BIO

BIO

Jolisha Johnson (They Felt Bad) is a queer, Black, Detroit-based textile artist and musician whose work centers on fiber arts, material storytelling, and ancestral reclamation. Their practice explores themes of sustainability and self-healing, using tactile craft traditions such as needle felting and natural fibers to navigate Black and Brown queer narratives and labor histories.

Deeply committed to sustainable material sourcing, Jolisha expanded their practice in 2025 by cultivating a fiber garden, growing flax, stinging nettle, and dye plants to reconnect with traditional fiber lineages. This dedication to slow, intentional craft has led to features in Suboart Magazine (2024) and showing work at Ceramics X Fiber (2026), a collaboration with artist Willie Oof Detroit Fiber Festival (2025) and TEXTURIZER (2026). 

Jolisha’s background as a musician, formerly of the Afro-Punk Jazz band Blacker Face, continues to inform their multidisciplinary approach. A songwriter and vocalist for projects including WARMTH and Atta Boi, Jolisha bridges the gap between sound and craft, a versatility further honed during a ten-day residency with L.A. Studio & ART14.

As an organizer, Jolisha fosters connection through Detroit’s BIPOC Fiber Artist Meet-up and has led community-focused programming for the Chicago Public Library, Arts and Scraps, The Congregation, and Auntie Na’s Village. Their work has been supported by a DCASE grant from the City of Chicago and the CultureSource Arc Fund (2025), which recognizes artists who have been impacted by systemic racism. Whether through a fiber garden or a community workshop, Jolisha continues to champion the intimacy of handmade traditions and the power of collective healing.

Jolisha Johnson-Ponti (They Felt Bad) is a queer, Black, Detroit-based textile artist and musician.They are a needle-felter, and weaver. Jolisha has a small fiber farm in SW Detroit, and is constantly trying to reimagine small scale textile production.They use their art making, and the research processes/material exploration that goes into the making  to help them explore belonging, and to foster a deeper understanding of the planet and their place on it.