AJ McClenon
A.J. MCCLENON is a writer, performer and interdisciplinary visual artist based in Chicago. A.J. McClenon’s work sets personal narratives alongside empirical data, leveling hierarchies of truth. McClenon works across mediums incorporating aspects of sound, film, video, drawing, animation and collage throughout their work. McClenon holds a Masters in Fine Arts with an emphasis in writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. McClenon received a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in creative writing from the University of Maryland College Park. McClenon has also studied at Eugene Lang College. A.J. McClenon is currently an educator at the Montessori Academy of Chicago and is co-organizer of Beauty Breaks, an intergenerational beauty and wellness workshop series for black people along the spectrum of femininity. A.J. McClenon has received numerous awards for their writing and art works. McClenon received the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s (SAIC) MFA Writing Fellowship award in 2014 and SAIC’s MFAW small grant in 2012. McClenon also is also a recipient of the Paula Santan Scholarhip for Art and Stephanie E. Pogue Memorial Award. A.J. McClenon’s writing has been published widely, most recently their works have been published in the South Side Community Art Center Anniversary publication, 3rd Language and Stylus Literary Magazine.
