Rural Routes Design Studio Application Showcase
🎨 Reclaiming Rural Power, Joy, and Legacy Through Creative Storytelling.​​​​​​​
Spotlight: Black Rural Life is a multi-year, multimedia initiative preserving and celebrating the cultural knowledge, land stewardship, and ancestral practices that shape Black rural life in the United States. Directed by Southern Black woman artist, Jazzie Jelks, this project is both a living time capsule and a love letter—honoring the everyday brilliance, innovation, and traditions often overlooked in conversations about rural America.
The project includes a feature-length documentary (in production), an intergenerational activity book (completed), a digital public archive (in development), and a public tour launching in 2026. This page highlights current progress and work samples submitted for consideration in the Rural Routes Design Studio.
đź“° Momentum & Support
In 2024, Spotlight: Black Rural Life received a three-year, $75,000 grant from the National Performance Network’s Southern Artists for Social Change initiative to support early development.
This investment has allowed us to complete the activity book, begin filming the documentary, and lay the groundwork for future partnerships with HBCUs, Black-owned bookstores, homeschooling networks, and rural churches.
🤝🏾 Our Vision for Expansion
We are now building toward the next phase of the project:
Scaling distribution of the book
Deepening community partnerships
Touring rural communities across the U.S. and beyond
Completing our documentary
Launching a publicly accessible digital archive
Spotlight: Black Rural Life is not just a story—it’s a design for how we can live, educate, and heal differently. We believe Black rural life is not something to survive—but something to celebrate, reclaim, and reimagine.
✨ Final Note to the Rural Routes Review Panel
Thank you for considering my work. I would be honored to deepen this project within the Rural Routes Design Studio alongside other visionary artists working to transform their communities through care, creativity, and cultural strategy.
Jazzie Jelks
Artist, Director, and Creative Steward of Spotlight: Black Rural Life
Artist, Director, and Creative Steward of Spotlight: Black Rural Life
đź“• Activity Book Preview
Spotlight: Black Rural Life – The Activity Book
A creative, culturally grounded book designed for Black homeschooling families, rural communities, educators, and youth.
A creative, culturally grounded book designed for Black homeschooling families, rural communities, educators, and youth.
Featuring community-sourced wisdom, engaging land-based activities, and original illustrations, this book offers a vibrant educational experience that centers Black rural identity, creativity, and self-determination.
