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Art & Art History
University of Mississippi

Meet Trailblazer Jennifer G. Thompson

August 28, 2019

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer G. Thompson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jennifer. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started researching Texas female typographers and designers for a project I was working on and I couldn’t find very much information. I soon realized that I wanted to use a font created by a Texas-based female designer and I had a hard time finding one. The lack of females documented in design history and Texas art history was astounding to me. In 2014, Glass Tire released an article that gave data about CADD galleries and who had shows with them. The majority of the artists listed were white males. There was a lack of female and minority artists represented. I thought about a way to get things moving in a better direction here in the DFW and Texas and started TXFAD (Texas Female Artists & Designers).

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is definitely not an easy road. The current art culture is still male-dominated and starting a new initiative has some definite challenges that I am currently trying to overcome. If I could give advice to other women who are just starting their journey, it would be to not be afraid to do the work. If you see something that needs to be changed, find a way to get in there and join the effort to help someone else. Never give up. When you see that change is happening, keep going forward to continue the work.

Tell us more about your story. What should we know? What do you specialize in? What sets you apart from others?
In addition to founding Texas Female Artists & Designers (TXFAD), I am also a practicing artist & designer. My latest body of work is based in collage and my newest adventure has been mural painting. Being a female artist & designer myself, I can clearly see the need for more support for females in our Texas art community. In my pursuit of all of these things, I am also getting my MFA in Visual Communications. My graduate thesis exhibition will be in the summer of 2020. The focus will be to present a marketing campaign for TXFAD that includes data on females in the field of art/design. I am so looking forward to sharing this with the community at large.

Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
I find so much inspiration and information on Instagram. I have been able to connect with so many inspiring people and learn so much from fellow artists and designers. Right now, I am trying to learn as much as I can from a book by Doyald Young “Dangerous Curves”. There are so many other books that I could list that have helped me throughout the years. Check my website for an upcoming recommended book list, www.jennifergthompson.com.

Contact Info:

   Image Credit:
The photo of myself was taken by Rolando Almaraz

Original Post and Article from VoyageDallas