Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist who works at the intersection of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder of The We Were Never Alone Project - a weaving workshop for victims and survivors of domestic violence, serves on the Surface Design Association’s Education Committee, and was named one of Newcity’s Breakout Artists of 2024.
Solo exhibitions include Power Trip, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL (2020); (un)disclosed, 1100 Florence Gallery, Evanston, IL (2022); Numb, Oliva Gallery, Chicago, IL (2023); Places (Edition 1) curated by Debra Kayes, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL (2023); Changes, Chesterton Art Center, Chesterton, IN (2024); Unforeseen, 21c Museum Hotel, Chicago, IL (2024).
Recent group exhibitions include Fluffy Crimes #6, Fluffy Crimes, Chicago, IL (2022); Black Creativity Exhibition, Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, IL (2022); Art of Surface, Robert T. Wright Community Gallery of Art, Grayslake, IL (2022); Embedded, Praxis Fiber Workshop, Cleveland, OH (2022); Layer, Mark, Repeat, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2022); In the Fray: Feminist Fiber From Margin to Center, Bolivar Art Gallery, Lexington, KY (2022); In Good Hands, Purple Window Gallery, Chicago, IL (2022); Anthem-X curated by Jared Owens, presented by Malin Gallery, Miami, FL (2022); A More Human Dwelling Place curated by Myron Beasley, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME (2023); Sustenance, Portland Library, Portland, ME (2023); A Love Supreme McCormick House Reimagined curated by Norman Teague & Rose Camara, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL (2024); Newcity Breakout Artists 2024 Exhibition, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2024); Museum of Science & Industry Black Creativity - Booth 183 @ EXPO Chicago, Chicago, IL (2024); piecemeal curated by darien hunter golston (2024); Beyond: Tapestry Expanded curated by Erica Warren, Greencastle, IN (2024).
Recent awards and residencies include The Weaving Mill’s Remote W.A.R.P Residency, Chicago, IL (2020); Chicago Artists Coalition HATCH Residency (2021/22); The Lunder Institute for American Art Residential Fellowship, Waterville, ME (2022); Surf Point Foundation Artist Residency, York, ME (2022); and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Winter Pentaculum - Fiber, Gatlinburg, TN (2023).
Her works has been reviewed and featured in publications including, Warp & Weft Magazine, The Coastal Post, The Strategist in New York Magazine, TATTER Journal, UPPERCASE Magazine, New Visionary Magazine, Newcity Magazine, Artdose Magazine, CBS2 Chicago, Sixty Inches from Center, and Luxe Interior + Design - Chicago.
Recent commissions include Three H for NeoCon 2024, the Design Museum of Chicago, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Collections include Delta Airlines, Inc. and private collections.
Bibbs lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
Telling stories of trauma, mental health, and loss is not always easy, based on the stigmas in our society, which is how it became a central motivation in my practice. There are parallels between the slow navigation of personal experiences and the rhythmic textile techniques of hand-carding, hand-spinning, and handweaving, both of which are a form of transformative repetition. While working between traditional and experimental processes, my large-scale pieces navigate past experiences in what I consider to be "chapters." Whereas small-scale works are similar to journaling, channeling day-to-day observations.
With ongoing tactility and material investigation, the works inspire an internal space that is externalized through the play of intricacy, color, and form, often inspired by the fluidity of mark-making and tone associated with painting. As I want my works to speak to people, their display—especially in juxtaposing scale and texture—invites intuitive engagement and consideration of the viewers' own physical and conceptual association within the pieces. As an extension of this intention, I also create environments for people to express their experiences. Through building community, artworks, and conversations together, I hope to support others in creating transparency around their stories of trauma and work towards ending the stigma.