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Performance + Video Projection

Despite being pioneers and influencers in genres centered on string instruments such as the guitar and the harp, Black women are often excluded from the social narrative surrounding guitarists and instrumentalists. To increase access and representation, Jess Garland presented a series of performances that highlight the diversity and intersectionality of Black women, girls, and femmes through a unique project that includes history and opportunities for musicians to be confident in their identity and artistry. The performance also featured a film titled Behind the Strings: Amplifying Black Feminism in Guitar Culture, created in partnership with the Pegasus Media Project. 

Bio

Jess Garland is a Dallas-based singer-songwriter, recording and performing artist. A multi-instrumentalist, she combines harp and guitar loops to create her unique brand of celestial avant-garde pop with ethereal jazz tones.

Garland participated in the 2022/23 season of the Elevator Project at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. In 2022, she performed and presented her talk, Facing the Music: Finding Your Purpose, for TEDx. She received the Local Legend Award in Nashville from Wild Turkey’s Creative Director, Matthew McConaughey, for her contributions to music in Dallas. In 2021, she released Harp & Sol an art film and music composition addressing environmental racism in Dallas and Black feminism.

Garland is the President and Founding Director of Swan Strings and the Executive Director of Girls Rock Dallas. She serves on the Board of Directors for Decolonizing the Music Room, Friends of WRR 101.1 FM, and Girls Rock Camp Alliance. She is also on the millennial board at The Black Academy of Arts & Letters, the auxiliary board at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, and the Arts Council for Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts.