In Memory of Jill Kohn (Sands)

Born to parents Fred and Lita Sands on October 13, 1949 in Cleveland OH, Jill Sands died January 11, 2025 in Sedona, AZ after a decade long struggle with Parkinson's Disease.  Jill’s many talents stemmed from her love of the Arts, with emphasis in Photography, Music, Acting,Textile arts, and Literature. 

She contributed to countless projects of various art forms with many artists, adding her deep insights, acting, editing, and photographic skills, to her diverse community of creative and talented friends. Jill was also known and loved as a sensitive, giving, loving, and thoughtful person.

Jill graduated from Shaker Heights High School and then attended Wells College in Aurora, NY.  She moved back to Cleveland and developed, as Curator, a new department of Fine Art Photography at the New Gallery of Contemporary Art in Cleveland. She was a pioneer in introducing Photography to Cleveland patrons as an important art form. She brought many of the top photographers of the 80s and 90’s to Cleveland through a lecture series sponsored by the New Gallery, including Ansel Adams, Duane Michaels, Jerry Uelsmann, Abe Franjdlich, and others.  Jill also featured and supported local artists and photographers by exhibiting their works at the New Gallery. 

Jill was a nationally-known photographer in her own right, and was one of the first in Cleveland to create manipulated polaroid film from the negatives of photographed images.  Jill marketed her work online and through galleries, and some of her work was featured and available for sale at Ikea stores across the US.

Jill developed a very close relationship to videographer Cecila Condit in the early ‘80’s, and collaborated and acted in many of Cecilia’s videos, a new art form at the time. One of these short form videos produced by Cecelia, and acted by Jill, had an extraordinary rebirth 40 years later, and is still enjoying huge popularity with fans devoted to Jill.  The video has already had 13 million views.

In the mid 90’s after 20 years at the Gallery, Jill moved to Sedona, AZ to be closer to her family, and was active in the Sedona arts community.   She continued her pursuit of all things of beauty, her love of her friends and family, her photography, her classical piano, her sharing of her creative skills, her humor, and her love of life.