Image by Tonal Simmons
Biography:
Bryana Bibbs is a Chicago-based artist and educator who works at the intersections of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Her work focuses on her lived and shared experiences with mental health, loss, and trauma. Bibbs documents and reflects on these themes through weaving and printmaking, using color and materials that hold memories, emotions, and time.
Bibbs weaves on frame looms using only plain weave and works with textile tools, such as the drum carder and spinning wheel, to create yarns. Through this process, she creates both large and small-scale weavings, such as those in her ongoing Journal Series. The Journal Series is a daily weaving practice that has served as an archive since 2020. In the series, Bibbs uses color, texture, and everyday objects—such as name tags, playing cards, and decorative flowers—to document personal experiences. The series has captured moments from the COVID-19 pandemic, her travels, and the caregiving and recent passing of her grandparents'.
Through her printmaking practice, Bibbs deepens her exploration of material memory, mental health, and the grief she felt after the passing of her grandparents'. By using pressure-printing techniques, she transforms her late grandparents' clothing—such as medical gowns, shirts, and socks—into prints that create an archive of their stories and shared memories.
Bibbs holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder of The We Were Never Alone Project - a weaving workshop for victims and survivors of domestic violence. In addition, she serves on the Education Committee of the Surface Design Association and the Programs Committee of the Elmhurst Art Museum.
Recent solo exhibitions include Places (Edition 1), curated by Debra Kayes, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL (2023); Changes, Chesterton Art Center, Chesterton, IN (2024); Unforeseen, 21c Museum Hotel, Chicago, IL (2024); two hundred and fifty-one days, curated by Elise Butterfield, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL (2025); and Moment to Moment, The Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN (2025).
Recent group exhibitions include A More Human Dwelling Place curated by Myron Beasley, George Marshall Store Gallery, York, ME (2023); Sustenance, Portland Library, Portland, ME (2023); A Love Supreme McCormick House Reimagined curated by Norman Teague & Rose Camara, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL (2024); Newcity Breakout Artists 2024 Exhibition, Chicago Artists Coalition, Chicago, IL (2024); Museum of Science & Industry Black Creativity, EXPO Chicago - Booth 183, Chicago, IL (2024); piecemeal, curated by darien hunter golston, Chicago Art Department, Chicago, IL (2024); Beyond: Tapestry Expanded, curated by Erica Warren, The Richard E. Peeler Art Center - Depauw University, Greencastle, IN (2024); Seams II: Criss Cross, Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, WI (2024); All Fiber Show, Art Center of Burlington, Burlington, IA (2025); and No One Knows All It Takes curated by Christopher Jobson and Grace Ebert, The Haggerty Museum of Art, Milwaukee, WI (2025).
Awards and residencies include The Weaving Mill - Remote W.A.R.P Residency, Chicago, IL (2020); Chicago Artists Coalition - HATCH Residency, Chicago, IL (2021/22); The Lunder Institute for American Art - Summer Residential Fellowship, Waterville, ME (2022); Surf Point Foundation - Artist Residency, York, ME (2022); and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts - Winter Pentaculum - Fiber, Gatlinburg, TN (2023); Breakout Artists: Chicago’s Next Generation of Image Makers, Newcity Magazine, Chicago, IL (2024).
Her works has been reviewed and featured in publications including, Warp & Weft Magazine, The Coastal Post, The Strategist in New York Magazine, TATTER Journal, New Visionary Magazine, Newcity Magazine, Artdose Magazine, CBS 2 Chicago, Sixty Inches from Center, LUXE Interiors + Design - Chicago, and Colossal.
Recent commissions include Three H for NeoCon 2024, The Design Museum of Chicago, and The Art Institute of Chicago. Collections include Delta Airlines, Inc. and private collections.
Bibbs has taught with organizations and institutions such as, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Awakenings Art, Chicago, IL; The Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL; The Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago, IL; The Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, IL; Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME; and The Smart Museum of Art, Chicago, IL.
Image by Ben Wheeler, courtesy of the Lunder Institute for American Art
Statement:
My work serves as an archive of lived and shared experiences related to trauma, grief, loss, and mental health. Telling these stories can be challenging due to stigmas in our society, which is how it became a central motivation in my practice. In my practice, there are parallels between the slow process of navigating personal experiences and the use of slow textile and printmaking techniques.
My large-scale weavings, which I refer to as "chapters”, use color, abstraction, and texture to explore the heaviness of grief, loss, and domestic abuse. In contrast, my small-scale weavings—such as those in the ongoing Journal Series—serve as visual journal entries that capture the present moment. Since 2020, the Journal Series has been documenting time, location, and daily observations—both mental and physical—through the use of everyday objects, materials, and fiber.
Through continued material investigation, the weavings inspire an internal space externalized through the play of intricacy, color, and form. This approach is often inspired by the fluidity of mark-making and tone associated with painting. I aim for my weavings to resonate with viewers, and their display—especially through the use of contrasting scales and textures—encourages intuitive engagement. This invites viewers to reflect on their own personal connections to the work.
Pressure printmaking expands my weaving practice and focus on materiality. This process involves using a floor press to create prints that capture the fine details and wear of my grandparents' clothes. These clothes were part of their daily lives and now serve as a reminder of our relationship and the care my mom and I provided for them. By using their belongings, the prints become much more than images; they are physical records of presence, absence, memory, and legacy.
As an extension of these practices, I also create environments for people to express their own experiences. Through building community, artworks, and conversations together, I hope to support others in creating transparency around their stories and work towards ending the stigma.