Suzanne Jackson

Early life and education Jackson was born in 1944 in Saint Louis, Missouri. Jackson lived in San Francisco until she was eight years old, after which she was raised in the city of Fairbanks, Alaska, from 1952 to 1961. She was also the first African American to attend the National 4-H Congress in Chicago in 1960, which helped her receive scholarships and allowed her to attend college.

Jackson attend San Francisco State University (SFSU), where she studied both art and ballet, eventually receiving a BA degree in painting. While at SFSU, Jackson installed exhibitions at the campus art gallery and taught art at St. Stephen's Catholic School. and later returned to California to settle in Echo Park. In 1968, she opened Gallery 32, which operated for two years and which Jackson funded herself. Jackson produced artists books of poetry and painting, "What I Love" (1972) and "Animals" (1978). (see Poetry)“When Bernie [Casey] brought to the gallery several of Suzanne’s paintings, I was immediately struck with the freshness and originality of her work. It is most unusual to find so young an artist with a valid philosophical statement (and to communicate it successfully). Her feelings about her blackness are expressed in somewhat symbolic terms, and her world of fantasy, love and hope is revealed to the viewer in a very refreshing style… She very well may be the first Black woman in America to make a truly important contribution to art.” -- Joan Ankrum (1/5/1974)

1980s–1990s In 1981, Jackson was first introduced to Savannah, Georgia, through an invitation to be a visiting artist with Savannah College of Art and Design through the recommendation of Bernie Casey. Additionally, in 1981, Jackson's work was included in the exhibition “Forever Free: African American Women” which traveled to the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina. Jackson lived in Idyllwild, California, from 1981 to 1985 and was on faculty as a Visiting Artist at the Idyllwild School of Music and Arts (1981–1982), and chair of the Fine and Performing Arts at the Elliott-Pope Preparatory School (formerly Desert Sun School) (1982–1985).

In 1987, Jackson relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, to attend Yale University, pursuing a master's degree under the tutelage of Ming Cho Lee for scenography. She worked as a freelance scenic and costume designer moving throughout the region; until taking a post at St. Mary's College of Maryland as a scenographer and assistant professor from 1994 to 1996. In 1996, Jackson moved full-time to Savannah, Georgia, to teach at Savannah College of Art and Design as professor of painting, where she taught full-time until 2009.

Jackson was a member of the inaugural group of the Cave Canem poets, which “was founded by Toi Derricotte and Cornelius Eady in 1996 to remedy the underrepresentation and isolation of African-American poets in the literary landscape.” She was mentored by Lucille Clifton (1936–2010), Poet Laureate of Maryland, and was a member of the International Women’s Writing Guild. She has published two books of poetry, Animal and What I love.

2000s–present Jackson officially retired from SCAD in 2009, but Jackson remained as a part-time and adjunct professor until 2013. Additionally, Jackson taught introductory art history courses, including African American Art History at Savannah State University in 2013–2014 school year. Jackson has remained an active member of the Savannah artistic community and continues to create and exhibit her work. Jackson co-hosts a weekly radio show featuring jazz and conversation, called Listen Hear on WHCJ 90.3 Savannah State University Radio, alongside Ike Carter, Jerome Meadows, Tom Van de Ven, Lisa Jackson and Carla Curran, PhD. In 2019 Jackson was the recipient of a Joan Mitchell Painters & Sculptors Grant. Her work was included in the 2024 exhibition Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA).

In 2026, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presented Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love, the first major museum retrospective dedicated to Suzanne Jackson. The exhibition brought together more than 80 works.

Artistic practice Suzanne Jackson has had an extensive career and has emphasized the importance of living the lifestyle of an artist, in her words: to be an artist is to solve problems as opposed to create images. She states, “I'm not an artist yet. I'm a painter. And I draw, and I work in theater as an artist person, but to become an artist takes a whole lifetime.”

Her visual art work is included in public museum collections including at the Museum of Modern Art, California African American Museum, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and the Hammer Museum at UCLA.

Gallery 32 Many associate Jackson's name with Gallery 32, an art gallery she ran in MacArthur Park, Los Angeles from 1968 to 1970, dedicated to fostering a supportive artist community. Gallery 32 was inspired by artist Charles White's philosophy that art could be an effective vehicle for community activism and social change. Seeking to replicate Jackson's previous experiences of San Francisco bohemianism, Gallery 32 functioned less as a business than as a place for the exchange of ideas and philosophies. Jackson funded the gallery herself, largely with money she earned from teaching. The gallery became an important venue, hosting discussions, poetry readings, and fund-raisers for social causes, and exhibiting work that demonstrated strong political and civic engagement. She aimed to make art from black artists with black themes accessible for all members of the community. It quickly became one of the few art spaces in Los Angeles to exhibit emerging African American artists such as Gloria Bohanon, Emory Douglas, David Hammons, Betye Saar, and Timothy Washington. Among the organizations for which the gallery hosted fundraisers were the Black Arts Council, the Black Panther Party, and the Watts Towers Arts Center children's arts program. One of the gallery's important exhibitions was the 1970 Sapphire Show, the first Los Angeles survey of African American women artists. Gallery 32 played a vital role in the progressive struggles of the period while contributing to the diverse art scene of Los Angeles. The remaining artworks and ephemera have been promised to the Getty Research Institute per the artist's request.