Jen Delos Reyes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jen Delos Reyes
Jen Delos Reyes in 2018
Nationality	Canadian
Known for	collaborative artist, writer, educator

Jen Delos Reyes is an artist, writer, and teacher from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Growing up, she learned important lessons from her Filipine mother. These lessons included how to be resourceful, how to build strong communities, and how to find joy in life. She also learned to appreciate fashion and art.

Jen Delos Reyes is very interested in how art can help people and communities. She studies the history of art that involves social action. She also looks at how artists work together in groups, like music bands. She is the person who started and led Open Engagement. This was a big international meeting about art that helps communities. From 2008 to 2014, she was a professor at Portland State University. Now, she helps lead the School of Art and Art History at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

Jen Delos Reyes's Art Projects

Jen Delos Reyes helps other artists by creating special places and projects for them. She supports "artist-run" groups and places. These are art spaces that are managed by artists themselves.

One of her most important projects was Open Engagement. This was a yearly meeting led by artists. It ran from 2007 to 2017. The goal of Open Engagement was to talk about art that helps communities. It also aimed to support artists who do this kind of work.

Her art also explores how groups of people work together. She often looks at how music bands operate. She studies how they create and share their work.

Currently, Jen Delos Reyes is writing a book. It is called I’m Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Song: How Artists Make and Live Lives of Meaning. This book explores why artists create art. It also looks at how they make their art a part of their daily lives.

Jen Delos Reyes as a Teacher

From 2008 to 2013, Jen Delos Reyes helped lead a special art program. This was the Art and Social Practice MFA program at Portland State University. An MFA is a Master of Fine Arts degree. She was also the main leader of this area from 2010 to 2013.

While at Portland State University, she created a new way for students to study. She designed a "low-residency" MFA program. This meant students did not have to live in Portland to study. They could live in their own communities. This allowed them to create art that was meaningful where they lived.

Jen Delos Reyes also created other courses for the university. Some courses taught the history of art that helps communities. These courses covered art from 1920 to today. Other courses taught students how to teach this kind of art to others.

Books and Publications

Jen Delos Reyes edits a series of books called "Art and Social Practice Reference Points." She works with students from the MFA program on these books. The series covers three main topics about art that helps communities. These topics include important people, different themes, and practical methods.

Students and teachers choose artists or groups who have influenced social art. They also pick themes that are popular in modern social art. Finally, they include ways for artists to use these ideas in their own work.

Jen Delos Reyes also edited a collection of writings from Open Engagement. This book covered the years 2007 to 2013.

Art Shows and Exhibitions

Jen Delos Reyes's art has been shown in many places. Here are some of the exhibitions where her work has been featured:

• Shine a Light, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR. 2013
• Band Class, Ditch Projects, Eugene, OR. 2011
• The Open Daybook, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA. 2011
• Utopia, OH. CS18, Cincinnati, OH. 2011
• The Incidental Person. Apexart. NY, NY. 2010
• Parties Prenantes. Bétonsalon, Paris, France. 2009
• Come Together, The Kitchen, New York, NY. 2006