Joanne Wang is a multidisciplinary artist, fabricator, and educator based in Oakland, California. Utilizing embroidery, secondhand textiles, and found objects, her process-based practice explores themes of consumption, labor, waste, and identity that are embedded within the fabric of our capitalist society.
Joanne earned her BA in Art and Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her art practice and professional endeavors revolve around sustainability, investigating the connections between discarded materials, consumerism, and the beauty of our planet Earth.
CV/RESUME
January 2021 - present - Owner at Joanne Wang Art + Consulting
Ideate, design, fabricate, and install custom art, displays, and decor. Oversee a small team of fabricators and onsite installers. Past and current clients include: Poke House, Mad Yolks, Jaguar Design Studio, Cisco, Asma’s Designs, and Anthropologie.
September 2023 - present - Teaching Artist for Sustainable Fashion Design at SCRAP
Instructs hand-sewing, mending, embroidery, embellishment, creative repurposing and garment construction to students ages 10-18. Classes are administered on school sites through partnerships with after school programs.
January 2023 - May 2023 - Children’s Art Teacher at Alameda StudioTime
Designed art projects, lesson plans, and instructed children ages 5-15. Art projects ranged between 1-week to 3-week projects and included a wide breadth of mediums and techniques for the students to experience. Worked closely with students to ensure project success and emotional and physical safety in the studio.
October 2019 - December 2020 - Lead Fabricator & Artist at Local Language Art
Collaborate with art, project management and fabrication teams to facilitate design solutions from material sourcing through prototyping, production and fulfillment, translate ideas and drawings into physical products, lead fabrication team through daily tasks and help solve problems as they arise
July 2015 - October 2019 - Display Coordinator at Anthropologie
Plan, sketch, and construct interior and window displays inspired by seasonal concepts, create large scale sculptures and installations throughout the store, build fixtures to house merchandise, collaborate with visual manager to execute creative concepts
Sept. 2014 - July 2015 - Display Artist at Urban Outfitters
Collaborate with store merchandiser to design floorsets and window display, construct visual installations/sculptures/signage within the store, control the display budget, construct fixtures to house merchandise, consistently update the store's visual aesthetic on a monthly to seasonal basis
EDUCATION
2014 - University of California, Santa Cruz - BA in Art, BA in Biology, Dean's List
EXHIBITIONS
2024 - Surrounded by Softness - Minnow Arts, Santa Cruz, CA
2024 - Hardly Softer - Wave Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023 - Rat Race - Faight Collective, San Francisco, CA
2023 - Rebirth - Wave Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 - Irwin Scholars Group Show - Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA