Jaclyn Reyes is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, cultural organizer and PhD student based in NYC

Reyes is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Welfare at The City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center. Her past experience in humanitarianism — particularly her research in the Philippines, exploring the intersections of education, armed conflict, climate disasters, and community resilience —informs her study. Her doctoral studies aim to critically examine alternative approaches to paternalistic humanitarianism via diaspora engagement in humanitarian assistance, development, and transnational care systems. She is a 2023-2024 SUNY/CUNY Southeast Asia Consortium Fellow.

She studied studio art at California State University Long Beach before transferring to Syracuse University where she received her BFA in Art Photography. In 2019, she earned her master’s degree in Arts in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

She has exhibited at the Spark Contemporary Art Gallery (Syracuse, NY), Queens Museum (Queens, New York), Ang Panublion Museum (Roxas City, Cadiz, Philippines), Alfredo F. Tadiar Library (San Fernando, La Union, Philippines), Areté Ateneo Art Gallery (Manila, Philippines), and Flushing Town Hall (Queens, New York).

She has done work for the Campaign and Creative Services team at BerlinRosen, the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the Resilient Communities program at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Penguin Random House, Condé Nast, and Visionaire. Recently she worked at the International Rescue Committee, where she supported the Education technical unit, coordinated with the Global Anti-Racism and Decoloniality (GARD) Network, and participated in Operation Allies Welcome.

Kudos

She was a 2023 Design Justice as Practice Fellow with the Center for Urban Pedagogy and recipient of a 2023 New York State Council on the Arts creative grant for interdisciplinary art. Previously, she was a part of Re:Generation with The Monument Lab and a 2021-22 Art Commissioner with Queens Council on the Arts. She has been awarded opportunities from The Fulbright Program, The Laundromat Project, En Foco, Inc., Wave Farm, and the Asian Women Giving Circle. She was a mentor with the New York Foundation for the Arts Immigrant Artist Program in 2021-22 and 2022-23. She has been an invited speaker at Stanford University, the Landmark Society of Western New York, and the NYC Racial Justice Commission.

Her work has been highlighted in The New York Times, Gothamist, ARTnews, Art Forum, Business Insider, Public Radio International, Artsy, Yes! Magazine, Nueva Luz, The Asian Journal, APEX Express, All in NYC, New York Historical Society, and the Center for an Urban Future, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s virtual event “Creatives Rebuild New York—and America,” BronxNet Television, and on the PBS/Chasing the Dream series Caretakers.

She shared her thoughts on art and care in an episode of the Queens Memory Project Podcast called “Seeing Signs,” the Queens Council on the Arts blog, 1202 Magazine, and in a documentary about Little Manila aired on the Philippine television series I-Witness on GMA Network. She has also spoken about her experience community-building in Little Manila with The Laundromat Project and redistricting advocacy efforts in Little Manila. In recognition of her efforts, she was included in City & State New York’s 2023 Queens Power 100 list.