Threads Art Exchange
Q+A Interview with Jasimen Phillips
Sydney Frakes, 2026
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Jasimen Phillips is a Los Angeles-based Afrofuturist painter known for her distinctive paintings of robotic figures. Her work explores human identity, technology, power, and Black futurity. She is also leading the charge to amplify the visibility and voices of Black women artists in the contemporary art world.

In an in-depth Q&A with curator Sydney Frakes for Threads Art Exchange, Phillips discusses the ideas behind her evolving body of work and her commitment to expanding the visual possibilities of Black representation. Through her robot portraits, Phillips moves beyond conventional approaches to figurative painting, creating a distinctly contemporary visual language in which Black subjects occupy futuristic worlds as protagonists, icons, and agents of their own imagined futures.

Phillips’ contribution to Afrofuturist painting extends beyond the studio. She is the founder of the African American Women Artists Collective (AAWA), an initiative dedicated to advancing the visibility, recognition, and representation of Black women artists. Her work connects artistic practice with a broader commitment to changing who is seen, celebrated, and represented within the contemporary art world.

Through her paintings, writing, exhibitions, and advocacy for Black women artists, Phillips is developing an interconnected practice centered on Afrofuturist portraiture, Black futurity, technology, representation, and cultural power.

The Threads Art Exchange interview provides insight into the ideas driving Phillips’ practice and her position within the expanding field of contemporary Afrofuturist art.

Read the full interview:
Threads Art Exchange — Q+A Interview with Jasimen Phillips

Sydney Frakes, Threads Art Exchange, 2026