Jah’Nyah Spencer is a local visual artist and a junior at Lesley University, where she studies illustration. She has lived in the city ever since she was in the sixth grade. Born in Los Angeles, Spencer and her family found themselves relocating to New York, then Lynn, then Boston, and then to Lynn once again.  

“I’m very grateful for that because I feel like out of all the places that I lived in, I feel like Lynn was the place that really gave me the space to discover myself,” Spencer said.

Spencer has been in the city’s art scene for quite some time now and was involved in organizations such as Raw Art Works and Beyond Walls in the past. Not only that, but Spencer has left her mark on the community. Her likeness has been portrayed in a mural by Hiero Veiga in Central Square, her works have been on display in a variety of different art exhibits, and she painted a mural for the MBTA bus stop along Western Avenue titled “Leap of Faith.” Spencer was also recognized as Local Black Excellence by Councilor-at-Large Nicole McClain back in February and is part of the Urban Scholars Initiative at Lesley. 

Visual art isn’t the only passion of Spencer’s. She also enjoys making music.

“I got a grant from EECF Creative County to work on a body of music,” Spencer said. “So anything I come out with this year will be a fusion of music and visual art.”

Spencer also dreams of creating an animated TV show. She isn’t an animator, but wants to be more of a head writer or creative director for the project.

AN ARTISTIC FAMILY

What inspired Spencer to venture into the realm of art? One word: family. At a young age, it was clear to Spencer that her parents were creatives. Her mom, Madhané,  was a fashion designer, writer, and musician. Meanwhile, her father, Fyah Nyah, was a DJ, more specifically a selector, who usually played reggae music. As a result, she often found herself in creative spaces. Whether it was singing along with her dad, watching her mom crochet her clothes, or going to different events with them, Spencer was constantly being inspired to find her own footing as an artist.

“It kind of blew my mind when I met other kids. And I’m like ‘Oh,, your parents aren’t artists or creative?’” Spencer said.

It didn’t just stop with her parents, either. Spencer’s grandmother, Marcia Higgs, was also a dancehall artist in the ‘80s and ‘90s. She worked with King Jammy, a prominent dancehouse producer, and was in a group called Higgs and Twins with Paulette Robinson and Pauline Robinson. Her grandmother’s dad, Joe Higgs, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist who, as a music teacher, taught Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Jimmy Cliff.

“When the Wailers went on their first U.S. tour in 1973, Bunny Wailer did not go on the tour. So Joe, you know, took his spot, and he went on the tour with them, but Joe Higgs was the very first reggae artist to tour in the U.S. because he won a competition, and he went in 1972, he went the year before.” Spencer said. “My uncle, he passed away this year, rest his soul, but my uncle was Aston Barrett Sr., who was the bass player, and his brother was Carlton Barrett, and he was the drummer. So, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, after they left, Bob Marley seeked him out.”

RECONNECTING WITH HER COMMUNITY

Spencer is the youth and community engagement coordinator at the Lynn Museum, and she oversees the Final Fridays program, which takes place on the last Friday of every month. Final Fridays aims to bring free quality programming to help bring the community together through arts and culture.

“This year I’ve been able to take more control of the program and we’ve been able to make it more youth-focused, really helping to bridge a gap with the younger generation,” Spencer said.

Spencer’s start at the Lynn Museum began when MassDevelopment allocated $100,000 to the museum over the course of two years as part of the Creative Cities Lynn initiative, which helped amplify the Final Fridays program.

“I was working at Blick, which is right up the street from my school. A lot of the time after class, I would go to work and I was really set in that. But after like a semester or two, it got very tiring, like the commute is long. And I was working weekends and I was going to school basically every day of the week,” Spencer said.

Wanting to reconnect with her community, Spencer decided to reach out and find a job that allowed her to do so. After looking around, Spencer caught word that Doneeca Thurston-Chavez, the executive director of the Lynn Museum, was looking for someone for the position.

“I called Doneeca and I was like, ‘Hey, I heard that you needed somebody.’ And she said, ‘Oh, I wanted to hire you, but I knew you were already working and I didn’t want to bombard you.’” Spencer said. “I really wanted to continue to pour into the community that I felt like poured into me a lot. And there were certain things in the community that I felt like we were missing, especially for the younger demographic, because my whole brand is youth empowerment. That’s my entire brand. That’s what I do my art for. That’s my whole thing. So I wanted to have a position that I felt like I could really sit in that more, and I could make more of a change, a more tangible change.”

FINAL FRIDAYS: GRAFFITI GET DOWN

People can join in on Final Fridays on July 26 for free. From 6 to 9 p.m., there will be food and refreshments for people shopping and watching performances at Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, or at 590 Washington St. if it gets rained out. This Final Friday will feature a live art battle with Croc Paints, Okaje, Sophy Tuttle, and Joey Free. Featured vendors will include Sin Kid, Sh0ckMan, Michael Aghahowa, Forte Worldwide, Thirteenvic, Clothes by Tomo, and MUNAMUSKIE. There will also be live performances by 97 Caine, CalvinKleinCaterpillar, and Luke Bars.

Spencer said that she wanted to emphasize to everyone that she is an artist in every sense of the word, and not just a visual artist.

“I just want everyone to know that whatever I come out with this year, because I know everyone has been expecting it, everyone’s been anticipating it, just know that it came from the heart and it’s just who I actually am,” she said.