Jenny Hager, M.F.A.

Professor in Sculpture

E-mail: j.hager@unf.edu
Phone: (904) 620-4687
Office: Building 45, Room 2014

Faculty Bio

Website

Areas of Expertise

Sculpture, Installation Art, Visual Art, Contemporary Art

Education

MFA - Art Studio (Sculpture and Digital Media) - San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

BFA - Art Studio - University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

BA - Art Education - University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Biography

Jenny K. Hager, Professor of Sculpture at the University of North Florida, received her MFA in Sculpture and Digital Media from San Jose State University in San Jose, CA. Interested in a variety of processes and materials, including steel, cast iron, post-it notes, video, wood, digital photography and found objects, she finds inspiration in dreams, objects from her childhood, gadgets, sea life and other curiosities. She is also very interested in collaboration; the spirit of community important in both her teaching practice and in her own work.

Hager’s work has been exhibited across the country and recently in the Cymru Ironstone Castle Exhibition in Wales, the Pedvale Open-Air Art Museum in Latvia and Il Giardino di Daniel Spoerri in Seggiano, Italy. Flight Lab, a video installation by Hager, has traveled to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans and York, Pennsylvania. Hager’s most recent series “Second Line” celebrates diversity of culture, individual storytelling and the spirit of the Second Line tradition of New Orleans parade culture. In this series, Hager creates large-scale parade animals inspired by the Chinese zodiac and infused with a personal narrative. Most recently, Hager created a 20’ tall steel mosaic giraffe sculpture for the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and two sculptural benches for downtown Jacksonville, FL.

Hager’s teaching practice fosters a creative and collaborative environment where learning can thrive. Expanding the horizons of our students is a significant part of her teaching practice. She believes that learning that takes place outside the classroom, in our own community, has the potential to be more impactful, for both the student and the community at large, because Community Based Learning offers a chance to engage with local culture, a chance to build relationships with community partners, and most importantly, a chance to provide real life experiences for the students. Community based learning is a core component of her teaching practice. She and her students have created work in conjunction many community partners, including Fleet Landing, Klutho Park, Gerdau Ameristeel, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the Looking Lab at City Hall, MOCA, CoRK, Ponte Vedra Cultural Center, MOCA, Hemming Park, and One Spark.

Hager is an active member of the Jacksonville art community. She has served on the MOCA Collections and Exhibitions committee, as well as the MOCA Education committee. Interested in promoting local artists and creating creative networks in Jacksonville, she has served on the steering committee for the Northeast Florida Sculptors group since its inception in 2009.

Hager has a vision to bring Jacksonville to life with sculpture, beginning with UNF’s campus and extending to the community of Jacksonville and beyond. In partnership with MountainStar Capital, the Lazzara Family Foundation, and Instructor Lance Vickery, she also created a sculpture park in Jacksonville Beach in 2016, which showcases large-scale outdoor sculptures by UNF Sculpture students. Hager and Vickery also created a Sculpture on Campus Program at UNF, which showcases large-scale outdoor sculpture, sculptural bike racks and benches by faculty and students. Most recently, Hager and Vickery installed a collaborative sculpture, “3 Clouds,” at Douglas Anderson High School in Jacksonville.

In 2014, Hager created Sculpture Walk, an outdoor sculpture park for downtown Jacksonville. Sculpture Walk, Inc., a registered 501(c)3, has hosted over 36 outdoor sculptures, bike racks and sculptural benches by international, national and local artists in Jacksonville at Main Street Park and Klutho Park. Hager has permanent works at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Atlantic Beach and downtown Jacksonville.

More of Hager’s work can be seen here. www.jennykhager.com