Dion J. Pollard, professionally known as DionJa’Y, is a contemporary American visual artist whose Afrocentric narrative figurative work explores African diasporic heritage, cultural identity, music, ancestry, spirituality, and memory. Working across painting, mixed media, relief, and sculpture, he combines figurative realism, expressive elongation, layered texture, symbolic abstraction, and African visual motifs. His work honors Black cultural experience while connecting ancestral memory with contemporary life.
Gallery Representation
Arts’tination Gallery
Resident Artist and gallery representation
National Harbor, Maryland
Wellspring Manor and Spa Fine Art Collection
Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Honors and Recognition
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2026
Second Place, Preakness Equestrian Art CompetitionPrince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council, for The Closer
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2026
Certificate of Recognition, Comptroller of MarylandFor artwork presented in And Still We Rise, a Juneteenth exhibition at the Louis L. Goldstein Treasury Building; recognized works: His Boots on the Ground, Her Boots on the Ground, and Strength of Knowledge
Selected Exhibitions
- 2026100 Miles and Runnin’Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, Baltimore, Maryland
- 2026Harriet Tubman Taste of FreedomCayuga Museum of History and Art and Schweinfurth Art Center, Auburn, New York
- 2026Beyond the FrameDual art show, Virginia Art Factory, Manassas, Virginia, featuring 22 Violets
- 2026KUUMBA V Sankofa The Art of RemembranceBlack Art Today Foundation, Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria, Virginia
- 2026Accession A BIPOC ExhibitionHarmony Hall Arts Center, Fort Washington, Maryland
- 2026And Still We RiseOffice of the Comptroller of Maryland, Louis L. Goldstein Treasury Building, Annapolis, Maryland
- Creative Black BaltimoreBaltimore Times
- Harriet Tubman A Taste of FreedomHarriet Tubman Cultural Center
- Celebrating Black Mermaids from Africa to AmericaSebrof Forbes Cultural Arts Center
- Simply BlacktasticSebrof Forbes Cultural Arts Center
- Turning Tides Action Resilience and the Mental Landscapes of Black and Brown VoicesBlack Art Today
- Free to Be MeVirginia Art Factory and Black Art Today
- WonderBloom II Where Creativity Takes RootAtlantic Coast Mortgage Gallery, Children’s National Hospital, and Black Art Today
Selected Art Fairs, Festivals and Special Presentations
- 2026Harlem Fine Arts Show Summer Festival in the HamptonsSouthampton, New York
- Harlem Fine Arts ShowThe Glasshouse, New York, New York
- Kunta Kinte Heritage FestivalAnnapolis, Maryland
- Richmond Jazz and Music FestivalRichmond, Virginia
- Lake Arbor Jazz FestivalMitchellville, Maryland
- Takoma Park Street FestivalTakoma Park, Maryland
- Bowie Arts FestivalBowie, Maryland
- Savor Bowie Spring Food Wine and Music FestivalBowie, Maryland
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority National Convention
Selected Collections
Professional Affiliations
- Black Art Today Inc. and Black Art Today Foundation — Exhibiting artist and cohort member
- Harlem Fine Arts Show — Exhibiting artist since 2024
- Prince George’s County Arts and Humanities Council — Participating artist through Arts’tination Gallery
- Gallery B — Exhibiting artist
- Kulture Gallery — Consigning and exhibiting artist
Education and Studio Practice
- Academy of Art University — Fine arts studies
- Independent Fine Arts Study — Painting, mixed media, and visual storytelling
- Self Directed Studio Practice — Painting, sculptural mixed media, relief, and sculpture