Kriss Jackson-Harper

My work is rooted in survival and storytelling. As a Black, queer, trans, disabled artist living with HIV since birth, I use poetry, photography, hip hop, theatre, printmaking, and mixed media to document both personal and collective histories. My practice is deeply issue-based, centering HIV/AIDS, stigma, and identity as sites of resilience and power.

Through my project Positively Positive Education Productions (Posi Pos Music), I’ve created over 7,500 hours of programming for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and survivor communities across Seattle and beyond. My facilitation style is healing justice–centered, collaborative, and hands-on, drawing from cultural memory, political education, and lived experience. Workshops like HIV Stigma 101 and HIV Stigma 102 invite participants to write, speak, and witness together — dismantling stigma while building solidarity.

I work across photography, digital/web-based media, performance, writing, and community-based publications to hold space for voices often erased by structural violence. Past collaborations include Youth Speaks Seattle, University of Washington’s IslandWood, the YWCA, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and the Gates Foundation’s Through Positive Eyes project.

At the heart of my art is activism: crafting spaces where HIV-positive people, queer and trans youth, and marginalized communities can see their lives reflected with dignity. My work is both deeply personal and intentionally collective — grounded in memory, feeling, action, and result. Each poem, photograph, or workshop is not just art but an intervention against silence, shame, and systemic erasure.

By weaving illustration, documentary photography, social justice theatre, and hip hop storytelling, I aim to create work that is both intimate and political — a body of art that witnesses, resists, and heals.

Kriss Jackson-Harper

Seattle, WA | [itspositivetobepositive [at] Gmail dot com] | [425-243-2706] linkedin.com/in/jackson-harper22

Creative Project Coordinator | Poet & Educator | Trauma-Informed Youth Mentor | Advocate | Artist
Black, queer, trans, disabled artist living with HIV since birth with 15+ years leading arts-based education, facilitation, program development, and community advocacy. Experienced in trauma-informed practice, youth empowerment, resource guide design, and coalition building. Skilled in poetry, hip hop, spoken word, creative writing, performance, and multimedia storytelling, with a practice grounded in healing justice, cultural competence, and intersectional equity. Passionate about amplifying BIPOC, LGBTQ+, HIV-positive, and survivor voices through collaborative arts, public health advocacy, and social change projects.

Core Skills
Trauma-Informed Facilitation • Youth Mentorship & Leadership Development • Poetry, Spoken Word & Creative Writing • Healing Justice & Resilience Practices • Community Outreach & Stakeholder Engagement • Curriculum & Workshop Design • Motivational Interviewing & Active Listening • Public Speaking & Performance • Culturally Relevant Pedagogy • Program Coordination & Event Planning • Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Advocacy • Arts-Based Activism & HIV/STI Awareness • Digital Storytelling & Media Production • Conflict Resolution & Crisis De-escalation • Grant Writing & Resource Development

Relevant Experience

Founder / Project Coordinator — Posi Pos Music, LLC
Seattle, WA | 2020 – Present

• Designed and published community resource guides for youth, LGBTQ+, and artists; distributed to 200+ individuals and 20+ organizations.
• Coordinated advisory groups (5–20 members) and facilitated workshops for 200+ participants, focusing on storytelling, resilience, and stigma reduction.
• Produced 7,500+ hours of programming across photography, spoken word, hip hop, and digital media, centering BIPOC and LGBTQ+ voices.

Community Outreach Specialist — YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish
Seattle, WA | 2018 – 2019

• Conducted 100+ outreach contacts, securing 25 employer partnerships for job fairs and referral events.
• Connected clients to wraparound supports (housing, food, school resources), improving access to stability services.
• Applied motivational interviewing and trauma-informed care to de-escalate crises and strengthen client trust.

Teaching Artist & Facilitator — Youth Speaks Seattle, Arts Corps, IslandWood
Seattle, WA | 2010 – 2018

• Facilitated 2,500+ hours of creative workshops on poetry, storytelling, and environmental education.
• Partnered with Alaskan Native youth programs and BIPOC LGBTQ+ collectives to integrate cultural resilience into workshops.
• Co-created spoken word residencies that improved literacy outcomes by 80% for targeted students.

Independent Researcher — University of Ghana (Study Abroad Project)
Accra, Ghana | 2015 – 2016

• Completed interviews, transcribed 2,000+ pages of qualitative data, and coordinated 800+ hours of cross-cultural research on HIV stigma & LGBTQ+ identity.
• Built partnerships with UNAIDS, FACE AIDS, and Ghanaian LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.

Education

BA, Sociology — Washington State University
Graduate Certificate, Environmental Education — University of Washington (IslandWood)
Certificate, Multidisciplinary Photography — Bellevue College

Selected Highlights

• Facilitator of HIV Stigma 101 and HIV Stigma 102 workshops.
• Collaborator with Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, Gates Foundation, Youth Speaks Seattle, Through Positive Eyes Project, University of Ghana.
• Recipient of $12,500+ in arts & justice grants (Jack Straw, 4Culture, Create & Thrive, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute).