Jessica Gaynelle Moss

Price just went up 📈📈📈 HONORED to be included on this list! Thank you Architectural Digest (@archdigest ), to the homie Lila (@lilerr ) for the alley-opp, and to Charlotte Collins (@19ccollins ) for telling this very important story. #architecture #architecturedesign #architecturaldigest #blackart #blackcollectors #blackinteriors #blackspace

Hi, to all my new followers 🌺I'm Jessica. 🌸 (never Jess, sometimes Jesse). And I love you! I’m an artist, an independent curator, a custodian of art, and a creator of platforms and spaces that invest in and support artists. I’m the founding director of The Roll Up (@therollupclt ), a nationally recognized platform for socially engaged practice, anchored by a residency program and expanded through fellowships, internships, public programs and direct philanthropic support. ✨ I am also the managing director and curator for Sibyls Shrine (@sibylsshrine ), an arts collective and residency program for Black artists who m/other in Pittsburgh PA and beyond. Currently our network includes 150+ members, across 19 states and 26 cities! ✨ My practice also intersects with land stewardship, transforming various properties into safe and affordable housing and studio solutions for artists. My project The Garfield PGH (@thegarfieldpgh ), named after my paternal grandfather and hosted in my grandparent's house in the Hill District/Pittsburgh, is a safe and affordable short-term resting house for Black artists. As a curator, I transform spaces into immersive experiences, intentionally widening the range of artists represented and expanding the boundaries of dominant historical canons. Working independently allows me to embed more equitable, artist-centered systems across various museums, art fairs, galleries and cultural institutions, shaping practices that extend beyond any one space or institution. As an Arts and Culture Fellow at the Pittsburgh Foundation (@the_pittsburgh_foundation ), I contributed to the distribution of over $4,092,450 in arts funding with the Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh fund, the largest distribution in the program's 12-year history in 2022: 49 grants totaling $1.61 million. Everything that I do is in an effort to destroy all the systems of oppression that prohibit our growth, imagination and expansion. ✨We are and we have everything we need! ✨ 🏃🏾‍♀️ 🏃🏾‍♀️🏃🏾‍♀️ 🎞️: @_yoshann Join me? #explore #art #artist #philanthropy #entrepreneur #curator #artcurator #blackart #blackartists #communityengagement #socialpractice

So aligned. Deeply honored and immemsely grateful. This is heart’s work. Thank you, thank you.

39 today. Whew, what a ride. Key word: Gratitude. Here are two photographs that I'm celebrating today: one of me as a wee tiny bean, being held (eternally held) by my paternal grandmother Rebecca Range Moss, in front of her giant elephant ear garden at her and my grandfather Joseph Garfield Moss Sr's home on Iowa St in the Sugar Top neighborhood of the Hill District in Pittsburgh PA. The other photograph depicts a selection of the tattoos across my chest, all in honor of my grandmother Rebecca. A small candy heart that reads 'Babe' by Dakota from 2022, handlettering of her maiden name by Chris from 510 Expert from 2016, and the elephant ear plant, deeply rooted near my heart, by Matthew Wallenstein from 2018. <3 This woman, this house, and this neighborhood continue to inspire me and so much of my work today. So much gratitude for the grandmothers today and everyday

Thank you to @pghartscouncil and @patrick_m_fisher for this invitation to advocate for artists and the structural support necessary for creative work to thrive in our city. Biggest shoutout to the real MVPs in this work @cindynwndrlnd @frogangfoundation @shiftworkspgh 💐😘🫀❤️💯 #repost • @pghartscouncil “When cities fail to invest meaningfully in artists, they leave.” In a new first-person essay, Pittsburgh-based artist and curator Jessica Gaynelle Moss shares how “Endurance Is Not Infrastructure: How Policy Shapes (and Stalls) Public Art,” part of our series from working artists and arts leaders on arts and public policy in Pittsburgh. These essays lead into the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council’s inaugural Policy and Action Roundtable on March 5 at Point Park University, a direct conversation with Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor (@coreyoconnorpa ) and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato (@ace_innamorato ) on the systems shaping our creative sector. IMAGES: Slide 1 and 5: Jessica Gaynelle Moss // Photo by Thurner Photography Slide 3: Frofully Connected (2023), Rell Rushin (@cindynwndrlnd ) // Photo by Ishara Henry, courtesy of Shiftworks Community + Public Arts

Last Wednesday’s gallery opening for Practices of Holding was incredibly tender and moving. It was beautiful to witness the range of emotions, from joyful smiles to moments of deep reflection. We want to give a heartfelt congratulations to all the artists from @sibylsshrine ! 👏🏽 Photographer Chad Isaiah @chadisaiahphoto took many stunning photos of the community coming together. We compiled an album and want to share more with you! Visit the link in bio for the full album. 🔗 📷️ -- About Practices of Holding: What does it mean to hold those who held us? How have they been passed down in gesture, imagery, word? Practices of Holding, curated by Jessica Gaynelle Moss, weaves together portraits of ancestral and living matriarchs, written reflections and precious objects shared by 15 members of Sibyls Shrine - a national network, residency program and collective of over 150 Black artists who m/other. On display through Sunday, June 14, 2026 at KST's Gallery (5941 Penn Ave.) -- Practices of Holding features Elizabeth Burden, Tiara L. Burtin, Lisa Brown, Dail Chambers, Lish Danielle, Cheré D. Gordon, Olivia Guterson, sarah huny young, Miracle Jones, Melike Vivastine Konur, Sasha-Loriene McClain, Zllen McCollum, Victoria Ramlalsingh-Hinton, Anqwenique Wingfield-Kinsel and is curated by Jessica Gaynelle Moss, in partnership with Sibyls Shrine, presented by Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and in conjunction with Jasmine Hearn’s Memory Fleet: Stay in the Circle. #blackartists #motherhood #pittsburgh #sibylsshrine #matriarch

💐What does it mean to hold those who held us? Practices of Holding honors our ancestral and living matriarchs by the ways they hold us. Comprised of portraits, written reflections, memory work and communal altar-building, this constellation of narratives creates a collective portrait, still with deep reverence for each matriarch. This exhibition shares work by members of Sibyls Shrine, a national network, residency program and collective of Black artists who m/other. Participating artists include Elizabeth Burden, Tiara L. Burtin, Lisa Brown, Dail Chambers, Lish Danielle, Cheré D. Gordon, Olivia Guterson, sarah huny young, Miracle Jones, Melike Vivastine Konur, Sasha-Loriene McClain, Zllen McCollum, Victoria Ramlalsingh-Hinton and Anqwenique Wingfield-Kinsel. The lead exhibition image ‘Lor-Lor’ was submitted by Sasha Loriene. Sasha joined Sibyls Shrine in July of 2025. She submitted a portrait of her mother, writing: “She was my best friend, confidant, and unwavering support system who loved me unconditionally without judgment or critique. Her greatest gift as matriarch was sustaining a lineage of praying women, passing forward generational blessings that transcend material wealth.” Ashe. Practices of Holding is curated by Jessica Gaynelle Moss, in partnership with Sibyls Shrine, presented by Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and in conjunction with Jasmine Hearn’s Memory Fleet: Stay in the Circle. Wednesday February 4th, 2026 | 6:00-8:00pm EST | Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh PA

Winter solstice on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. 8 cities in 20 days. Still trying to find something… Lots of growing and growth, a tour of casados, trails and waterfalls, black sand, chocolate and local survival skills.

If you’re in Pittsburgh, 🛝 let’s link! 1/31 at 11am - @carnegielibrary - Squirrel Hill 2/7 at 3pm- @carnegielibrary - Homewood Opening another year with Preparation Workshops with and in community. We’re at HOME in Pittsburgh for this series in partnership with the Carnegie Library 💐 Every time I host this workshop, I learn more about this text and Octavia. I learn more about survival through the lens of abundance. Each time, I’m reminded: We already have all we need. The workshops feel like reunions, meditations, prayer circles, safe spaces for dream-casting and manifesting. I learn so much from each of yall holding space in all the different places. So much wisdom from the elders, the students, friends, colleagues, cousins and the babies. We have so much to learn from the babies… I have so much gratitude for all those who have invited me to share this work. Thank you to Isabelle and Zia in Pittsburgh, Laura in Susquehanna, Sunshine, Brittany and Sagnik in Philadelphia, Ashley and Mariah in NC, Jessica and Carole in New Orleans, Dail in St Louis, and of course gratitude to Alisha and Sibyls Shrine, for helping to bring this work to life. 💐💐💐 If you’re interested in learning more about Community Preparation or Survival Strategies (me too, let’s be friends!), or if you’d like to discuss bringing this work to your organization, institution or community space, please reach out! I feel called to do this work and I love hosting this workshop. We need it. Let’s get prepared together. Preparation Workshops inspired by Octavia Butler’s ‘Parable of the Sower’ led by Jessica Gaynelle Moss | The goal of this project is to shift our focus from a scarcity model to one of abundance, uniting our communities through a series of workshops dedicated to emergency preparedness and survival strategies, while also envisioning a future where all oppressive systems are completely dismantled. | * Both programs are FREE & NO RSVP REQUIRED *

Miami Art Week: Where I’ll be (2025) x Where I was (<2024) 1: in conversation with curators @pamdebono & @heikedempster at @thecarterprojectmiami c/o @cmxnr 2-3: ✨Tuesday Dec 2nd 4: @artbasel 1st Black bar for @artnoirco with @milimills_mia @laurynn_l @carringtoner and Mr Black Bar himself @visionsandverbs 5-7: ✨Wednesday Dec 3rd 8: tour of @newartdealers led by the prolific @bythelb 9-11: ✨Thursday Dec 4th 12: 2023 art x tech panel discussion with @profgalloway and @chrisadamo c/o @openwebhq 13-14: ✨Friday Dec 5th 15: @josephcuillier of @theblackschool leading programming at Dorsey House c/o @highlandercenter 16-17: ✨Saturday Dec 6th 18: 2022 girl power brunch at SoHo house c/o @thealexjane Image credit: @passionward for @cmxnr

My summer in Portugal: 1: Marina da Póvoa, north atlantic ocean with my baby 2: the colorful streets of Porto 3-5: three weeks at @orto__creativehub residency 6: codfish and SARDINES! 7: if this is when they say it started, then you know it was wayyy earlier 8: keep a map on me 9: view from the farm at night 10: getting our passport stamps 11: daily freshest catch 12-13: make it mandatory: Naky’s @africanlisbontour 14: the stunning @livrarialello.porto 15: whole fish dinner me please 16: maxee reminding us all to relaxeee

Wow what a time! Finally have the recap from what I can only describe as such a lovely self affirming experience honoring such a beautiful community. From the unveil to the screening I was on a high. Thank you to my love ones that came out to celebrate my work. And to those in the community that shared their beautiful words and experience. @jesseplane created a true gem of a residency with the @therollupclt I like to call it the gift that keeps on giving! To @1stkind who not only supported my crazy antics through this process but created such a beautiful film! That I can't wait to continue screening! So keep a look out! @jy.originals was the realest MVP don't know what I would've done without her. The crew that flew out and made the experience extra special @harveycummings @blackasthecosmos @cjames_k The hill district now has a special place in my heart, until next time!