Omari Jesse

Local-artist-in-resident / January 20 – September 22, 2027

Omari Jesse is a multidisciplinary artist based in Washington, DC. Raised in the DC metropolitan area, his work explores the quiet, intimate spaces shared among Black American friends and family, moments that exist outside of performance, outside of explanation. The work is deeply informed by the people, environments, and everyday experiences that shape the city’s cultural landscape. Through collage, painting, photography, and design, Jesse explores themes of memory, preservation, community, and Black everyday life.

His collage practice often incorporates family archival images alongside photographs he takes throughout the city, using layering and assemblage to document personal and collective histories. Centering friends, family, neighborhood spaces, and familiar visual markers of DC life, his work functions as both archive and reflection.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia State University and attending the University of Johannesburg in South Africa, Jesse returned to Washington, DC to launch his career as an artist, experimenting with paint, screen-printing, and collage to create a visual language and cultural identity that reflected the city and his upbringing. Alongside his studio practice, he currently takes time mentoring young artists in developing their creative voices and foundational visual art skills as well as finding ways he can be of service to his community, whether that be through Mural installations or after school art programs.

Learn more about Omari’s work at https://www.omarijesse.com/

Interested in becoming our next artist-in-residence?