Jenie Gao is a full-time artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. She runs an anti-gentrification arts business, specializing in printmaking, public art, social practice, and storytelling. Jenie pulls from personal and professional experiences as a second generation Taiwanese-Chinese American, woman of color, and descendant of working class immigrants.
Jenie and Daesha share their unique perspectives on the roles of community, labor, and visibility in art, and highlight upcoming projects that continue to push boundaries and inspire change.
I speak about the public artwork I created, entitled The Eroding House, as a part of the Winter is Alive! event of artists responding to climate change.
The child version of me would have geeked out about getting featured on PBS, and I suppose the adult me is pretty stoked too. Thanks for interviewing me for the show, PBS: Wisconsin Life!
From Nyob Zoo: "Watch this inspiring story of Jenie Gao an amazing mural artist that created this beautiful mural through her cultural roots. Thank you to Milwaukee's Near West Side for fostering positive impact and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our community through community art." Nyob Zoo Milwaukee's mission is to provide impactful news to enrich the lives of under-served Hmong Americans, Southeast Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders, Wisconsin communities and beyond.
Fireside chat at Lodgic Everyday on how businesses can work with local artists towards more diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts and local ecosystem.
The Wisconsin Arts Board and its partners invite you to a second statewide forum to share your insights about what should come next in the recovery and stability of WI’s arts ecosystem. Jenie Gao's comments start at 32:15 minutes.
15 arts organizations cohost a Town Hall to hear public testimony from artists across the state during the pandemic. Jenie Gao represented both Wisconsin Visual Artists as a partner and herself as an artist providing public testimony. Her comments start at 34:15 minutes.
We listen to a story Jenie Gao told at the Madison Moth StorySlam at the High Noon Saloon, explore the themes in the story and discuss how she crafted the story. Jenie Gao shares a story about winning a blue ribbon when she is 9 years old at a state-wide art contest, how her father's reaction to her prize shaped her young life as an artist, and how understanding evolves over time.
On July 17th, 2020 the following 14 local and national arts professionals came together to record a discussion on “The Role of the Traditional Gallery amid George Floyd and Black Lives Matter Protests. America, What Now?”
This video captures a panel discussion on the role of the traditional gallery in the world today as we address systemic issues of race and injustice in this country. The Alice Wilds is focused on promoting art and artists and we acknowledge the need to address these difficult topics and hope to stimulate constructive and sincere conversations for galleries, artists, and our patrons on what practicing anti-racism means in today’s society, and more specifically inside the art world.
We asked listeners to record and send us their stories related to Covid-19. This week's episode we have 3 stories. Brian Lee Huynh, (a student at the University of Wisconsin), Laurie Zimmerman, (the rabbi at Congregation Shaarei Shamayim), and Jenie Gao, (an artist). Jenie Gao shares a childhood story on Bruce Lee and perfection in the context of the quarantine. Jenie's story starts at 15:50.
We are living in an unprecedented time, and it’s common during a crisis for people to forego the arts. And yet, even amidst great uncertainty, a landmark, a flag or a familiar image can cue us to return to our humanity. Art represents the cultural ethos of our time, the glue between people, the bonfire of our ideas and the embrace between our ancestors and our successors. With many places currently closed, could this be our local, cultural renaissance? This Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, join us for a virtual studio visit with artist Jenie Gao. Jenie is a full-time artist and a first-generation Taiwanese-Chinese-American. She will share insights into her practice, what she’s working on during the shutdown and what she envisions could come after this.
Portal: Public Art Installation at Make Shift Festival 2018
Summer 2018
Portal is like a larger-than-life book. It takes the intimate experience of reading a book and transforms it into a spatial and social experience you can walk through and share with others.
Mural Commission for Mary Burke by Wingra Creek Bike Path, Madison, Wisconsin. The mural reminds us that times of dormancy, reflection, and quiet work precede times of rejuvenation.
Trinity Lutheran Mural - Journey To A New Beginning
August 21, 2018
Overview of the Dane Arts Mural Arts project, Journey To A New Beginning.
Out of 8.7 million animal species, we're the only ones who actively record our own image and the images and information of others. So why do we undervalue the arts, and how can we change this?
Audio Interview for Museum of Wisconsin Art
March 17, 2018
Curator Graeme Reid visited my studio in Madison. We discussed my upcoming show and the importance of creativity as a survival tool.
How We Gather: Mural by Jenie Gao
January - March 2018
This mural commission for Working Draft Beer Company celebrates the importance of process, sustainability, and the spaces we share. Watch the making of the mural here.
TEDx Madison
October 29, 2016 at The Overture Center for the Arts
I had the honor of presenting at TEDx Madison on the theme, Think Deeper.
My talk focuses on the Power and Purpose of Creativity, as an integral and vital part to our survival and wellbeing.
Art as Action: Politics and the Creative Impulse
September 22, 2017 at Ripon College
I participated in a panel discussion on Art and Politics at Ripon College. Honored to be a part of this presentation and discussion alongside artists Tylonn J. Sawyer and Brandon Bauer. Thank you to Rafael Salas, curator and professor at Ripon College, for inviting us. Thank you to the full house that showed up to our talk instead of going to the homecoming parade.
Promega Summer Art Showcase: Intertwined, Artists' Symposium
June 13, 2017 at The Overture Center for the Arts
I had the opportunity to guest curate an exhibit at Promega this summer.
The show features artists Rina Yoon, Kristen Bartel, Nirmal Raja, and Yeonhee Cheong. Rina Yoon and Yeonhee Cheong presented about their artwork at the Artists' Symposium at the opening reception.
Ignite Madison: Unique Jobs
May 17, 2016 at High Noon Saloon
Major thanks to Ignite Madison for selecting me to be a part of this wonderful event.
Ignite Madison is a monthly speakers' event, where 10 people give presentations on the month's theme. Each presenter gets 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds, for a total of 5 minutes per speaker!
Perhaps the best thing about Ignite is that they regularly fill the hosting venue, High Noon Saloon, which holds an audience of 200. The hosts organize the event voluntarily, paying only $150 to the venue, and donating the rest of the proceeds to a partner nonprofit for each event. They regularly raise $1500-$1800 at each event from ticket sales. This May, their partner was Literacy Network.
I gave a talk at DreamBank in Madison entitled, "Mastering the Art of Change." This is the full talk.
In this talk, I give an overview of my career as an artist. I share setbacks and successes and discuss the values and lessons that helped me make some of my toughest decisions.
Major gratitude to everyone who made it out to this talk. Thanks to you, we hit record attendance numbers at DreamBank!
The purpose of this body of art is to explore how power works. It is to challenge the notion of power as a great force and reveal how it builds in small ways. It is to show how our understanding of power will determine whether our relationship with it will turn for the better or worse. Each artwork in this show illustrates a different relationship between subjects and the sum that their parts create.
I gave a talk at DreamBank in Madison entitled, "Mastering the Art of Change." This a clip giving an overview of the content of the talk.
In this talk, I give an overview of my career as an artist. I share setbacks and successes and discuss the values and lessons that helped me make some of my toughest decisions.
Major gratitude to everyone who made it out to this talk. Thanks to you, we hit record attendance numbers at DreamBank!
I gave a talk at DreamBank in Madison entitled, "Mastering the Art of Change." This is a clip from the full talk about lessons early on in my art pursuits.
Major gratitude to everyone who made it out to this talk. Thanks to you, we hit record attendance numbers at DreamBank!
I gave a talk at DreamBank in Madison entitled, "Mastering the Art of Change." This is a clip from the full talk, a story from my time teaching at Milwaukee Public Schools.
Major gratitude to everyone who made it out to this talk. Thanks to you, we hit record attendance numbers at DreamBank!
I gave a talk at DreamBank in Madison entitled, "Mastering the Art of Change." This is a clip from the full talk, a story from my time working at a manufacturing company about the role of education in the workplace.
Major gratitude to everyone who made it out to this talk. Thanks to you, we hit record attendance numbers at DreamBank!
