Monica J. Brown is an interdisciplinary artist exploring the intersections between visual art, sound, movement, poetry, prose and performance. Her work is concerned with the stories that we choose to tell ourselves about our origins. Our identity can be shaped by the mythology upon which we base our existence, and the subsequent labels we choose or are given. The stories of our personal history which live in our bodies and the stories of our ancestry which we carry in our DNA can also shape the way in which we view the world and our place within it. Her work is also an investigation of genetic memory and generational healing: gathering the stories from the past, knowing them, and sharing them as a means to healing learned dysfunctional patterns as well as embracing inherited strengths and gifts.

Her visual art has been displayed at the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, GA., M. Hanks Gallery in Santa Monica, CA., and the Indianapolis Art Center. She has also exhibited widely throughout Chicago, including the DuSable Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Hyde Park Art Center. She has exhibited internationally as part of an artists’ books show entitled Identity, Place & Text at Jiujiang University in China. She created two murals with the Hubbard Street Mural Project in Chicago, and one in Detroit as part of the Detroit Neighborhood Arts Project (DNA). Her artwork was published in Woman Made Gallery’s Her Mark: a journal of art + poetry 2009. She has been the recipient of the Weisman Award, Illinois Arts Council’s Grants, and several grants from the Chicago Dept of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE). She received a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles; and a MA from Columbia College Chicago. Monica has performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Prop Theatre, Chicago; and the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport, IA.