ABOUT

Jasmine Ross is the first exhibiting artist of the Museum of the African Diaspora’s 2026-2027 Emerging Artist Program. Her debut institutional solo show, Beauty Plus, is on view from March 18th through May 31st, 2026. She is a lens-based artist from Oakland, California, now living and working in the Bay Area. She currently serves as the Gallery Associate at SF Camerawork, a nonprofit organization, where she is committed to uplifting emerging artists and fostering spaces that prioritize equity and access in the arts. This role has deepened her understanding of the operational and business dimensions of art institutions, knowledge she sees as essential to creating sustainable pathways for underrepresented artists.

Her commitment to supporting artists is rooted in her academic background. A recent graduate of Yale University, Ross earned a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, as well as in Art. She combines these disciplines in her own practice, using image-making as a tool for social impact and ethnographic study.

Being a mixed-race Black woman, her fine-arts documentary photography explores themes of identity politics as a site of negotiation, intergenerational trauma and joy, and ancestral heritage - elements that inform her evolving sense of self and place.

Working primarily with medium and large format cameras, Ross embraces the slow, deliberate nature of using these devices, allowing her pause to truly see the unseen. The heavy equipment, the rudimentary process of using a dark cloth to see the upside down and inverted image through the ground glass, the time to develop, scan, and edit the photos – all require a level of intentionality that, while time consuming and financially precious– are what makes Ross’s photos unique, demanding her to understand the value in each individual shot. 

Raised by Black survivalist entrepreneurs, the grounding ideology for much of Ross’s work is to honor and give flowers to such community-builders before her, while ensuring that these flowers are received during their lifetime. In her debut group show, Tell It Slant, exhibited at the Yale School of Art, Ross explored similar narratives regarding the realities of small business ownership, acknowledging the endurance, communal care, and sacrifice involved in upholding these mom and pop sites of mutual support. For this show specifically, Ross documented the closure of Beauty Plus, a 31-year old Black-owned New Haven beauty supply store. 

  • Yale University, New Haven, CT | 2025
    B.A. in both Ethics, Politics & Economics, and Art (Photography)

  • Beauty Plus, Emerging Artist Program Exhibition, Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), San Francisco, CA — March 18–May 31, 2026

    • Ross’s first solo museum exhibition, expanding upon the full body of work originally presented in her undergraduate thesis exhibition, Tell It Slant.

  • Tell It Slant, A Yale Undergraduate Thesis Exhibition - April-May 2025

    • Documented the final chapter of New Haven’s “Beauty Plus,” a 31-year-old, Black-owned neighborhood beauty supply. 

  • Emerging Artist Program Award, Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), San Francisco, CA (2026–2027)

    • Juried award including solo exhibition and $10,000 honorarium. Selected as one of four Bay Area artists from a competitive international applicant pool. 

    Featured Artist, Yale Literary Magazine, Vol. 38, Issue 2 (Spring 2025)

    • Featured in the oldest student literary magazine in the United States, founded in 1836, highlighting the intersection of visual art and literary storytelling.

    Creative and Performing Arts Award, Pauli Murray College, Yale University (Fall 2024)

  • The Inkwell Haven Jubilee Artist Residency (June 2025)

    • Photographer in Residence, documenting residents of Martha’s Vineyard and speakers at the Jubilee Festival in celebration of Juneteenth.

    • Photographed notable figures including Lynn Whitfield, Joan Higginbotham, and  Chester Higgins Jr.

  • McMullen Boutique | Sherri McMullen | San Francisco, CA

  • Panel Participant: Through the Lens: Artist as Activism: Capturing & Telling Our Stories
    Union Chapel, Martha’s Vineyard, June 21, 2025, 30-minute session
    Moderated by Rhonda K. Brown; Co-panelists Chester Higgins Jr., Emmai Alaquiva, Bobby Rogers, and Jasmine Ross. Discussed art as activism, storytelling, and community engagement.

    Moderated Panel with Bobby Rogers: Creative Resistance: Navigating Art, Business, and Community
    Union Chapel, Martha’s Vineyard, June 21, 2025, 30-minute session, 30-minute session

    • Led conversation on brand partnerships, and the business of art, emphasizing strategies for sustainability and financial empowerment for Black artists.

    • Facilitated dialogue on art as activism, representation, and equity in creative industries, engaging both the speaker and audience in conversation about building intentional, impactful careers.

    Artist Talk for Solo Exhibition, moderated by Alaman Diadhiou

    20 minutes

    • Delivered artist talk on Beauty Plus, exploring the intersection of Black identity, femininity, small business, and community, highlighting themes of fictive kinship, presence vs. absence, and legacy.

    • Discussed creative process, analog photography, collaborative portraiture, and the production of a debut solo exhibition, including editing, printing, and curatorial decision-making.

    • Focused on analog photography, community-centered storytelling, and self-producing exhibitions.

    *Please email info@jasminereneeross.com for inquiries on speaking engagement (ie. artist talks, panel discussions, masterclasses, or workshops & interactive session) rates

  • Speaking and Interactive Engagement Topics

    • Self-Producing the Art World — Strategies for funding, program creation, and community engagement.

    • Photography, Power, and Impact — Using consent based photography as a tool for social and community impact 

    • Fundraising & Sponsorship as an Artistic Practice — Grant writing, brand partnerships, and resource development.

    • Art entrepreneurship and actualization: how to build a vision, manifest your dream career, and network to succeed in the arts 

    • Building an Audience Before Gallery Representation — Alternative pathways to visibility and sustainability.

    • Navigating as an Emerging artist — sharing learnings, experiences, and strategies to support other emerging artists 

    • Building Access, Agency, and Community a Black Artist — Access, agency, and equity in arts organizations.

    • Women in Art: Inspiration, Representation, And Mentorship - how to find and build community in the fine arts

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