Jess gramS

filmmaker / musician

BIOGRAPHY

Jess Grams (she/they) is an Indigenous co-vocational artist based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, whose creative practice spans film, opera, and liturgical arts. With over two decades of experience as a performer, director, and producer, Jess has dedicated her artistic life to justice-centered storytelling, with a particular focus on the complex relationships between urban and rural communities experiencing displacement.

Rooted in a womanist theological framework, Jess’s work interrogates the power of narrative as a tool for healing, accountability, and transformation. This vision is directly tied to her pursuit of a Master of Divinity in Theology and the Arts at United Theological Seminary. Her current project, Die Katzemann, is an operatic song cycle reimagining the ministry of Katherine von Bora through a queer lens—an ambitious work that blends history, theology, and radical re-interpretation.

Jess is also a committed civic leader. She serves as President and Board Chair of the Capitol River Council (District 17) in Saint Paul and chairs the Skyway Governance Committee, where she works at the intersection of land use, accessibility, and community governance. Her organizing efforts emphasize equity, sustainability, and inclusive policy design.

Her long-term project, Minnesota Next, is a multi-format documentary series launched in 2016. It explores the lived experiences of strategically undervalued communities throughout the state and the ways in which they navigate shared space and resources.

Jess has collaborated with a wide range of community organizations, arts institutions, and public entities, including: Dream of Wild Health, Hennepin County Library, Twin Cities PBS, Northern Spark, the Native American Community Development Institute, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Native American Community Clinic, Little Earth Residents Association, Speaking Out Collective, Guthrie Theater, and the Twin Cities Jazz Festival.

Qualifications

Jess Grams is proficient in reading musical scores and has extensive experience in vocal performance, songwriting, and choral conducting. She has taught private and group vocal lessons, emphasizing technique, storytelling, and confidence-building.

Her background in community engagement includes years of facilitation, youth arts leadership, and organizing initiatives that center social justice and cultural preservation. She is adept at creating inclusive spaces for dialogue and collaborative creation.

Jess has strong technical skills in film production, including hands-on experience with SONY and Canon cameras, lighting setup, and documentary-style interviewing. She is skilled in a range of editing and design software, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, and Adobe Illustrator.

Her interdisciplinary practice also includes project management, creative direction, and the ability to collaborate with organizations across the arts, nonprofit, and public sectors.

Skills

  • reading musical scores, vocal performance

  • songwriting

  • teaching vocal lessons

  • choral conducting

  • community engagement/facilitation

  • youth arts leadership

  • SONY and Canon filming

  • lighting

  • interviewing

  • Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Photoshop, Gimp, Adobe Illustrator, etc.

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