Jerri Allyn

Interviews by Brainard Carey

A citizen of the world, Jerri Allyn (she/he/shimmher) is a community-based artist, educator, and activist who promotes civic engagement. Her work provides a forum for diverse voices that look at issues comprehensively. While challenging traditional gender roles and highlighting the experiences of underrepresented communities, his art explores complex themes including power dynamics and the intersections of body autonomy, race, and social class. Jerri’s diverse artistic practice encompasses various media: audio, video and sculptural tableaus, electronic billboards, 3-D books, and printmaking multiples, often culminating in site-oriented, interactive installations and performance art events.

Allyn has exhibited internationally and received numerous prestigious awards. These include a Rockefeller Foundation Residency in Italy, an International Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Residency in Mexico, and grants from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Lightening Fund, and The National Tanes Fund.

Fr more information and research: Website link to Sx Cele popup, Safiya page. Safiya’s Myth Busters. Ongoing Programs: Sx Celebrated: Comprehensive Sex Ed, Body Positive Movement, Sx Worker Rights – Human Rights Watch.

Installation shot of work-in-progress popup, Sx Celebrated: Expanding Erotic Power, The Art Room, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Sept 28, 2024; photo: Cheri Gaulke.

Safiya with photomontage portrait: Sapphrodite Goddess of Paraphilias / Safiya Discover an inner Deity, Sappic Energies, Erotic, Intimate needs? Your paraphilias are safe with me. Photo Montage, archival digital print on canvas, handsewn fabric frame, hung on rod; 6’H x 4’L; 2024.

Excerpt of Performance: Stripper Co-op Dancers Seize the Means of Production, pictured: Kayla Tange, photo: Dan Monick.