Home > Artists

Janey Roanna

urban , spirituality , social , photographs , Education , Diaspora , Design , Decolonization , Communication , Community , collage

Janey Roanna (b. 2001) is a Caribbean–Dutch designer and photographer based in the Netherlands, graduated from Willem de Kooning Academy in 2023. With an eye for storytelling through image and form, Janey Roanna explores identity, belonging, and the quiet tension of urban life. Working across analog photography, graphic design, and mixed media, her practice moves between personal experience and everyday narratives, capturing human connection and the layered realities of diaspora.

New York City
New York City - Bed-Stuy (2025) These three photos are part of a larger series in which I capture daily life and moments of gathering in Bed-Stuy. A more extensive part of this series can be seen on my website. Photo 1: Big Bold & Direct: "Who hurt you?" a question that resonates with me as a creator; I work from feeling, the work I create always arises from emotion. My greatest growth as an artist began after my first heartbreak. Photo 2: You're invited to the cookout! Photo 3: A broken fire hydrant was turned into a fish pond. On Google Maps (search for: Bed-Stuy fish pond aquarium), it's designated as a cultural monument, and it certainly feels that way. I've never felt so at home anywhere as here. The chaotic, creative energy, but especially the sense of community and care within Black neighborhoods, is something I've never experienced so strongly anywhere else. The images are about community, creativity, and the naturalness of care within Black neighborhoods.
Magazine design Alien Mag
Magazine Design - Alien Mag I was fortunate enough to collaborate with Alien Mag on this unique project at the Gilze Asylum Seekers' Center. Here, a group of young people created a magazine about dreaming without limits. The young people participated in workshops on photography, writing, and graphic design/collage (the latter of which I was fortunate enough to conduct with the group). They got to work on their own stories. I designed the magazine with them, offering a glimpse into the world of teenagers with dreams and ambitions. Partners: Stichting de Vrolijkheid, Alien Mag
Intuitive Collages
Intuitive Collages - The images that have been used for these collages are cut outs from random fashion magazines. I cut out everything that “spoke” to me. The visuals / words / texts are important to me. It touches big societal issues such as racism / gender / sexuality / feminism / moral principles / mental health / loneliness and social connections.

Fellowship Program CLiP#7

Date:
Location: Kunstinstituut Melly
In association with: Garage School of Prepping Otherwise, Stichting Mostert-Van der Meijden, FONDS 21, Fonds voor Cultuur & Participatie

I'm participating in a fellowship through Garage School of Prepping Otherwise, at Kunstinsituut Melly, called CLiP#7. During this six-month fellowship, I'll learn what it means to survive together in times of global crisis, social inequality, and ecological uncertainty. Through creative and practical methods, from making fire cider together and learning about mutual aid to creative future thinking and even LARPing. More info: https://www.kunstinstituutmelly.nl/en/connect/8976-meet-the-clipers

https://www.kunstinstituutmelly.nl/en/connect/8976-meet-the-clipers-the-garage-school-of-prepping-otherwise

Exhibition at Brooklyn Navy Yard with Uncool Artists in New York City

Date:
Location: New York City, Brooklyn
In association with: Uncool Artists

This exhibition is a love letter to the raw beauty of New York City and its women. Through analog photography and street-captured portraits, I highlight the strength, style, and energy of female figures moving through the urban jungle. The work doesn't just reflect the city's aesthetics, but its attitude—the quiet power, the street style, the gaze that says: I made it here.
This series is a visual rhythm of the everyday—from sidewalk to skyline—with women as carriers of the city's story.

https://uncoolartist.online/changing-context/
This artist has no awards yet.