Education
Cranbrook Academy of Art — Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics
Art Academy of Cincinnati — Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography
Exhibitions
2026
Turn-Up the Volume! – The CARR Center, Detroit, MI
Cranbrook Ceramics Alumni – Chrysler House, Detroit, MI
Botanical/Mechanical – Birmingham Bloomfield Arts Center, Birmingham, MI
New Woman – Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Beneath All Distance – Studio Kroner, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
2025
This Is Not a Banana Republic — A Manifesto of Empire Domination, the Immigration Experience, and Empathy – Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
Notations on Rituals – The Carnegie, Covington, KY
Indigenous People's Day Convergence — Ancestral Visions, Future Dreams – Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Nuestras Ofrendas – The Mouse Gallery, Detroit, MI
Detroit Warehouse, Art & Design Fair – ArtClvb, Detroit, MI
2024
Pratt x NYCJW24 – NYC Jewelry Week, New York, NY (Juried Exhibition)
Bananarama – Banana Factory Arts Center, Bethlehem, PA (Juried Exhibition)
Inhabited – ArtWorks/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH (Outdoor Mural, Invited)
Our Flowers In the Sidewalk – V&V/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH (Invited)
Art Fair Detroit – ArtClvb, Detroit, MI (Juried Exhibition)
Earth & Fire – Stifel Fine Arts Center, Wheeling, WV (Juried Exhibition)
Faculty Exhibition – Art Academy of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
NCECA Emerging Artist Exhibition, Richmond, VA
2023
This Is Not a Coup – The Welcome Project/NCECA, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
Ebb & Flow – Kennedy Heights Center/NCECA, Cincinnati, OH (Juried Exhibition)
AAC-CAA – Site1212/NCECA, Cincinnati, OH
Windows of NCECA – Various locations, Cincinnati, OH
Resident Artist Exhibition – Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT
Summer – Kolva-Sullivan Gallery, Seattle, WA (Invited)
Meet Me Halfway – Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
La Quema Del Diablo – Forum, Bloomfield Hills, MI
Monument to the Unknown Heroes at the CAC – Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH (Juried Exhibition)
2022
Cranbrook Chair Show – Detroit Month of Design, Detroit, MI (Juried Exhibition)
CIRCUM-VERDANT – Art Academy of Cincinnati/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH
2021
When Life Gives Me Lemons – Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
Breathe – Wave Pool Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati, OH (Invited)
2020
The Journey, The Dream – The Welcome Project/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
The Masks We Wear – Pendleton Street Photography, Cincinnati, OH (Juried Exhibition)
Armory Art Week – Gallery MC/AAC, Manhattan, NY
The Art of Food – The Carnegie, Covington, KY (Invited)
Emerging Artists, Summer Fair – CCAC, Cincinnati, OH (Juried Exhibition)
2019
See Me Without You – The Mockbee Gallery, Cincinnati, OH (Solo Exhibition)
2018
Transitions: Twenty Photographers/One Photograph – Hoffner Lodge Gallery/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH (Invited)
Flyover Country – Xavier University/FotoFocus Biennial, Cincinnati, OH (Juried Exhibition)
Grants, Awards & Fellowships
2026 Puffin Foundation Grant
2025 Center for Cultural Innovation Tools & Equipment Grant
2025 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant
2025 Pollock-Krasner Foundation — Cottage Award, Byrdcliffe A.I.R. Program
2024 21c Cincinnati Artadia Award
2024 NCECA Emerging Artist Fellowship
2023 Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation Materials Award
2023 Senska Scholarship – Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT
2020 ArtWorks Jump Start: Emerging Artist — 'When Life Gives Us Lemons', Cincinnati, OH
2019 Alumni Association Scholarship – Art Academy of Cincinnati
Residencies
2026 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA), Amherst, VA (Forthcoming)
2025 Byrdcliffe Artist in Residence, Woodstock, NY
2024 HArC, Lake Huron, MI
2024 Queen City Clay, Cincinnati, OH
2023 Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT
Organizations & Leadership
2025 Clay Conexión Co-Founder
2025 Ohio Clay Biennial Conference Co-Founder
2024 HArC Board Member
Teaching
Art Academy of Cincinnati — Ceramics Instructor, Cincinnati, OH
Lectures
2024 Who Am I? – NCECA
2024 Consuming Identity: If I Eat It, Am I It? – Miami University, Oxford, OH
2022 Programa de Inmersión en Español – University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Notable Collections
Cincinnati Art Museum — Public Collection
Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts — Public Collection
Sara M. Vance Waddell — Private Collection
Lauren Rakota — Private Collection
Claire Bergkamp — Private Collection
Ann Segal — Private Collection
John Berger — Private Collection
Jennifer Gilbert — Private Collection
Phillip Morici — Private Collection
Bill Ludwig — Private Collection
Caroline Summers — Private Collection
Wayne Boeck — Private Collection
Bibliography
2025 Jorge Rodriguez, "Erika NJ Allen and the Language of Fruit," – Annex Updated August 5
2025 Hannah Kasper, "Carve Out Meaning," – Dayton Daily News August 5
2025 Cal Cullen, "Notables: Visual Artists," – Movers & Makers September 24
2023 Emma Riva, "The Year Ceramics Took Cincinnati," – Belt Magazine October 4
2023 "Graduate Students Work Showcased at Cranbrook," – Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle April 5
2021 "Fruit That Heals," – What's Eating You Project March 23
2020 Carrie Smith-Blackmore, "Art Gave Erika NJ Allen a New Language," – Cincinnati Magazine March 13
2020 Clara Matonhodze Strode, "Home Away From Home," – Women of Cincy July 31
This Is Not a Banana Republic—A Manifesto of Empire Domination, the Immigration Experience, and Empathy - Solo Show - Weston Art Gallery