Hi! I’m Jeffrey 🤗

And I am your Padnos Distinguished Artist-in-Residence!!!
::shouted in my pageant voice:: 👑

For this 2026-2027 academic year, I'm calling Grand Valley State University home (even though I've called Allendale home since 2022). As the Padnos Artist-in-Residence (or PAIR), I'm here to make art, research, experiment, and — most importantly — meet you!

My studio is in the Calder Art Center, Room 0702 (next to the Padnos Gallery), and I'm here as a resource for students in Visual and Media Arts and beyond. And yes, that means all GVSU students in any major are welcome.

Want to show me something you're working on? Have an idea you want to talk through? Want to visit my studio? Need another artist's perspective? Just curious what I'm doing here? Please say hi. I'd love to meet you!

So, what can we do together? 🤔

Show me your work 🎨

Want another set of eyes on something you're making? I can meet with you one-on-one or with a small group to look at your artwork, talk through an idea, or just have a conversation about what you're working on.

I'd like a work review

Meet with me 👋

Have an idea you're trying to figure out? Curious about being an artist after college? Want to talk about grad school, exhibitions, residencies, public art, making a living as an artist, or just… art?

Let's Meet

Visit my studio 🏠

Room 0702 is a working space, and you're welcome to visit. I may be making something, thinking about something, struggling with something, or all three.

I'd like to visit

Talk Survivor 📺

Love Survivor? So do I. Come hang out in my studio and talk about strategy, alliances, drama, and whatever else comes up. As Jeff Probst always says: the game is the lure, the experience is the prize.

I'm in!

What am I working on? 🌴

During my residency, I'll be developing a new body of artwork. My project is titled Our Island and it is inspired by my childhood experience in the musical South Pacific, my fairly recent obsession with the reality TV show Survivor, ideas of love and war, and the mythology of my very own super secret mysterious brotherhood known as the Society of 23. I'm interested in what will happen this year when all of these things are smushed together and turned into my kind of art.

Upcoming Events 📅

Welcome Event

Monday, October 5
11:30 am - 1 pm
GVSU - Kirkhoff Center
Pere Marquette Room

Please join me for an Artist Talk-style presentation where I will speak about my artwork and my residency project, Our Island. Everyone is welcome! There will be snacks! (Yes, that’s 10-year-old me in the photo.)

CreativeMornings/GR

Friday, October 16
8:30 - 10 am
TBD, Grand Rapids

CreativeMornings/Grand Rapids envisions a united and connected creative community. Every month, the group hosts a free event that gathers to foster these connections. Each event features a speaker from the creative community, plus coffee and breakfast. I’m so excited to share a personal story of life and art relating to October’s theme of Altitude. (Yes, that’s my art hanging in Concourse A at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.)

Want to connect? 💬

Please complete the form below.
Not sure what you're looking for? That's fine! Just say hello. Email me at songcoj@gvsu.edu or message me on IG at @songcoarts.

A few things about me 💁‍♂️

  • I've been making the Society of 23 since 2008.

  • I live in Allendale with my partner and our two sons (a Pit Bull and a French Bulldog).

  • I make installations, self-portrait photographs, sculptures, videos, and occasionally things that are difficult to explain.

  • I really like talking about art, pop culture, reality television, identity, dogs, gardening, and America.

  • I am extremely happy and honored to look at your art.

  • If you’re ever in Concourse A at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, look up. Those are my large-scale sculptures hanging from the ceiling.

Some helpful links 🔗