The Bronx Museum 2025 AIM Fellow
Jennifer Teresa Villanueva
ARTIST STATEMENT
Jennifer Teresa Villanueva (she/her) is an artist, writer, and daughter of Mexican immigrant factory workers whose work bridges the personal and political realities of immigrant life in the United States. Through documentary photography, screenprints, and family archives, she captures intimate and vulnerable moments within her family’s daily life.
Her practice challenges mainstream narratives of immigration by centering the resilience, sacrifices, and emotional toll endured by immigrant families navigating both the American Dream and the American Nightmare. Grounded in trust and collaboration, Villanueva’s work honors the often-overlooked contributions of immigrant labor, both within domestic spaces and the workforce.
By blending personal storytelling with archival materials and documentary photography, she creates a visual dialogue that highlights generational histories and the enduring legacy of immigrant labor in America. Through this lens, her practice serves as both a form of resistance and an homage to the labor, love, and survival embedded in the immigrant experience.
Biography
Jennifer Teresa Villanueva is a Mexican-American artist born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, and currently based in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2020) and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin (2023). With a focus on vibrant color, intimate environmental portraits, and still lifes, Villanueva sheds light on the inner world of her immigrant family as they confront exploitative labor, generational trauma, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Her family’s life examines the sociological, historical, medical, political, and economic processes that have led through their migration and immigrant lived experiences. Villanueva previously participated in the SOMA Summer program at SOMA in Mexico City, MX, and as an Elaine G. Weitzen Whitney ISP Studio Program Fellow at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program.
She received a 2025 AIM Fellowship at The Bronx Museum of Arts. She has been honored with awards and grants including the En Foco 2024 Photography Fellowship, Aperture 2023 Creator Labs Photo Fund, Elaine G. Weitzen ISP Fellowship, Rauschenberg Artist Fund, Chicago Artist Coalition’s SPARK Grant, SAIC Office of Engagement: Race, Equity, and Inclusion Fellowship, Fred Endsley Memorial Fellowship, Bank of America Scholarship, and John W. Kurtich Travel Grant.
Through her photographs, prints, research, and writing, Villanueva deftly explores the intricate complexities of her immigrant family’s daily lives, their historical migration, labor dynamics, and the ever-evolving tapestry of their identities shaped by the relationship between the United States and Mexico.