Jess Grisafi is an artist and educator in the Philadelphia area. She is a mom of two incredible teens, loves to travel and is inspired by the small moments of exquisite beauty in our everyday lives. Her interests in media span widely from mosaics to line drawings, printmaking, painting, collage, photography, sculpture and more.
Currently in her 22nd year of teaching at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington PA, Jess works primarily with Art students in 4th and 5th grade. She is also the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) Coordinator for the school, PK-12th grade, and manages the Lower School MakerSpaces. Jess leads a yearlong STEAM Studio course as well as the Innovation Leadership Club for 4th graders, with a culminating Family STEAM Night in the Spring. She also offers periodic learning opportunities for in the community to practice creative problem solving and explore new technologies and approaches to teaching and learning.
Jess co-curates the Arts Center Gallery at Germantown Academy and is co-founder of Art Across the Academy. This program was built to create opportunities for students to connect with professional artists and to participate in large-scale collaborative installations. Resident artists range from the world-renowned, such as Isaiah Zagar and Sonya Clark, to local creatives and alumni such as Drew tye Ruby-Howe. Some favorite events were: Poems in Trees, Dip n’ Dance, Humanitas, Bloom Garden and Woods to Water.