Jega Delisca (b. 1998) is a Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal-based portrait painter, curator, and arts educator, originally from West Palm Beach, Florida. He's currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts at Concordia University. As the youngest of six brothers and the son of Haitian immigrants, Delisca's identity as a queer Black man and a Floridian transplant to Toronto shapes his artistic lens and ongoing exploration of masculine identities.
Delisca recently curated "One Way Ashore, A Thousand Channels" at SAWA HOUSE(Montreal, QC) and participated in the Art Gallery of York University’s Lead Time artist residency (Toronto, ON). His work has gained international attention, notably in Footprints , a group exhibition at Chilli Art Projects (London, UK). His 2021 solo exhibition, Don’t Go Unspoken, held at Toronto’s Whippersnapper Gallery, navigated the complexities of grief and coming of age. In his role as an arts educator, Delisca developed The Carefree Black Boy Project (2016–2018), an arts program that earned him a Community Organizing Award from R.I.S.E. Edutainment.
Solo exhibitions
2021 "Don't Go Unspoken" Whippersnapper Gallery, 594 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON M5T 1H5
2023 “Rearview” Montréal, QC
2023 “ Other People Are Watching” Montréal, QC
Group Shows
2021 NExT: The Future of Art Exhibition 2.0, St Lawrence Centre For the Arts , 27 Front St. E., Toronto ON
2021 Transformation and Transcendence, resilenTOgether (Virtual) - Toronto, ON
2021- Dear Queer Scarborough, Clark Centre, 191 Guildwood Pkwy - Toronto ON
2022 Redefining Resiliency, Artscape Weston Common, 34 John St, Toronto, ON M9N 0B2 - Toronto ON
2022 Fruition MTL, Lucki Delite, 4816 Avenue Du Parc - Montréal, QC
2023 Artist Project TO Untapped Artist, The Better Living Centre - Toronto, ON
2024 Footprints , Chili Art Projects - London, UK
2025 artch festival d’art émergent, - Montreal, QC
2025 Art Toronto, RBC Collection Booth - Toronto, ON
Curating Experience
2017- Black Boys of East York, Children's Peace Theatre, 305 Dawes Rd, East York, ON M4B 2E2
2020 - Curated Jehiel’s Douglas’s Virtual Scarborough Graffiti Artist Walk for Art Gallery of Ontario
2024 - Vestiges of Belonging, A Willingness To Connect, Organic Forms, VAV Gallery, 1395 Rene Levesque Montreal QC
2025 One Way Ashore, A Thousand Channels, SAWA HOUSE Montreal, QC
Residencies
2020 Lead Time Art Gallery of York University - Toronto, ON
2020 "NExT" Vibes Arts - Toronto, ON
2023 Things + Time, Cyber Love Hotel, Montreal, QC
Interviews
Agnes Centre, With Opened Mouths Podcast
"Painting as a Refuge, Artist Jega Delisca talks with Qanita Lilla about his portraiture practice and how he makes his sitters feel seen by empathizing with their vulnerability". (FULL INTERVIEW)
Alkarim Jadavji, I Wanna Know Podcast (FULL INTERVIEW)
Arts Programming & Facilitation
2020 - 2024 - Youth Coordinator at Scarborough Arts, 1859 Kingston Road Scarborough, ON M1N 1T
2022 - Present - Arts Educator at Nia Centre, 524 Oakwood Ave, York, ON M6E 2X1
2024 Programming Coordinator at VAV Gallery