Bio:

Bryana Bibbs is an artist and educator based in Chicago who works at the intersections of textiles, painting, and community-based practices. Her work explores themes of mental health, the fragility of memory, and her lived experiences. Bibbs documents these themes through the use of printmaking, instant photography, and weaving.

Bibbs's weaving practice uses only plain weave and tools like the spinning wheel to create yarns, and frame looms to create both large and small weavings, such as the small weavings in her ongoing Journal Series. Through the exploration of color, texture, materials, and everyday objects such as name tags, playing cards, and decorative flowers, the Journal Series has served as an archive since 2020. The series has recorded moments from the COVID-19 pandemic, her travels, and most recently, the caregiving and passing of her grandparents.

Bibbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Fiber and Material Studies at 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, and she serves on the Education Committee of the Surface Design Association.

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); 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.

Bibbs lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.

Statement:

My work is an archive of lived experiences related to trauma, grief, loss, and mental health. Sharing these stories can be challenging due to societal stigmas, and this challenge has become a central motivation in my practice. I find that navigating through these experiences with weaving and materiality provides me with the relaxation and patience to explore and understand them.

In my work, there are parallels between the slow process of navigating personal experiences and the slow textile techniques used in my practice. Using materiality and these slow textile techniques, such as weaving on a frame loom and creating yarns with a drum carder and spinning wheel, allows me to control the texture, form, and scale of each work and, most importantly, gives me time to reflect on these personal experiences.

My woven works use tactile materials to create internal spaces, expressed through color and form. My large-scale weavings, which I call "chapters," are often inspired by the fluidity of mark-making and the tonal variations found in painting. These weavings use abstraction and texture to explore the heaviness of grief, loss, and past domestic abuse. In contrast, my small-scale weavings—such as those in the ongoing Journal Series—serve as journal entries that document the present moment. Since 2020, the Journal Series has been archiving time, location, and daily observations, both mental and physical, through the use of everyday objects and materials and fiber. I aim for my weavings to resonate with viewers, and their display—especially through contrasting scales and textures—encourages intuitive engagement and invites viewers to reflect on their personal connections to it.

Pressure printmaking extends my textile practice. This technique enables me to explore themes of caregiving and loss, particularly in relation to the passing of my grandparents. Through printmaking, I can preserve and archive their lives by printing with items they frequently wore, such as medical gowns, shirts, and socks. By using their belongings, I can capture the memories I shared with them, as well as their lives and legacies.

By building community, creating work, and fostering conversations about these challenging experiences, I aim to support others in sharing their stories of trauma and grief and working to end the stigma.