The Spectrum of Resilience

Glassboro, NJ (March X, 2026) — New Jersey native, Philadelphia-based interdisciplinary artist Jazlyne Sabree will debut her latest body of work in The Spectrum of Resilience on view April 6 through July 30, 2026, at the newly renamed Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art (RUMOCA).
Sabree’s exhibition presents timely work that speaks to identity, history, and cultural continuity.
Sabree creates large-scale collages composed of paint, paper, and found materials that center members of the African Diaspora as spiritual figures and vessels of memory. Through richly layered surfaces and textured compositions, she elevates her subjects while examining ancestry, displacement, and the enduring presence of cultural identity across generations.
Born in Willingboro, New Jersey, Sabree earned her MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia. She currently serves as executive director of Camden FireWorks, a multidisciplinary arts incubator in Camden. Sabree holds a master’s degree in art education from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree from Clark Atlanta University, an HBCU in Atlanta, Georgia. She is an alum of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Black Artist Fellowship, and her work is included in collections such as The Colored Girls Museum in Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum.
The Spectrum of Resilience features Sabree’s large-scale collages layered into textured portraits of members of the African Diaspora, including three works debuting for the first time in this exhibition:
Between Drips and Dignity
Patient Recovery: Evidence of Survival
Closed Eyes Because I’m Practicing Trust (The Kiss)
Her subjects are presented as spiritual messengers — figures grounded in ancestral memory yet fully present in contemporary life. Through posture, gaze and symbolic materials, Sabree conveys both vulnerability and strength, holding resilience and fragility in dynamic tension.
Drawing from research into her own genealogy and diasporic histories, Sabree explores how traditions, belief systems, and cultural practices endure despite displacement and systemic erasure. The exhibition invites viewers to witness not only historical trauma, but also joy, persistence, and quiet power of cultural survival.
RUMOCA in Glassboro, New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia, mounts new contemporary art exhibitions by professional artists every two to three months. With a reputation for attracting respected international talent, it’s a cornerstone of South Jersey’s vibrant arts scene. All exhibitions and special events are open to the public with free admission.
RUMOCA, formerly Rowan University Art Gallery and Museum, recently adopted its new identity to reflect its continued growth, expanded educational programming, permanent collection, and strengthened service to the Rowan community and the broader South Jersey region. The unified name brings together its two locations under one contemporary vision.
Artist Statement
“The Spectrum of Resilience reveals moments of strength, tenacity, vigor, and adaptation expressed through the spirits of members across the African Diaspora. This work is developed alongside research into my own African ancestry and genealogy, and the ancestral histories of those that I connect with on the way and my own research from literature such as: Oxford’s Archaeology of the African Diaspora, the African Union’s The Diaspora Division, and Cultural Resilience and Filial Responsibility Among the African Diaspora: To Be or To Belong among other texts.
These themes of resilience are expressed in the work through posture and moment, capturing the candid lives of the sitters, communicating their authentic spirit and their strength in all of their subtle declarations. It captures the range of emotions, struggles, joys, and pains that are witnessed in the lives of African descendants, calling for acceptance and embrace of their presence and their history in a time where their presence is being inhibited and their truths, erased and distorted.”
How to Visit
Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art is located at 301 High Street West, Glassboro, NJ 08028, and is open to the public with free admission Monday to Friday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and Saturday 11:00 am – 5:00 pm.
Learn more.
PRESS PHOTOS (Courtesy: Jazlyne Sabree)
About Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art
Rowan University Museum of Contemporary Art (RUMOCA) presents curated exhibitions by professional contemporary artists alongside dynamic educational programming. RUMOCA at 301 High Street continues to showcase rotating contemporary exhibitions. RUMOCA at Westby Hall is home to The Sister Chapel, featuring curated selections from the museum’s permanent collection providing a dedicated home for the historic installation. Open to the public with free admission, the museum serves as a vibrant cultural destination for South Jersey and the greater Philadelphia region. Visit: rowan.edu/artgallery