Originally from Washington D.C, A.J. McClenon grew up in “D.C. proper,” Baltimore and New York during the administrations of Reagan, Clinton, and Bush. A.J.’s work sets personal narratives alongside empirical data, leveling the hierarchies of truth. A.J. holds a Masters in Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts with a minor in creative writing from the University of Maryland College Park. A.J. has also studied at Eugene Lang College. A.J. has performed and shown work throughout the US, at institutions including Steppenwolf, The Promontory, Woman Made Gallery, Echo Park Film Center, Chicago Filmmakers, Fine Art Complex 1101, and Longwood Arts Center. A.J. is currently a co-organizer of Beauty Breaks, an intergenerational beauty and wellness workshop series for black people along the spectrum of femininity. A.J. is also a co-founder of F4F, a domestic venue that cultivates a femme community, centers blackness, and expands upon understandings of what domestic space can be.
