Meet Jake-Ann Jones
Jake-Ann Jones, the 2022 Creative Pinellas Artist Laurette is a playwright, journalist, visual artist, poet and social justice activist. Her credits include Portrait of the Artist as Soul Man (Penumbra Theatre) co-writing the Urban World Film Festival’s grand prize winning screenplay, Spook City, and authoring the recent book Sometimes Farmgirls Become Revolutionaries; Notes on Black Power, Politics, Depression and the FBI, about civil rights activist Florence L. Tate.
In her role, she is partnering with Creative Pinellas on a number of projects, including the debut of afroQuantum Experiences: ArtMaker Talks, which she describes as “reimagining Black art, social issues, and politics in Pinellas' space-time-continuum.” The first talk, scheduled for June 21, 2022 from 7-8 PM will will feature two guests: Celeste Davis, Executive Director, Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts and Dr. Nashid Madyun, Executive Director at Florida Humanities. This and future conversations will be streamed live on Facebook on the third Tuesday of each month and Jones and her guests will delve deeply into the power of art to uncover truths and drive change. The series will explore what it takes to be an artist, the role of the artist in building community, the importance of the artist in recovering and creating new stories, and why artists are important to the future of our world.
Additionally, during her Artist Laurette residency, Jones will be working on what she calls her “Melanin Play” and sharing her creative process with the community via blogging, workshops and presentations and public readings and/or public rehearsals of the play as well as a final performance at the end of the Artist Laurette period.
The Artist Laureate is recognized by Creative Pinellas as being a true partner and collaborator, sharing their skills and expertise and supporting the organization's mission to Uplift Art and Artists all across Pinellas County.
Recipients have been selected for this grant. Congratulations!
