Ayana V. Jackson’s work seeks to crystallize the experience of contemporary Africa and African diaspora societies. She combines honed technical skills with richly laced historical allusions to create hauntingly candid portraits that depict varying constructions of African and African-American identities. Jackson achieves this through several photographic approaches, ranging from reportage and portraiture to performance and studio based practice.

Jackson has exhibited her work in association with Gallery MOMO, Johannesburg, South Africa; Galerie Baudoin Lebon, Paris, France; Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy; Galerie Sho Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan; the San Francisco Mexican Museum, USA; Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Art (MoCADA), New York, USA; and the Philadelphia African American Museum, USA. She received the 2014 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellowship for Photography and has received grants from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Inter America Foundation, US State Department as well as the French Institute, the latter supporting her participation in the 2009 Bamako African Photography Biennial.