Jess Smoot
& Kilmer Elementary
Jess Smoot & Kilmer Elementary

Project Overview

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  • Artist — Jess Smoot

  • School — Joyce Kilmer Elementary School

  • Neighborhood — Rogers Park

For this academic year, I worked with students on creating “teacher personas” based on their
experiences in their school classrooms. They each made costumes for these personas, then wore them while we improvised different scenes that might happen in their school. Their performances ranged from angry and over-the-top to gentle examples of what empathetic teaching can look like, sometimes within minutes. Though the scenes may be fictional, through them we can see an honest picture of the range of experiences my collaborators have at school every day, and the complex emotions that accompany them. Documentation included: Audio track of each student’s teacher personas, accompanied with two of the “teacher costumes” created (with added embroidery by Jess). If displayed, they should be shown together.

Artists:
Chloe Edwards
Jimmie Flournoy Jr.
J’Khyli Ollie
Olawale Jenyo

Meet the Artist

Jess Smoot

jess smoot, clown, performance art, art institute, Tia Mitchell, CPS Lives, Chicago public schools, nonprofit, art organization, chicago students, chicago artist, photography

Portrait by Tia Mitchell

I am a professional mischief maker who uses tactics from my background as a trained clown to examine social power structures. Through playful and inquisitive performances, I ask viewers to question current circumstances and imagine new ways to relate to each other that aren’t hierarchical and oppressive in nature. Drawing directly from the lineage of the clown as a court jester, I believe the best way to destabilize authoritarian figures is by removing them from their pedestals, allowing us to magnify their flaws while also examining our own and coming to terms with the full complexity of human individuals within the harmful systems we’ve created.
In recent years, I’ve also been using archival material as fodder for my work. When I use historical material, I remove it from its context and examine it within the contexts of today. My work puts the archive on display, and while it often acknowledges the historical narrative, it does not prioritize it. I seek to use it as a way to collaborate with people who we no longer have access to physically so that we can better understand the circumstances we presently find ourselves in.

Visit their Website

I am a professional mischief maker who uses tactics from my background as a trained clown to examine social power structures. Through playful and inquisitive performances, I ask viewers to question current circumstances and imagine new ways to relate to each other that aren’t hierarchical and oppressive in nature. Drawing directly from the lineage of the clown as a court jester, I believe the best way to destabilize authoritarian figures is by removing them from their pedestals, allowing us to magnify their flaws while also examining our own and coming to terms with the full complexity of human individuals within the harmful systems we’ve created.
In recent years, I’ve also been using archival material as fodder for my work. When I use historical material, I remove it from its context and examine it within the contexts of today. My work puts the archive on display, and while it often acknowledges the historical narrative, it does not prioritize it. I seek to use it as a way to collaborate with people who we no longer have access to physically so that we can better understand the circumstances we presently find ourselves in.

Visit their Website
jess smoot, clown, performance art, art institute, Tia Mitchell, CPS Lives, Chicago public schools, nonprofit, art organization, chicago students, chicago artist, photography

Portrait by Tia Mitchell

Previous Residency

Nelson W. Armour & Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet School

Next Residency

Alyce Haliday McQueen & Ravenswood Elementary

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Artists in Public Schools creates artist residencies in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), providing expansive art making experiences for students, educators, and professional Chicago-based artists. Working together with a collaborative, community-focused mindset, we celebrate and widely share the unique stories of CPS students and schools through art and creativity. When the arts and aesthetics are integrated into education, work, and life, we strengthen our capacity to learn. Creating something is at the core of learning.