2023 CHRYSALIS AWARDEE

krystle lemonias announced as 2023 jracraft chrysalis awardee

Artist Krystle Lemonias has been announced as the JRACraft's 2023 Chrysalis Awardee in Fiber. 

Grounded in the principles of painting and sculpture, Krystle Lemonias' stitched tapestries combine intricate woodblock printing with an array of post consumer textiles to depict a contemporary narrative of care work through the lens of Black immigrant women. With her background as a Jamaican born immigrant and experience as a former care worker, Lemonias depicts the complication of what’s gained and lost in resilience. “It’s an honor to receive this award and take advantage of the opportunities included. With this recognition for innovation and merit, I look forward to sharing my work’s conceptual thought with hopes to inform a wider audience on its themes.“ says Lemonias. 

Lemonias earned her MFA at the University of Southern Florida in 2022, and currently teaches as the Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. She has completed artist residencies at Aferro Gallery, Guttenberg Arts, and most recently at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey. In addition to her studio practice, Lemonias is the creator and host of The Hidden Critique, a podcast to support young artists of color navigating MFA programs to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education. 
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www.krystlelemonias.com | @empress1989kl

We will have a public presentation with Krystle in March 2024. Join the JRACraft eNewsletter to receive updates and more information about this event and other upcoming programs. A special thank you to longtime JRACraft Member Chris Rifkin for generously sponsoring this year's Chrysalis award. 

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honorable mention

baylee schmitt 

The jurors also selected artist Baylee Schmitt as the 2023 Chrysalis Award Honorable Mention. Schmitt's installation 306 West Church St. is a life size crochet recreation of her childhood kitchen from memory. Reflecting on her Midwestern upbringing, and the gendered, dynamic roles of domestic labor, Schmitt describes her work as a "memoir about self and space." Originally working as a photorealist painter, Schmitt began crocheting in 2021 and earned her MFA at Miami University, Oxford, OH in 2023. 

@bayleeksart