Juliandra Jones

Juliandra Jones is a self-taught artist from Las Vegas, NV. After obtaining her degree in Criminal Justice and Pre-Law from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2014, she moved to Pittsburgh, PA where she began to explore social justice through her art work. In the past, her powerful pieces have spoken directly to the racial tensions that have plagued our country for centuries. In these pieces she communicates the distress of social issues such as police brutality with compelling images that get to the center of the pain and heartache that arise as a result. She has shown these series at various exhibits including the Canvas of Words Series, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Showcase Noir 2017 & 2018 (Pittsburgh, PA), Double Mirror Exhibit Southside Art Crawl (Pittsburgh, PA), and the Divine 9 Greek Art Show (Los Angeles, CA). Recently, Juliandra has shifted focus from commenting on painful social issues to empowering women of color. She received the motivation for this project when she noticed so many inspirational and beautiful women on her Twitter feed. By changing perspectives and drawing attention to the women of color who are often the backbone of communities affected by such violent issues, she wishes to spread hope and faith that these issues will not destroy our community. By focusing on the beauty of perseverance and the faces of generational royalty she hopes to encourage others. This is shown most prominently through her painting, ‘Raudha Athif’ (2017) exhibiting the strength of a woman who sought to empower others, and her ‘Mother’ Series which spotlights the elegance of women of color as the original mother.