upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024
Jeannine “JBK” Kayembe is a painter, writer, musical performer and co-founder of LifeDoGrow Urban Farm in North Philadelphia. Most of her writing is rooted in her experience as a world traveler, land steward, and being a queer woman of color (QWOC). Jeannine chooses to paint portraits of people whom the world tries to erase in order to immortalize them, from Henrietta Lacks to her best friend Gizzle, a QWOC rapper. Jeannine describes co-founding LifeDoGrow Urban Farm as the foundation to her creative place-making practice. Through her leadership at LifeDoGrow, Jeannine aims to change the narrative of what environmental justice can mean by changing the environment of her neighborhood into a safer space using healthy food and public art.