Bentrice Jusu is a Liberian-American contemporary artist, firefighter, and activist. Illusions, metaphysics, and community are the themes that connect all of her diverse pieces. Jusu uses a variety of mediums, including sculpture, painting, music, and poetry, as well as augmented reality, to ask her viewers powerful and thought-provoking questions.
She explores the topics of identity and purpose, urging viewers to consider where they come from, where they're going, and who they're taking with them. Her work is often somber in subject matter, but she uses vibrant colors to illuminate the silenced and censored voices of her hometown, Trenton, NJ.
Her work is featured in the permanent collection of the Phillip and Caroline Hanes Gallery in North Carolina, and has been shown internationally at the Zanzibar International Film Festival, SACI Italy, and the Brooklyn Museum. She has also performed her original works, as well as those of Alice Walker from the book Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart, at the Brooklyn Museum.
Jusu was endorsed by The Kresge Foundation for her work on “The Potential Project,” which was spotlighted on NPR and PBS News, demonstrating the connection between art, service, and recovery. Jusu currently serves on the board of the Trenton Arts Fund and the Cross Communities Foundation. She is currently working on illustrating her book Art of Becoming.
