Meet Mary Jo Karimnia

Mary Jo Karimnia, an artist and arts administrator based in Memphis, TN, shares insights into her creative journey and multi-disciplinary arts practice. Her current artistic focus involves nostalgia, vintage landscape postcards, and decorative surfaces. Karimnia collects, scans, and enlarges hand-colored mid-century postcards of rock formations and other landscapes. These images are then mounted on panelboard and embellished with translucent beads, shiny foil, and velvety flocking, resulting in fine art pieces that evoke a paint-by-number aesthetic and explore nostalgia through a contemporary lens. She explains her process of learning new media like flocking and foiling, which she applies by experimenting with her own application techniques. Flocking involves applying tiny colored particles to an adhesive surface to create a velvety texture, while foiling utilizes shiny, colored sheets applied to a sticky surface. In addition to her artistic endeavors, Karimnia is a co-owner of a studiohouse with Bolivian artist Keiko Gonzalez. She is also a founder and the Residency Director for Crosstown Arts, where she manages resources and spaces for various artists—visual artists, writers, musicians, and videographers—from Memphis and beyond. The residency program offers private studio space, living space if required, and access to events and tools within Crosstown Arts' maker space for durations ranging from three weeks to three months. Her commitment to the arts extends to volunteering and organizing gatherings to enrich the local arts community. Karimnia discusses the importance of fostering a strong, supportive environment for artists. She encourages individuals to consciously direct their spending towards local artists, musicians, and arts organizations. She highlights that art is accessible at various price points, from investing in local galleries to purchasing original prints or pieces from craft festivals or local gift shops. She emphasizes that even small investments can make a significant difference in supporting the arts ecosystem and encouraging emerging artists. This deliberate spending, she suggests, diverts resources from larger commercial entities and contributes to a healthy artistic landscape. Demonstrating her resilience, Karimnia recounts her journey of establishing a dedicated workspace. For years, she created art in various spaces within her home, such as the dining room or attic, before renting a small studio in her 40s. In 2019, she and Keiko Gonzalez purchased a neglected 1920s house, which they transformed during the pandemic into the Studiohouse on Malvern. This studiohouse provides workspace for both artists, areas for hosting shows, and living space for Gonzalez when he is in Memphis. The Studiohouse on Malvern also features the Front Porch Window Gallery, a small-scale gallery accessible to viewers 24 hours a day, further engaging the local community. The first Studiohouse Openhouse was held in March 2023. #MaryJoKarimnia #MixedMediaArt #ArtisticProcess #Studiohouse #CrosstownArts #ArtsCommunity #NostalgiaInArt #ArtistResidency #MemphisArts #MaryJoKarimnia #MixedMediaArt #ArtisticProcess #Studiohouse #CrosstownArts #ArtsCommunity #NostalgiaInArt #ArtistResidency #MemphisArts