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Bushra Junaid

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Biography

Bushra Junaid is a Toronto-based artist and illustrator of African and Caribbean parentage. She was born in Montreal and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. Known for her vibrant collage works, Junaid illustrated Nana's Cold Days (by Adwoa Badoe, Groundwood Books, 2002). Junaid has shown her work in venues including Painted City Gallery, the Framework Foundation Timeraiser, the Marilyn Brewer Community Space and Galerie Céline Allard. Nana's Cold Days was included in the Globe and Mail's list of top Canadian picture books for Christmas 2002 and the original collage works from the book are in the Toronto Public Library's Osborne Collection. Junaid has traveled widely in Africa and the Caribbean. She is a strong proponent of community art and has led workshops with children, youth and adults.

Artist's Statement

I am particularly interested in the arts, culture and history of the African Diaspora, themes that I often explore in my work. Growing up in a culturally-homogeneous environment with limited exposure to representations of people who looked like me inspires me to depict black people, through my art, in the full range of their humanity. My work shows people who are most often seen only through the stereotypical lens of commercial images. I use different media and techniques in my art, and employ bold line, colour, shade and shadow for their expressive power. The charcoal drawing shown here is from a series of pieces that depict black men from youth to old age.

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