Jovan Speller

Jovan C. Speller is a multidisciplinary artist, arts administrator at the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, and educator based in Minnesota. Her work artwork interprets historic narratives through contemporary discourse. Her research-based practice is centered around elevating, complicating, and inventing stories that explore ancestry, identity, and spatial memory—making the intangible tangible and the invisible visible.

Speller holds a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Columbia College Chicago and studied art at the Maryland Institute College of Art. Speller's work has been exhibited in various arts institutions including The Plains Art Museum, Bockley Gallery, New Orleans African American Museum, Aspect/Ratio Projects, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She is a recipient of a McKnight Visual Artist Fellowship, Jerome Emerging Artist Fellowship, and Minnesota State Arts Board grants. She completed a residency at Second Shift Studio Space in St. Paul and was awarded the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Minnesota Art Prize in 2021. Speller is represented by ENGAGE Projects in Chicago.

As an educator, Speller is most passionate about bridging the gap between theory and practice, to prepare students to resourcefully navigate creative spaces and achieve thriving futures.