Jerushia Graham

'Speak to My Heart No. 1' - figurative - black & white - cut paper - embrace

2024

Based in Atlanta, Jerushia Graham creates works straddling different media, including printmaking, book arts and fiber arts, but the most important aspect of her art is human interaction. Rather than outlining a full narrative her works are fragmented, implied narratives which invite the viewer to become collaborators and engage in quiet meditations about the physical world around us. Viewers are encouraged to provide their own impression of the moments before or after the images that are presented. The images she creates reflect on the ways in which we communicate with one another (i.e. body language, misunderstandings, unspoken understandings) and how we nourish our souls (i.e. quiet meditation, laughter, friendship, craft, recreation). She strives to create work that feels simple and honest, utilizing limited palettes and chosen media: papercuts, woodblocks, quilting, sewing & knitting. These are materials and techniques that are accessible to a wide social-economic group, can be utilitarian as well as artistic, are very tactile, and often feature a repetitive quality that is soothing. It is also essential to her work to honor and acknowledge her perspective as a Black Southern woman with a global outlook. Graham, a working artist, is also the Museum Coordinator for the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. She exhibits both nationally and internationally. In addition to her curatorial efforts at the Paper Museum, she is the VP of Exhibitions/Curatorial for the North American Hand Papermakers. Graham has also been a guest curator for the Zora Neale Hurston Museum in Eatonville, FL and The Hudgens Center for Art and Learning in Duluth, GA. She was previously the Education Director for Atlanta Printmakers Studio as well as a book arts/papermaking/print professor for Kennesaw State University, and a foundations professor for the University of West Georgia, and the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur. Prior to her work in Georgia she served as the Museum Director and Education Coordinator for Spiral Q, an arts and social justice non-profit. In 2019, she was nominated in the category of Artistic Excellence for the inaugural Hammonds House Honors. Graham was one of five artists selected by the GA Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts exhibit at MOCA GA, Paper Routes: Women To Watch 2020. Several of her papercuts traveled the state of Georgia in an exhibition sponsored by the Georgia Museum of Art and Lyndon House Museum, Highlighting Contemporary Art in Georgia: Cut and Paste. She earned an MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, and BFA degrees in Fabric Design and Printmaking from the University of Georgia in Athens. Graham is interested in creating spaces for socially-minded introspection and empathy through her artwork, workshops, and curatorial projects.