jenny zander

body artist, photographer & filmmaker

BIOGRAPHY

From a young age creation has been central to who I am, who I’m becoming. I am a Minneapolis based Body Artist, Photographer, and Filmmaker. I create on skin because it's art with a heartbeat. My work showcases resiliency through a form of storytelling that reflects our many identities and movements. Every summer my Baba lays out all his watercolors on the kitchen table and paints from past photos I’ve taken. I love being with him when he paints. He’s always told me that “a good painting breathes,” meaning not everything should be colored in. And now, this is how I paint people. I don’t want to engulf a person in paint, I want to accent their body. 

I've worked with Oyate Hotanin, Pangea World Theater, Indigenous Peoples Task Force, Lightning Rod, Ikidowin Acting Ensemble, Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center and many independent artists throughout the Twin Cities. My work has been exhibited in Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. My body art and photography has been published by Buddy’s Bench Press in the book Shapeshifters: Bodies Like Water which honors the deep connections between the body, land, and queer wisdom.

Qualifications

Co-Founder of The Red Light House - Our collective is made up of young, queer women, each in our own creative genre. We focus on curating events and inducing memorable work environments all while uplifting queer voices and arts. The Red Light House is well known for our intimate and versatile arts space which we operate from our home in North Minneapolis.

Artistic Director, Body Artist & Photographer for the book Shapeshifters: Bodies Like Water, which carries you through a series of stories from queer, trans and gender-fluid artists.

Contract Videographer & Photographer for several local arts organizations including Oyate Hotanin and Indigenous Peoples Task Force. In 2020, I joined Sharon Day, Director of Indigenous Peoples Task Force, to make a documentary about the Salt River Water Walk in Arizona.

Previously the Visual & Documentation Specialist for 5 years at Pangea World Theater.

CONTACT