Atlanta artist Jessica Blinkhorn wins coveted Guggenheim Fellowship – WABE

Artists, scientists, writers and other creators recently won 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship honors – and among them, one of ours.

Atlanta-based multidisciplinary artist Jessica Blinkhorn creates performance and visual art to advocate for the disabled, LGBTQ+, and aging communities.

As a Guggenheim Fellow this year, she will receive generous support to pursue her next project, as the Foundation puts it, “under the freest conditions possible.” Blinkhorn joins “City Lights” to share his story with host Lois Reitzes and explain his new artistic horizons.

“Art has always been a way for me to connect with the world and show them what I can do,” Blinkhorn said.

“My disease is degenerative and it continues to progress. I’m currently taking medication designed to slow the progression… I knew my hands would eventually be taken away, so I started looking for other avenues of creation, and that’s where I found performance, l installation and writing.

“My work has actually become an extension of dealing with the natural deterioration of my body…and speaking on behalf of people who otherwise don’t really have a voice either, because they feel like they have been so marginalized that no one listens or they really don’t have a voice. due to the degenerative nature of their disease.