mark, Uconn School of Fine Arts
2016, Scholarship Show, Arena Gallery, Storrs, CT
2016, Study Abroad Art + Photography Show, Palazzo Bargagli, Florence, Italy
Selected Press
2021, Hartford Courant, Hartford’s Free Center awards $329,500 to 36 projects by artists of color
2021, The Buttonwood Tree, Artist Spotlight: Jasmine Jones
2020, Format Magazine, 30 Amazing Women in Photography to Follow
2020, Hartford Courant, Black photographers documenting Connecticut’s Black Lives Matter protests share their work and their thoughts
2020, CT Post, Artists say hashtags aren’t enough in fight for social justice
2020, Format Magazine, 16 Amazing Street Photography Portfolio Website Examples
2019, Hartford Courant, PRIDE exhibit, poetry night focuses on LGBTQ artists of color