One look at his website will show you that artist Jamaali Roberts BFA’17 is living out PNCA’s values. Roberts is taking the skills he’s learned at PNCA to examine existing and emerging cultural, social, and political conditions.
Roberts has also been able to leverage his art practice into a successful business, combining his art classes and workshops with sales of his artwork and merchandise. He says his company, Jam Jam Art, strives “to empower, educate, and entertain our community through inclusive fine arts education while embracing the history and future culture of Black Americans, fostering a vibrant collective of creative minds, and leaving a lasting artistic legacy.”
And he goes further by teaching these skills to young people. Through painting, illustrating, and instructing in his hometown of Atlanta, he aims to “share the wealth of information I have garnered over time and encourage my peers to achieve more in their own fields.”
Roberts also admits to having a simpler goal: “I’m trying to make people smile,” he says. “I want to educate people and have them smile or laugh or be intrigued in a kind of magical way.”
As a Painting & Drawing student at PNCA, Roberts felt inspired by his courses in global art history. “In America, we learn so much about American artists and what they’ve done, as well as European artists. But to see and to understand the breadth and scope of African arts, to Aboriginal, to Indigenous, to Chinese and Japanese arts — I think that really opened my eyes.”
Perhaps most striking of his work are Roberts’ murals, which he began working on at PNCA, painting one in the Admissions office, one in the residence hall, and others around campus. Roberts says those early works helped him fine-tune his collaboration skills. “Commissioned murals require you to work with a community of vastly different people, tons of different cultures, backgrounds, and diversities that you have to connect with.”
The artist/instructor has some advice for future PNCA students, suggesting that they visit First Thursdays and other open gallery events. “Come out to see some of the student work, meet some of the teachers, and really see if it’s your vibe.” He says to check out the studios, too. “If you love art, and if you love everything about creativity, PNCA is a great spot for you,” Roberts says.
