who is

Nicole Jaquis, has been bouncing in and out of Brooklyn, New York since 2001, finding great inspiration in Northern India, where she and her current project, Ascetics with Cameras, is based.

Though while in NYC, Nicole has spent most of her time as a founding member of the Brooklyn based, non-profit multicultural arts collective, Projectile Arts. Since its inception, Nicole has contributed to not only the development of the organization and collaborating artist network, but also the production of various Projectile Arts endeavors, including web/graphic design projects, international documentary films, and large scale multimedia/performance events.

Nicole has a BA in Studio Art (photography concentration) and Philosophy from Lake Forest College; has completed graduate level coursework in educational multimedia development at Harvard University and photography at International Center for Photography. And in over 24 months (and counting) in 5 trips to India, Nicole has been studying yoga, meditation and Hindu philosophy alongside various Juna Akhara ascetics. Throughout all this she has supported herself as a freelance web designer, video editor, and multimedia teacher within various City Parks Foundation and New York City Parks & Recreation programs. With over 12 years teaching experience Nicole focuses on using media as a tool of empowerment for self-expression as well as documentation. Most recently (Dec. 2007 – Jan. 2010) she was the Computer Resource Center / RECYouth Coordinator at Hamilton Fish Recreation Center in the Lower East Side.

Both independently as well as in collaboration with Projectile Arts, her video and photo work has been exhibited and published throughout the United States and India. Her photos from the 2001 and 2004 Kumbh Melas, were in the 2007 Atlantic Avenue Art Walk in Brooklyn and her video instalation "Identical? Fraternal?" was in the 2008 MIX 21 The New York Queer Experimental Film Festival in Lower Manhattan.

Recently Nicole has been developing a strong interest in social media and internet theory, specifically in the ways we use technology to bring closer together different worlds, communities and cultures that may not be in our physical reach, ie. Culture Spreading through multimedia technology.