‘Speaking of The Arts’: Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn
Jessica Elaine Blinkhorn is an interdisciplinary artist, creating “socially-minded narratives that represent disabled and aging communities.” She lives with a degenerative disease that presents a challenge in drawing and painting, her long-preferred media, so she now focuses on performance art.
“I love performing,” says Blinkhorn. “I think I am actually a natural performer, in large part due to the family that I come from.” Inspiration comes from her artistic parents and her friends, students, and community.
Blinkhorn hopes to bring attention to Atlanta’s limited accessibility for its disabled residents and wheelchair users. “It inspires me to create work that represents the needs for my community; we need inclusion. We need a doorway to equality and equity,” says Blinkhorn.
Her performance art will be featured in the Beltline’s fall and spring seasonal public art lineup, as well as Elevate ATL 2021. Through Elevate’s grant from the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Blinkhorn will establish the first-ever disabled-and-aging-community-based mural in Georgia, on the weekend of Oct. 22 in East Atlanta Village.