Jireh L. Drake

JIREH L. DRAKE (Lobby Artist) is an unapologetic Queer, Black, Non-Binary Femme, who is reimagining life in Chicago. They are a mixed media drawing and sculpting artist. They are a core member of For the People Artist Collective and Chicago’s Black Trans Gender Non-Conforming (BTGNC) Collective. A lot of the work that Jireh creates aims to invite the viewer to engage critically with ideas around race, whether that is questioning how we’re invested in whiteness, finding more questions, or reaching some sort of understanding through empathy. Their work has a strong sense of patterns, textures and movement, which is greatly influenced by their community, and Black artists such as Kara Walker and Kerry James Marshall. Jireh is interested in how art is a simultaneously a tool for liberation, healing, and resistance.