Jessica Baran is a poet, curator, critic. The author of three poetry collections, she is the former art writer for the Riverfront Times (2008-2012), Assistant Director of White Flag Projects (2008-2011), Director of fort gondo compound for the arts (2012-2016) and Director of Curatorial and Program Development at Barrett Barrett Projects (2017-2021). Her art writing has appeared in Art in America, Artforum, Art Papers, BOMB, Flash Art and the Village Voice, among other publications. She has also taught at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Art and St. Louis University’s Prison Arts & Education program. In 2020, the Andy Warhol Foundation awarded her an Arts Writers Grant for her short-form criticism. She holds a B.A. in visual art from Columbia University, NY and an MFA in poetry from Washington University in St. Louis – where she lives with poet Nathaniel Farrell and their dog Tina.