Jeanette Contreras

I fell in love with the world of photography in High School when my father introduced me to the fine arts side. Since then I knew that photography would be my career to pursue. All throughout my childhood I was strictly involved in a performance arts called American Freestyle Karate. Throughout those years without thinking I was practicing and creating an art that I would have never considered to be "art." Without knowing what art really was when I was younger, I was already building my creative mind as an artist.
Growing up in Liberal Kansas takes part in shaping me into the person that I am today and the reflection it has towards my work. Being born in Liberal and living in Mexico where I learned my very first language, made an impact in my life that is forever engraved into my soul. I learned my second language in school when my family and I moved to Liberal. I got made fun of for my accent and for doing karate and playing with cars. It wasn't until I fully learned the language to understand what the word "racism" meant and how I felt about it. Surprisingly, discrimination has followed me since then. My culture is whom I am and being discriminated for my race sadly has made me become a strong individual. My work is highly ...

Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS (Fall 2011 – Fall 2013)
-Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in photography.

Seward County Community College - Liberal, KS (Fall 2009 - Spring 2011)
-Associate in science.

Mark A. Chapman Gallery (Fall 2013)
Telolith Contemporary Art and Literature (Spring 2010 – Spring 2011)
Art Exhibitions at SCCC/ATS (Fall 2009 - Spring 2011)