1/3 FILMMAKER. 1/3 PHOTOGRAPHER. 1/3 EMCEE.

Chicago based interdisciplinary artist, whose mission is to demonstrate authentic stories of the world, herself and others through the arts.

Artist Statement

“One-third filmmaker, one-third photographer, one-third emcee expresses that my creativity is not one-dimensional but rather interdisciplinary. Each branch stems from different processes and experiences that make up who I am. My work as a filmmaker and photographer aims to capture moments for archival purposes or for-hire work. I enjoy being a fly on the wall yet being inside the work process rather than just a woman behind the camera. With my Hip-Hop background, creating music brings me the utmost joy. How instrumentation develops these rhythmic stories gives me a way to express myself that I couldn’t do in conversation. I transcend when speaking my truth and displaying my vulnerability. I own the stage, captivating the audience, and enhancing their experience by providing energy, positivity, and encouraging words. Like my upbringing, I work with the environment and make do with what was offered to me.

What inspires me artistically are life experiences, the present, and the people around me. I am a sponge to all ideas, and I consider all viewpoints as I do the work. My artistic background covers an array of genres. Film/Photography: Documentaries, dance movements, music videos, landscapes, and portraits. Hip-Hop: Music production, writing lyrics, performance, recording, engineering, and teaching. I strive to create work that makes the audience feel as if they were there with us. I am intentional with how I move with my camera, the people I surround myself with when I am collaborating, and how to invoke emotion through performance. I understand the power and influence of the media. It is my purpose through my work that I deliver an authentic narrative.”

Jovan Leslie Monique Landry (b. November 21, 1991) began exploring her passion for the arts in 2008 through personal video blogs, followed by musical production, videography, and digital photography. This creative path transformed her into a well-spoken and confident woman, giving her multiple avenues to share her experiences. The One-Third Filmmaker, One-Third Photographer, and One-Third Emcee realizes her impact through media and intentionally creates work that reflects an accurate display of her community and the cultures to which she contributes. Each discipline blends and informs her creative practice.

Jovan is not your average woman in the art industry:

• She's an energetic force onstage that commands the crowd with her articulate lyrics centered on self-empowerment/improvement, her life story, enduring & rising above obstacles.

• The music producer/beat-maker who seeks to fill nearly every pocket with polyrhythms and melodies in hip-hop/rap, pop, indigenous, and Afro instrumentals.

• The filmmaker & photographer: dances with the subject she captures, doing whatever is necessary to get her ideal shot and using her musicality in post-production to make seamless edits.

Jovan earned a B.A. in Film & Video from Columbia College Chicago in 2014, and throughout the years worked, utilized her film and photography skills by working with local musicians on music videos (B~Free, Mother Nature, Jovan Landry, Gem Tree), live performances (The Highness Collective, The Microphone Misfitz, The Rosina Project), dance projects (Columbia College Chicago, Onye Ozuzu, Red Clay Dance, Du'Bois A'Keen, Gesel Mason, QDanceCenter), organizations (BRIJ Embassy), and short films, and documentaries (Chi~Voices: A Poetic Film Series, FEAR, The Grandmother Project). Musically, Jovan has self-released five projects, performed on local, national, and international platforms (House of Blues Chicago, Wicker Park Fest, Swag Jam Berlin, Harlem Nights, and Fubar STL, Lincoln Hall), and led music workshops (Old Town School of Folk Music, A3C, Experimental Station). Jovan has featured on NPR, Bandcamp, and The Chicago Tribune. Through her work, she has garnered invitations to perform and present at festivals worldwide, including danceGATHERING in Lagos, WeWork Creator Awards Berlin, and Black Art Retreat to Haiti with Ozuzudances.

In May 2017, Jovan received the Incubate Grant presented by WeWork Creator Awards in Detroit to create "Synergy," the first all-women produced, performed, and engineered Hip-Hop Album. Jovan Landry brought over 50 Chicago artists to collaborate through music, video, photography, and graphic design, all male-dominated industries. By working collectively, Synergy furthers the point that women can co-exist in hip-hop, both in front and behind the scenes. With its release in March 2019, The Synergy Collective has hosted its first Hip-Hop Technique Workshop Series for young women, featured at WeWork Creator Awards Berlin, ABC7 Chicago's Windy City Live, The Fly Honey Show, and the Women in Hip-Hop Conference at St. Louis University.

Jovan Landry continues to develop herself personally and artistically through her freelance and collaboration work, testing the waters of furthering her skill in music production by executively producing her album "Intellectual Frequencies" in 2023 and creating sound scores for dance artists. Presently, Landry is an adjunct faculty member at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, instructing the Screen Dance and Sound Design course.

Jovan hopes that those who witness her work are left impressed, inspired, informed, and ignites new dialogue.