Qualitative:

Jessica Gaynelle Moss founded The Roll Up in 2007 when she transformed a vulnerable residential space in a previously vibrant, culturally rich Black neighborhood (The Hill District, Pittsburgh PA) into an affordable housing solution for artists in the community. Building on this creative place-making work, from 2013 to 2015, she worked on the senior leadership team of Theaster Gates' Rebuild Foundation, operating out of The Stony Island Arts Bank-- a 1923 savings and loan bank turned into a world-class arts center in a greatly under-resourced Black community (Greater Grand Crossing, Chicago IL). 

 

Immediately after, in 2016 she acquired another neglected property in a predominately Black historic neighborhood (Camp Greene, Charlotte NC) and converted it into an artist in residency program called The Roll Up CLT. Invited artists were provided with housing, space to produce and exhibit work, an unrestricted honorarium, transportation stipend, food stipend and material budget. The Roll Up CLT has supported artists across disciplines including photographer Zun Lee, visual artist $HAN Wallace, poet Ashley Nickens, journalist Kia O. Moore, painter SADE Black,  multidisciplinary artist Seitu Jones and many more.

 

Created by Alisha B Wormsley and developed with Jessica Gaynelle Moss in 2019, Sibyls Shrine is an art collective and residency program rooted in radical care, rest and support for Black artists who m/other in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania— and beyond. Sibyls Shrine provides opportunities to rest, unrestricted financial support, career development, skill-sharing, access to arts and cultural institutions, free classes and workshops, exhibition and speaking opportunities, support for self care, childcare and other daily needs.

 

Building on her previous redevelopment projects, in 2021, Jessica launched The Garfield PGH as a long-term solution to the short-term housing needs of Black visiting artists. Located in the celebrated Hill District community of Sugar Top, The Garfield PGH -- named after the artist’s paternal grandfather who previously owned the home --  has transformed a century old, 2,160sqft multi-family residence into Pittsburgh’s first upscale creative oasis and living experience for Black visiting artists.

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Quantitative:

Jessica Gaynelle Moss (b. 1987) is an artist, curator, custodian of Black art and creator of platforms and spaces that invest in and support Black artists. Melding her dedication to making art, supporting artists and developing more equitable and just policies, Jessica’s creative practice and projects transcend any one medium, discipline or field, coalescing fine art with real estate development, institution-building and philanthropy.

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Her artwork has been exhibited nationally at Carnegie Museum of Art, PRIZM Art Fair during Miami Art Week, The August Wilson African American Cultural Center and is in the permanent collections of  The Institute of Contemporary Art Baltimore and  The Joan Flasch Artists' Book Collection.

 

These and other projects of hers have received local, state, and national grant awards from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation (2017),  United Way of Central Carolinas (2017),  Foundation For The Carolinas (2019, 2020),  The Arts & Science Council (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022),  The Heinz Endowment (2020, 2023),  The Pittsburgh Foundation (2020),  The Opportunity Fund (2020, 2022),  The Office of Public Art (2021),  The McKnight Foundation (2021),  Neighborhood Allies (2021),  Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (2021),   Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh (2021),  The Black Art Futures Fund (2022),  the Ford Foundation, POISE Foundation and Program to Aid Citizen Enterprise (PACE), (2023).

 

Some of Jessica Gaynelle Moss' curatorial projects include  The Vault (2023) at The Mint Museum Uptown,  TEMPLE (2022) at PRIZM Art Fair Miami Art Week, SHRINE (2022) at the Mattress Factory,  Sibyls Shrine: Taking Care (2021) at Silver Eye Center for Photography,  Southern Constellations (2019) at North Carolina A&T State University,  Black Blooded (2018) at New Gallery of Modern Art,  Chris Watts: Blahk on Blahk on Blak (2017) at Gallery Twenty Two,  mood:BLACK (2017) at Goodyear Arts,  Noah Davis: 1975 Paintings (2016) at the Stony Island Arts Bank,  and MONSTER ROSTER: Existentialist Art in Postwar Chicago (2016) at the Smart Museum of Art University of Chicago.

Jessica Gaynelle Moss is a frequent speaker on panels and at conferences on the subjects of artist support, advocacy and stewardship. She has led and produced talks and panel discussions with organizations including  Grantmakers in The Arts,  The Allegheny County Bar Association,  Artist Communities Alliance,  The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art,  Elsewhere Museum  and The Sundance Institute among other notable institutions.​ Many of her public events and programs have been featured in local and nationally-recognized publications including  The Root,  Black Art in America,  Bloomberg News,  The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and  The Charlotte Post  among others.

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Beyond that she regularly hosts studio visits and critiques, serves on the leadership boards of various cultural entities, and runs her own arts consultancy with a diverse roster of clients including  The Joan Mitchell Center,   The National Trust for Historic Preservation,  The National Museum of African American History and Culture,  and  The Office for Public Art.

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Jessica received a bachelors in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009; a masters in Arts Administration, Policy and Management from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2015; and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2018.

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