JOURDAN BARNES
New Orleans, LA
2025-2026 Grant Savor - A Photo Series
Grant 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2023-2024
Jourdan Barnes creates digital photographs and photo collages rooted in memory, reverence, and the documentation of Black life. “My journey as an artist is deeply intertwined with my personal quest for representation and belonging,” says Barnes, whose work seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of the Black community. “By offering authentic and multifaceted representations, I aim to empower members of the Black community to see themselves reflected in their entirety—to feel connected, validated, and celebrated,” he reflects.
With this grant, he will develop Savor, a photographic series documenting everyday, intimate acts of Black life. “With growing uncertainty in our political and social climate, I am reflecting on what it means to live fully in the present and appreciate life’s quiet luxuries—hot water, fresh meals, shelter, a phone call, expression, healthcare, internet access, freedom of speech. These are gifts we often take for granted, and I am driven by the urgent desire to archive what is before it becomes what was,” states Barnes. Savor will focus on the Black community’s capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive aspects of life. Barnes will use photography, video, and audio recording to document what his subjects are savoring. He plans to explore lives in New Orleans and beyond. He describes Savor as an offering to the present and those whose sacrifices gave him the liberty to see, reflect, and document.
Barnes graduated from Xavier University of New Orleans with a BA in Fine Arts and a minor in Psychology. He works as Community Engagement Coordinator for the Louisiana Department of Health STD/HIV/Hepatitis Program. Barnes has worked at YAYA as studio mentor and currently serves as President of YAYA’s board of directors. He has exhibited his work across New Orleans as well as in Manhattan, Atlanta, and South Korea. He has participated in artist residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center and New Orleans Museum of Art.
Jourdan Barnes first joined the YAYA Guild in 2007.
All works are copyright of the artist.