Press Articles

"She’s passionate about erasing stigmas attached to career artists. It’s that passion that keeps her going."

Oct 10, 2022

"This is the most fortunate part of my work—that I get to work with some of the most genuine people and the most tireless fighters for good."

Jan 25, 2023

"For many people, access to public transit means having independence.”

Jan 10, 2023

My artwork, 米 mǐ | uncooked rice: It Takes Three Generations, is featured in this magazine.

Jan 2023

Video of me opening the magazine to the page spread

"Every day, more individuals overcome the fear of the risks they face alone and stand up for equity in their workplaces, schools, industries, and communities. This is how individual risk diminishes and movements grow."

Jun 6, 2022

Four finalists will develop proposals for a public art project on the Metro Transit Maintenance Facility on East Washington Ave

May 25, 2022

What happened to the #StopAsianHate movement? Where do people of Asian descent fit in the greater race conversation?

Dec 30, 2021

Residents in one of the most diverse corners of Madison tell their stories in a new book

Sep 4, 2021

“It’s coming up more and more – especially after 2020 – that there are so many organizations that want to put people of color up on a pedestal to present that image, co-opt that image of progressiveness via this individual that they’ve ‘invited to the table.’ And then they don’t pay them. Or they don’t pay them properly.”

Jul 13, 2021

"Community-wise, there are a lot of amazing people here and people who are willing to do that extra work, the grassroots-level work to make things happen. The frustrating side of it is that it feels like the city has just been insistent on keeping the ceiling really low for us."

May 10, 2021

"I didn’t know if I’d be considered “smart” or “learned” outside of a small town. The best thing I learned while I was at WashU was just how capable, dedicated, and determined I really am."

March 23, 2021

"The keynote speaker for the event will be Jenie Gao, a full-time artist, creative director and entrepreneur. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Gao’s work focuses on creating cultural landmarks and records that define who we are."

Feb 18, 2021

"If we are serious about protecting people during the pandemic then we need to figure out how to stay closed with social safety nets in place instead of open at all costs, which requires the exploitation of working-class labor. Again, we need to advocate for solutions that center the well-being of people instead of the value of property."

December 3, 2020

"I think, too often, public art and murals, in particular, get treated as kind of a salve they put on top of the community. It’s the assumptions of an organization, or of an artist to come in and change the aesthetics of a place based on their assumptions of what’s needed."

Dec 2, 2020

"In pushing back against funding for State Street businesses damaged during recent protests, activists are arguing for a redistribution of public resources."

August 27, 2020

"Back in January, we interviewed Madison-area artist and activist Jenie Gao about Equity for Artists...Now, Jenie’s back with a few other artists, and an update – some things haven’t changed, but maybe some progress."

August 10, 2020

"If we’re so eager to preserve these murals as a part of our history, let’s again remember that this project was created for a predominantly white-owned business district that serves predominantly white clientele. Whose history are we centering in what we choose to preserve?"

June 24, 2020

"We see a behavior that's exhibited in communities that are fragmented...That comes from the fact that we're underfunded, we lack proper infrastructure...and as a result institutions maintain power."

June 2, 2020

"Cap Times visual journalist Ruthie Hauge spent the last three weeks going out while you were staying in, catching families and friends at play in their illuminated homes and apartments, a new kind of nightlife."

May 20, 2020

"Maybe it’s a hard sell to tell arts nonprofits that are losing money to have artists’ pay and representation at the top of their agendas. But if not now, when? Cash is king during a recession, and cash needs to make it into the hands of laborers."

May 21, 2020

"Jenie Gao, muralist, printmaker and tireless advocate for artists, invites an audience into her studio for an online discussion of working during the pandemic shutdown and what might come next."

May 28, 2020

"Madison artist Jenie Gao hopes to bring attention to minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and artists who have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic – and to also honor Asian and Pacific Islander American Heritage Month."

May 22, 2020

"Featured artists include Aaron Granat, Actual Size Artworks, Adriana Barrios, Amanda Crary Gallas, Cynthia Hoffman, Elyse Clouthier, Helen Lee, Ingrid Kallick, Jenie Gao, Jeremy Nealis, Jeremy Wineberg, Kayla Story, Kyle Herrera, Leo Salazar, Sara Meredith and TetraPAKMAN."

April 21, 2020

"The City of Madison and its boosters spend a lot of money and time singing the praises of the city’s arts and culture scene. But how much of that economy finds its way back to the artists who produce the culture we all celebrate?"

January 27, 2020

"I’m dreaming of the day when I can walk into a room of my artist friends and know without question every one of them is getting paid well for their work."

January 2, 2020

"When a leader in the arts space like a museum perpetuates this lopsided power dynamic between artists and institutions, it calls into question whom this institution really serves."

December 23, 2019

"This is an open letter on behalf of all the artists who are tired of working for free for institutions that claim to support them."

December 4, 2019

"...Challenge old story paradigms, while also offering affirmation that things can always change."

November 11, 2019

"Michael Clish talks with Jenie Gao about her new exhibit at the Crossman Gallery, 'Claiming Space.'"

October 9, 2019

"I am putting a stake in the ground here, saying that the artists are not getting pushed out to the outskirts to another area that the city might want to gentrify."

October 4, 2019

"Although women of color cumulatively represent 18 percent of the population, they make up less than half of one percent of US museum collections and art representations."

August 2019

"Together, the hands and arms create a social space, a place of connection."

July 2019

"Other area cities add to constellation of public art."

June 2019

"Women artists honor 100 years of suffrage with a giant collaborative art flag"

June 2019

"The mural sets the mood for what [the owners] have going in the Working Draft taproom."

December 2018

"There’s a cultural tendency to shop for art like it’s extra. But we don’t invite things into our..."

November 2018

"...when people in our community choose to invest in the arts and integrate it with their surroundings."

November 2018

"Gao strives to forge connections and show how the personal and the political are linked."

October 2018

"Madison is home to a strikingly rich population of innovators, creators, doers and dreamers."

October 2018

"Gao talked with members of the community about ideas for fence mural designs..."

September 2018

"It draws on a number of thematic and visual elements — the ideas of migration..."

August 2018

"The primary goal of this piece was for an educational opportunity for the students."

August 2018

"From works that explore social justice and gender issues to projects that spark creativity..."

August 2018

"It’s a tribute to Trinity Lutheran’s heritage, history and mission of service and inclusivity."

August 2018

"People gathered for a mural blessing for a piece titled "Journey to a New Beginning" at Trinity."

July 2018

"She heard over and over again that Trinity was a place to come home to."

July 2018

"There are a lot times when we default to what we have to do rather than...what we're called to do"

July 2018

"You never know what you don't know. I was bleeding money and trying to figure out what to say yes to..."

June 2018

"Creativity is about connecting different ideas, people, and perspectives to find shared purpose..."

May 2018

"War and violence, protest and speech. Both subjects are fighting for their right to live."

May 2018

"Imaginative precision that one will forevermore see an angry Alsatian with a gun barrel snout."

May 2018

"There is something old and retold about the stories in my work, yet renewed."

Museum of Wisconsin Art | April 2018

"People move frequently between cities, states, and countries and encounter drastic points of view."

April 2018

"Large wall mural showing outstretched hands with a water-like blue background."

March 2018

"Jenie Gao creates the colorful backdrop at Working Draft Beer Co."

March 2018

"I hope it gets people to think critically about what they see..."

Spring 2018

"Ink drawing casts an expanding urban grid as a spiderweb, with the planner's hands..."

February 2018

"Gao wants to dispel the idea that original artwork is only accessible to the rich."

October 2017

"Students from a variety of schools and nonprofit organizations worked with a professional artist..."

March 2017

"“It’s clear the community is engaged in and committed to advancing racial equity and inclusion work."

Spring 2017

"Community involvement is essential to the installation’s theme."

February 2017

"The act of creating art in an unfamiliar way can lead to personal growth and spark creativity."

February 2017

"I fell in love with how printmaking is both an art form and a technology..."

January 2017

"She’s done residencies in Argentina and Chile and now lands at..."

January 2017

"They shared their stories with me when they crossed the border..."

December 2016

"The making of something meaningful is always an act of reciprocity."

August 2015

"We become experts of our limits instead of discoverers of our potential."

January 2015

"With modern trade it's' easy to forget that things we make have their origin in an artistic form."

January 2015

"Violent, yet intimate, suspended in moments of tension."

March 2014

"There is something decisive about putting things in ink and carving pieces out, forever."

July 2012

"The first sign that I was serious about my craft was when I was two years old."

September 2011

"It is not immediately obvious what lies at the heart of this series."

August 2010

"Woodcuts by Jenie Gao in the Upper Gallery"

July 2010