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Jillian D. Pena

Biography

Jillian Peña recalls that it wasn't until she began preparing for college that she became aware of the larger context of her Hispanic heritage. Notification that she was a National Hispanic Merit Scholar gave her pause: "Although I had always identified myself as Hispanic, this was the first time it had been thrust towards me from the outside as something that set me apart." During her college career, she has embraced that ethnicity, processed it, and fit it into the larger picture of her identification and work. "I am a female Hispanic/Scandinavian performance artist, but simultaneously, and more simply, I am an American artist," she writes.

Jillian further identifies herself as a feminist artist. "I see a huge responsibility before me as a female Hispanic artist and am ready to step up to a lively, essential debate." However, she does not tell stories of Hispana in her work. "Instead," she says, "(my work) represents a new voice-integrating conversations in conceptual art not limited by ethnicity and simultaneously discovering the invisible cultural imprints that are deep in my skin."

Jillian intends to pursue a doctorate in performance studies and eventually to create a nonprofit performance art space where artists will educate and be educated through outreach programs, performances, exhibits, lectures, and a scholarly quarterly journal. She believes such a space will add to the community, for "art serves as a bridge for people throughout cultures to meet and discuss. Art causes outbursts and debates, which allow for the forum of important and timeless life questions, including our morals and our purpose."

In preparation, Jillian believes in education through studies and experiences. In January 2003, she served as a curatorial assistant of the Department of Visual Arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, where she helped install Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, a show that will travel nationally. During the summer, Jillian participates in American Dance Festival. She was a member of the Hollins Repertory Dance Company and the Hollins University Arts Association.

Her volunteer work includes activities at Planned Parenthood, working backstage for disabled children with the Keshet Dance Company, and working with the Sandusky Service House (a campus community service organization).

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