Jessica Burko
About | Jessica Burko has been an exhibiting artist since 1985 and has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the United States. Burko is originally from Philadelphia and currently lives in Boston. She holds a BFA in Fine Art Photography from Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA in Imaging Arts and Science from Rochester Institute of Technology.
In addition to being a practicing artist, Burko is the Program Manager and Curator at the Photographic Resource Center, Cambridge, MA. She is also an independent curator with more than thirty exhibitions produced since 2000. Burko’s work in the arts community allows her to support artists in achieving their creative and professional goals through lectures, workshops, and partnerships with organizations such as Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, ArtsWorcester, Worcester, MA, Mass MoCA’s Assets for Artists Program, North Adams, MA, and the South Shore Arts Center, Cohasset, MA.
Jessica Burko’s studio is in the Wareham Studio Building in Boston’s South End where she has been producing her photography-based mixed media art since 2006.
Shelter In Place, mixed media, installation view
Q&A
What are your earliest memories of being artistic? My mother is a painter, and my father was a writer so I grew up in a house full of art, and until I was 14 years old, my mother’s studio was on the 3rd floor of our house, so making art has always been part of my life. Even as a small child I saw myself as a creative.
Gone too soon, mixed media, installation detail
When did art become a pursuit? I first began working in a darkroom and taking photographs with a 35mm camera in 1985, and in high school, I started taking my artwork more seriously and began experimentations with mixed media. This was when I decided to pursue fine art as my career.
Are you self-taught or formally educated in visual art? When I started looking at colleges, it became clear that I would only apply to art schools. I wound up studying at Rhode Island School Of Design where I earned my BFA in photography and later continued my photography journey at Rochester Institute of Technology where I earned my MFA.
How did you first become involved with CAA? A couple of years ago I realized that many artists whose work I admire were all members of CAA. It was at that point that I joined and it’s been a wonderful experience. I don’t know why I waited so long to become a member!
In what other ways are you involved in the local art community? I have worked in the arts in Boston since I moved here in 1999 and began working more closely with artists in 2002 as a consultant, studio manager, and arts marketer. I continue this work today by leading workshops for arts organizations around New England. I am also the Program Manager and Curator at the Photographic Resource Center in Cambridge which enables me to more closely connect with the photography community.
Short Fuse, mixed media
What medium do you currently work in and how did you choose this medium? While in graduate school, I assisted with the installation of an exhibition at the George Eastman House Museum of Photography. The work was by Robert Parke Harrison, and it was the first time I had seen photographs exhibited unframed — rather, he mounted the prints to wood and encased them in beeswax. This had a major impact on me and inspired the beginning of my experimentation with combining photography and various mixed media, including in encaustic.
See more from Jessica
Website: https://jessicaburko.com/
Instagram: @jessicaburko