Meet Jewel Grimes | Visual Anthropologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jewel Grimes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jewel, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Honestly, I wouldn’t call myself successful. and I don’t mean that in a self deprecating way. I think as a perfectionist, success is an emotion that I have trouble feeling when it comes to myself. Defining success is something I’ve been focusing on in therapy lol and in my personal conversations with God. Despite my lack of feeling successful, I am happy and healthy and I think that’s the beginning of some type of success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What I WANT to set me apart, is my why. At the core of who I am, I’m a black woman. Period. I’m a daughter, a sister, a partner and a mother but I go into each one of those roles as a black woman, first. I want to be a recorder of what my culture looks like at this point in time.

As a black person, so much of what we see of ourselves in media is heavily rooted and trauma and honestly, it ain’t always gotta be like that. There’s so much importance in the mundane. There’s healing in being an alt black girl and seeing a picture of an alt black girl from the 80s. There’s healing in ACCURATE representation. When I look at Black is Beautiful by Kwame Braithwhite, I see myself. I see my man. I see my daughter. I see my aunties and uncles. Sister and brothers. Nieces and nephews. Cousins. My Mom and dad. I see so many iterations of “Black” and thats powerful to me.

I’m trying to create my “Black is Beautiful”. A work that my daughter can brag about to her friends when she’s older. A work that can hopefully inspire someone in the future and make them feel seen. That’s why I call myself a Visual Anthropologist. There weren’t many people that looked like me when I was getting my Anthro degree and that made me feel a responsibility to those apart of my culture. I don’t want to manipulate how people see us or even change how people see us, I just want to document it. What I do, what I WANT to do is for the n*ggas, strictly for the n*ggas!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m lowkey a homebody. I only really go outside nowadays to actually be outside. So, I’d take them to Helton Creek Falls, its a cute waterfall that you can slide down. Maybe Anna Ruby Falls, if we’re trying to get our steps in. Thumbs Up for breakfast, but specifically and ONLY the one on Edgewood. Jeni’s ice cream. Probably a random hike DEEP in the woods.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Immediately, I gotta big up my family. We’ve experienced a lot as a unit but the older I get the more important that bond becomes. Hanging out with them, especially at family gatherings always feels like a recalibration. And, being the youngest girl in a family thats majority males, gave me an insurmountable amount of toughness.

I specifically, wanna dedicate this to my Daddy. He had the sickest dark humor I’ve ever experienced. And his conflicting visual interests, I think really inspired my open mindedness when it comes to art. He could easily go from watching South Park to Asian Kung Fu movies, church to King of the Hill. His duality in life also taught me how to not give a F, effortlessly and that’s a trait I carry in life every day.

Website: https://solunaprod.myportfolio.com

Instagram: @sumofjewel

Image Credits
Jewel Grimes