Jessica Christy is a native North Dakotan, born to two artists on the Sanger Art Farm, located at the edge of the Sheyenne River Valley. Christy began the position of executive director of NDCA following a decade immersed in the arts scene of the Chicago area, where she dedicated her time to teaching and collaborating with numerous arts nonprofits and community initiatives. Her passion for uplifting communities through art drives her dedication to serving the people of North Dakota.
Jessica completed her B.S. in Art at Valley City State University in 2007, followed by her MFA from the University of North Dakota in 2011. She contributed to the art community at the Jamestown Arts Center and taught at Minot State University before relocating to Chicago. There, she made her mark at the community printmaking studio Spudnik Press Cooperative and established BE Community Art Space, a pop-up gallery and arts space dedicated to offering free arts programs for local youth and families. While in Chicago, she remained committed to teaching printmaking and other art courses across the city.
Throughout her career, Jessica has kept an active studio practice, showing in over 150 national and international exhibitions such as The Long Dream at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Superusted for The Midwest Biennial at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, and solo exhibitions PART TIME LAND SCAPE and Domestic Tides / Indigenous Mind, both of which have been exhibited in the upper Midwest.