Jessamyn Lovell is a gender-fluid artist and licensed private investigator based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They hold a BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology, an MFA from California College of the Arts, and are currently a Principal Lecturer at the University of New Mexico. Lovell’s work on No Trespassing (where she surreptitiously documented her estranged father) and Dear Erin Hart (where she found, followed, and photographed her identity thief) led her to obtain her private investigator’s license. Lovell’s work has been featured by media outlets such as Hyperallergic, Wired, This American Life, the Today Show, BBC World News, and many more.
They are the recipient of several awards, including the Aperture Portfolio Prize and the Center for Teaching Excellence Excellence in Teaching Award, and were recently a Center for Teaching Excellence Fellow at UNM. Lovell is currently integrating her skills as a private investigator into her artistic practices as an ongoing conceptual art piece, titled D.I.Y. P.I. (Do It Yourself Private Investigation), and works with the internationally known performance troupe La Pocha Nostra as a producer and performer.
In article on LENSCRATCHER many of Jessamyn’s disguises are listed and explained such as Guardia de Seguridad para el Pueblo (AKA: Security Guard), Motel Maid Disguise (AKA:“Joyce”), Professional Woman Disguides (AKA: “Laura”), Pro-Life activist Disguise (AKA: “Laurel”), Barfly Disguise (AKA: “Chelsea”) and many more.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
EXPLORE the work of Jessamyn Lovell by following on Instagram @filmnotdead.
READ MORE at https://jessamynlovell.com/portfolio/previous/index.html https://lenscratch.com/2026/02/review-santa-fe-jessamyn-lovell-how-to-become-invisible/
READ MORE at https://news.unm.edu/news/unm-art-lecturers-photography-project-gains-national-recognition
Congratulations to Art Professor of Practice Kathryne Cyman, who has been named 2026 Contemporary Ceramic Honoree at the New Mexico Potters & Clay Artists (NMPCA) Celebration of Clay exhibition. This recognition is especially significant as 2026 marks the first year this honor has been introduced, celebrating contemporary ceramic artists whose contributions to the New Mexico clay community are exceptional.
Congratulations to Analisa Peña, who was selected as the 1st place winner in the 2026 Hulsman Undergraduate Library Research Award’s Emerging Researcher category regarding her work, The Many Faces of Christ: Understanding ‘Trifacial Trinity’ by Gregorio Vasquez Arce y Ceballos.
MacDowell, the nation’s first artist residency program, has awarded 134 Fellowships to visionary artists working across seven disciplines for its Spring Summer 2026 season. The program is located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Between March and August of 2026, each artist has an average stay of four weeks. These artists were selected from a competitive pool of 2,618 applicants with an acceptance rate of only 5 percent.
