Born in Arlington, VA, a suburb of Washington, D.C., Lana migrated to Boston with her family in the’60s to escape Jim Crow segregation laws of the South.
Ms. Jackson, an Artist, Arts Administrator, and Educator has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Massachusetts College of Art, and a Masters of Fine Arts degree from Maryland Institute College of Art. She is a recipient of numerous awards include the Hall of Black Achievement for Excellence from Bridgewater State College, the Art School Associates Trust Fund Award (Mass Art), the Phillip Morris Fellowship Award (MICA), the Distinction in Paint Award (MICA), and the Camille Hanks Cosby Fellowship Award, which allowed Lana to attend the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in its 50th Anniversary year, where she studied with renowned international artists Anish Kappor, Jessica Stockholder, Sam Gilliam, Nan Goldin, Joyce Scott as well as Jacob Lawrence prior to his death in 2000. Recent awards include the CreateWell Fund Award (2016) and the Fellowes Athenaeum Trust Fund Award (2016—2018).
Lana, a mixed media fiber artist, has shown internationally, as well as in Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia. Her publications of her work have included The Baltimore Sun Sunday ARTS Section, SHOWTIME Magazine and Eastside Messenger of Columbus Ohio, and the internationally recognized fiber arts magazine, SURFACE DESIGN.
As a teaching artist, Lana has taught middle and high schools in Boston Public Schools as well as for MassArt’s Foundations Program (Public Art Course). While at Boston Latin School, she taught Advance Placement Studio Art to junior and seniors; wrote the Fine Arts Department Curriculum for the school’s 2005 accreditation and has sat on may statewide art and culture boards and committees.
Formerly Grants Manager and Director of Boston’s Cultural Council for the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Lana oversaw the annual distribution of $1.5M citywide in grant monies for Boston’s emerging artists and residential art and culture non-profit organizations. While in the position of Arts & Culture Coordinator for Boston After School & Beyond, Inc. –a public/private partnership with the city of Boston and the Barr Foundation, Lana worked primarily in establishing and evaluating Out-of-School Time arts policies citywide that met the challenges of teaching artists and the needs of educational and cultural entities.
Most recent, Lana was Director of Diversity that led to her being named the Director of Student Life and Career Services for North Bennet Street School, the regional training institution for quality craftsmanship, located in Boston’s North End neighborhood.
Currently, Lana is making art full-time and is living in Mattapan, a neighborhood of Boston.