Michele Jaquis

Michele Jaquis is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and academic administrator based in Los Angeles, CA. Her work has been presented at conferences, alternative spaces, galleries, museums and film/video festivals across the US and in Australia, Canada, Ireland, England, New Zealand and South Korea. It has been included in public and private collections such as UC Irvine’s Samueli College of Health Sciences, Otis College of Art and Design’s Millard Sheets Library Special Collections, UC Davis’ Women Artists Archive, the Library of Congress, and Rhode Island School of Design’s Permanent Archives. Awards include Best Documentary Short and Best Editing Nominations in the 2019 REEL HeArt International Film and Screenwriting Festival in Toronto, Canada; fall 2025 and spring 2018 Sabbaticals and 2022, 2021, 2016, 2014, and 2011 Faculty Development Grants from Otis College of Art and Design; 2009 Vermont Studio Center Artist Grant; 2009 Voice Award Nomination sponsored by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and Best Documentary in the 2008 Director’s Chair Film Festival in Staten Island, NY.  She has been featured in KCET Southland Sessions: “How Can I Teach Art in a Pandemic?”, Voyage LA and Artlines Summer 2019 Edition.

Jaquis holds an MFA in sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design, a BFA in sculpture and experimental studio with a minor in psychology from Hartford Art School, University of Hartford and also studied at Brown University and Burren College of Art. She has participated in artist residencies at ICA LA, Institute for Jewish Creativity and Asylum Arts’ Reciprocity Retreat, Skirball Cultural Center, Institute for Cultural Inquiry and Vermont Studio Center. Currently she is Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies at Otis College of Art and Design. where she engages students in collaborating with each other and community partners and supports students in working across and in-between disciplines while overseeing all undergraduate minors.

Artist Statement:
I work simultaneously on multiple long-term projects across a range of media to explore personal, social and political relationships. I combine strategies of conceptual and process art, documentary and social practice - but still think of myself as a sculptor. In recent projects I deconstruct and repurpose found textiles, such as American flags and knit or crocheted items made by deceased relatives, to unpack our current political situation. I digitally design, draw and embroider multi-lingual text to proclaim statements of cross cultural solidarity. I engage in and record conversations about difficult topics to bridge differences and build empathy. This work helps me make sense of the world and connect with others. For me, the physical, social and emotional processes of making and engaging with art are just as important as what is ultimately made.