Kat Thompson’s six-month Gibbs Street Residency is from February 5-August 5, 2025; it provides a unique opportunity to create a new body of work, evolve an existing body of work, or develop a project in a stimulating, supportive environment.

The residency includes a $3,000 stipend, free studio space, and a solo exhibition, which will be in the Gibbs Street Gallery from July 25-September 21, 2025. An opening celebration will be held August 29 from 7-9 p.m.

Artist’s Statement

As a first-generation Afro-Jamaican American, Kat Thompson’s work explores
the complexities of self-discovery and identity preservation while grappling with
the sense of dislocation that comes from existing between two distinct worlds.
Through photography, textiles, and installation, she examines these themes
with a focus on the African American experience within the context of AfroCaribbean culture.
How does one maintain an identity passed down through generations, shaped
by both nearby and distant influences? When woven into a complex web of
experiences, does this identity become part of a broader, shared narrative of
the Black immigrant experience?

Thompson uses materials from her personal archives, along with found objects
and photographs, to uncover recurring themes and shared experiences that
shape an interconnected Black transnational identity. At the same time, she
redefines her relationship with her Jamaican heritage. Through techniques
such as re-photography, collage, and the recontextualization of images and
objects, she critically examines American and Afro-Caribbean family dynamics,
addressing themes of alienation, assimilation, and authenticity across
generations.

This process extends into her textile work, where she draws inspiration from
the traditions of Southern African American quilting to fill historical gaps in a
personal, imaginative, and speculative way. She departs from traditional
quilting techniques, allowing the work to evolve through deconstruction and
reconstruction. In doing so, she transports it into a symbolic realm, solidifying
connections to the diasporic family.

About the Artist

Kat Thompson is an interdisciplinary Afro-Jamaican American artist and
educator based in Virginia. She works with photography, textiles, sculptural
collages, and installations, combining these mediums to explore notions of
Black selfhood within the African diaspora.

Being of Jamaican heritage, Thompson examines her dual identity through
recent projects that trace her family’s journey using personal and found
materials. Her work seeks to uncover stories that reflect our histories, current
realities, and future possibilities.

Her work has been exhibited at Page Bond Gallery in Richmond, Virginia;
Visible Records in Charlottesville, Virginia; Fenwick Gallery and Gillespie
Gallery at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; and Tephra Institute of
Contemporary Art in Reston, Virginia. She was the 2021-22 recipient of the
Young Alumni Commissioning Award from George Mason University’s College
of Visual and Performing Arts.

Thompson is currently a 2023-25 Hamiltonian Artists Fellow in Washington,
D.C. She holds a BFA in photography from George Mason University and an
MFA in photography and film from Virginia Commonwealth University

Learn more at www.katherinesimonethompson.com