The Tonsorium Bar Mural

Jean Bradbury

Jean Bradbury was born in Scotland in 1963 and spent her childhood in rural eastern Canada. She earned her BFA from Queen’s University in Ontario and studied illustration at Seattle Central Community College.

She has been recognized by UNESCO for her work teaching art and natural dyeing to rural women in the Middle East in a project she funded and established in 1999. In 2013, she began her organization “Studio Syria” to bring art education to Syrians living as refugees in Jordan.

Jean received 2018 GAP Award funding for her project On-My-Head. In-My-Heart, an ongoing exploration of clothing as language. She paints people wearing garments of importance to them and incorporates interviews with the portrait subjects into the installation. The interviews describe how the item they wear on their heads expresses what they hold in their hearts.

Jean was selected for the mural located in The Tonsorium Bar.