Jessina Leonard

Faculty Fellow (Spring 2025), Teaching & Learning Lab
 

Jessina Leonard is an interdisciplinary artist working across photography, writing, bookmaking and sculpture. Her work and research explores the intersection of religion, gender, power and the limits of human knowledge. She graduated with a MA in religious studies from Duke University in 2015 and an MFA in photography with distinction from Rhode Island School of Design in 2020, where she was the recipient of the Henry Wolf Award for Photographic Excellence. In 2021-2022, she received a Fulbright Study/Research Award to Germany. She has exhibited her work at SomoS Art House (Berlin), ClampArt (NYC), A.R.E.A. Gallery (Boston), and the RISD Museum (Providence), among other places. She has taught visual literacy courses in Durham Public Schools (NC) and at Project Open Door (Providence) and serves as faculty at Rhode Island School of Design and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.

 

As the Spring 2025 T&LL Faculty Fellow, Jessina will be leading workshops on inclusive dialogue in the classroom, course assignment design, and the benefits of "cold read" critiques, in dialogue with educators and artists like Leslie Dick and Gordon Hall. Jessina will also be offering weekly faculty office hours for consultation on course design, syllabus planning, inclusive learning and student support.