Jackie Hoysted

About the Artist

Jackie, a native of Ireland based in Maryland, is an award winning interdisciplinary artist, curator and activist. She has had solo exhibitions across the US and has been featured in the: Washington Post, Washington City Paper, HuffPost, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Reno Gazette-Journal. She is the recipient of grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Vermont Studio Center and multiple grants from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She is co-founder of ArtWatch, a DC artist collective focused on positive political activism. Additionally she is curator for the DC organization Solas Nua that focuses on presenting contemporary Irish art. Jackie has a degree in computer science from Trinity College Dublin and a fine arts degree from the George Washington Corcoran School of the Arts and Design.

Artist's Statement

I am interested in creating awareness of social and political issues that have personal significance to me such as identity, health, feminism, economy and religion. Depending on the project, I articulate my thoughts through paintings, sculpture, photography, videography, performance and installation utilizing both traditional and non-traditional materials. One of the most important goals of my practice is to integrate the audience in the artwork and to no longer relegate them to the role of passive viewer. I seek to create opportunities for them to participate in various ways. For example, consuming the artwork in the exhibition Contemplating Candy II to reveal hidden messages about our relationship to sugar; or participating in art performances and activism by posing as pope in #Vote4Pope or, in Bodybag, reposing in a body bag and then narrating what might have occurred by filling out a toe tag. Through this interaction the audience becomes central to the work, fully engaged both artistically and conceptually in the art process. Moreover, it creates a symbiotic relationship between the artist and art participator(s), one where the artist initiates the opportunity for dialogue through the medium of art, but where both learn from one another and consequentially each becoming enriched through this interaction.