Grand Rapids artist Jasmine Bruce graduated in 2018 from Grand Valley State University with her Bachelor in Fine Arts in Illustration. Her work includes themes of healing through creating, Blackness, femininity, spirituality, mental health, and liberation. Through her illustrations and murals, Bruce strives to tell the untold stories of those around her, sending a message of connectivity, harmony, and peace. Inspired by illustrators like Ben Shahn she believes, “one of the most important things we can do as humans is to participate in society to better the human spirit as a whole, if you aren’t participating, then what’s the point?”

Bruce’s passion for amplifying voices goes beyond her own canvases but deep into the Grand Rapids community as well. In 2020, a peaceful protest in support of Black Lives Matter was disrupted, resulting in some causing damage to local businesses and property. Many buildings had to cover their windows with plywood. Seeing the plywood as blank canvases, local artists came together to support the community through a project called “Windows GR.” Bruce, along with other artists part of Free Alchemy Studio, helped advocate for the amplification of local Black artists and artists of color to express themselves using the project as a platform. The art addresses systemic racism and injustice while cultivating messages of equality and freedom of speech directly from the creative perspectives of Grand Rapids artists. Since then, pieces from the project have been acquired by local institutions such as Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Aquinas College, and, proudly, Grand Valley State University.

Explore more artwork by Jasmine Bruce