We asked each artist in Cohort 3 a series of questions about how they navigate the world and express themselves through their practice. Here’s what Jordan had to say:

Good: When did you first realize that making art was essential to how you move through the world?

Jordan: I realized that making art was essential to how I move when I recognized that everything in our lives is designed—and I wanted to design parts of people’s lives as well.

Good: What parts of yourself do you feel most seen in through your work?

Jordan: I feel like my lifelong desire to carve out my own physical, emotional, and spiritual space is most present in my work.

Good: How has your understanding of your identity shaped the way you create?
Jordan: As I get older, being Black is central to who I am, and that part of me pushes me to engage with others who share similar experiences—so our stories can be in conversation with each other.

Good: What story do you think your younger self needed to see in art—and are you telling that story now?
Jordan: I think I’m currently in the middle of telling the story I needed when I was younger—and it’s this: if they won’t let you in the front door, go build your own building.

Good: How do you navigate the tension between visibility and vulnerability in your work?
Jordan: I'm most visible when I’m vulnerable—that’s when I’m truly myself. I oscillate between the two, and I’m firing on all cylinders when I hit both at the same time.

Good: What is a misconception people have about your practice—or you—that your art helps correct?
Jordan: People assume that I'm not a classically trained artist because I didn’t go to school for fine art. But I know that every time I show my work, it’s a constant reminder that there’s more than one path to becoming a professional artist.

Good: How do your surroundings—physical, cultural, emotional—show up in your work?
Jordan: My latest, and most personal works, are all about reflecting my community and their surroundings to tell their most personal stories.

Good: If this chapter of your life had a title, what would it be—and how is that reflected in your current work?
Jordan: I’d title it Scene Through—because I’m asking people to share their life stories to help me find the root of who they are in my work, while also feeling like my own work is overlooked or seen through.

Good: What truth have you been circling in your work but haven’t said out loud yet?
Jordan: We are the sum of every place we’ve ever been and will go.

Good: If you had to strip everything back—materials, audience, career—what would remain at the center of your practice?
Jordan: Discipline.

More about Jordan:

Jordan Allen is a culturally celebrated Bronx-based painter, designer, storyteller, and filmmaker. Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, his work peels back the layers of people’s identities and asks us to consider: What makes us who we are? How do we carry this with us every day?

Jordan began with a powerful message and no formal background in the art world, so he took the delivery of that message into his own hands. As a result, his audience has become uniquely representative of the people of New York. Independently, his prolific output of exhibitions, short films, and bold creations has become a cultural magnet.

Jordan’s exhibitions, which highlight subjects of color, have created space for his peers to feel welcomed in creative worlds that haven't always embraced them. His warmth and welcoming spirit know no bounds, and the celebration of his work is both universal and just getting started.