Dion J. Pollard (DionJa’Y)

Education

Academy of Art University — independent fine arts study, painting, mixed media & visual storytelling

Self-directed studio practice

Profile

Contemporary American visual artist exploring African diasporic heritage, cultural identity, music, ancestry, spirituality and storytelling. Blends figurative realism with symbolic abstraction, incorporating African visual motifs, layered textures and expressive color.

Gallery Representation

• Arts’tination Gallery — Resident Artist
• Wellspring Manor & Spa — Fine Art Collection

Professional Affiliations

• Gallery B
• Kulture Gallery
• Black Art Today Inc. — Exhibiting Artist & Cohort
• Harlem Fine Arts Show — exhibiting since 2024
• PG County Arts & Humanity Council, via Arts’tination

Awards

PG County Arts & Humanity Council Equestrian Art Competition winner, for “The Closer”

Art Shows & Festivals

• Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival
• Harlem Fine Art Show — Glass House & The Hamptons
• Takoma Family Festival
• Bowie Art Festival
• Richmond Jazz Festival
• The Lake Arbor Jazz Festival
• Savor Bowie Spring Food, Wine & Music Festival
• Delta National Convention

Exhibitions

• The Virginia Art Factory — dual solo, “Beyond the Frame”
• Eubie Blake Jazz Institute — “100 Miles and Runnin’”
• Creative Black Baltimore, Baltimore Times
• Harriet Tubman Museum — “A Taste of Freedom”
• Cayuga Museum of Art and History
• Schweinfurth Art Center
• KUUMBA V — Sankofa, Tysons Neiman Marcus
• Children’s Hospital — WonderBloom II

Notable Collectors

• Harlem Fine Arts Show Art Collection
• The Gray Art Collection
• Roland Martin & Jacquie Hood Martin
• Musician Tracie Braxton
• Jr. Clark Art Collection
• Jazz-Pop artist Peta Belasco