GRACE BLESSINGTON (BORN 2000, MILWAUKEE, WI) is a Brooklyn based visual artist working in a variety of mediums including film, graphic design, and digital photography. She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in 2022, where she studied a variety of disciplines including experimental filmmaking, visual design, and 3D printing. She has also studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Throughout her time at Parsons, she gained experience from a number of industry leaders in the arts sector, including womenswear designer Rachel Antonoff, the non-profit Carolee Schneemann Foundation, and Parsons DEED research lab. Currently, Grace works as a graphic designer and video editor at Prep for Prep, a Manhattan based non-profit providing leadership development opportunities and access to higher education for young students of color. Her work has been featured in collaboration with Adobe Creative Cloud, Shopify, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, and several off-Broadway productions. Maya Deren, Shigeko Kubota, and Ana Mendieta are a few relevant influences.
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GRACE BLESSINGTON (BORN 2000, MILWAUKEE, WI) is a Brooklyn based visual artist working in a variety of mediums including film, graphic design, and digital photography. She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in 2022, where she studied a variety of disciplines including experimental filmmaking, visual design, and 3D printing. She has also studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Throughout her time at Parsons, she gained experience from a number of industry leaders in the arts sector, including womenswear designer Rachel Antonoff, the non-profit Carolee Schneemann Foundation, and Parsons DEED research lab. Currently, Grace works as a graphic designer and video editor at Prep for Prep, a Manhattan based non-profit providing leadership development opportunities and access to higher education for young students of color. Her work has been featured in collaboration with Adobe Creative Cloud, Shopify, the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library, and several off-Broadway productions. Maya Deren, Shigeko Kubota, and Ana Mendieta are a few relevant influences.
2000
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2015-2018
Gained experience as an alterations assistant, website designer, and runway assistant for both Milwaukee and Chicago fashion weeks. Received college credit for fashion studies and garment construction at Mount Mary University, filmmaking at San Francisco Art Institute and University of WI-Milwaukee.
2018-2022
Studies at Parsons School of Design (graduated 2022 with BFA in Integrated Design with a focus in film production) and Design Academy Eindhoven (study abroad). Concentrations included analog filmmaking, 3D modeling and printing, cinema history, feminist art theory, screenwriting, creative writing, and digital design.
Internship/work experience at: Rachel Antonoff, Carolee Schneemann Foundation, Intrnz.com, Parsons Deed Lab, Parsons D12 Making Center.
Exhibitions: Parsons Aronson Gallery (NY), Shopify (NY), De Fabriek (NL)
Thesis presentation and graduation from Parsons: The New School for Design
"There is something very freeing about visual storytelling. I’ve always been intrigued by the surreal, the distorted, and the abstracted. My interests in design began in fashion, which is why I think there is this ongoing fascination with the feminine form, and the art of subversion in protest of the male gaze. These ideas ignited further as I became an experimental filmmaker, focused on natural occurrences. I want to capture those poignant, fleeting moments. Life, in all its complexities. An owl's gaze, a lapsing full moon, a wilting rose, or a crashing wave that will never again occur in the same circumstances. Preserving these instances in my own little butterfly jar, and being able to frame it within my own bodily perspective, is a freeing and deeply moving act for me."
