Julia Cocuzza

I am a Brooklyn-based painter, muralist, designer, printmaker, and teacher. Born and raised in Reading, Pennsylvania, I earned my BFA from Syracuse University in 2003 and MFA from Brooklyn College in 2011. In addition to my fourteen years as a working artist in NYC, I currently work as an adjunct lecturer and program administrator for the City University of New York and co-founder of Griot Apparel, a clothing line that celebrates the art of storytelling through portraiture. My art is deeply influenced by city life, social justice, human interaction, music, memory, and obsolescence. I use dissolving forms, layered colors, broken lines, and chopped narratives to reflect the density and fragility of daily living. My personal and professional passions meet at the intersection of art, education, and social engagement. I believe mural art is the concise expression of all three and a visual means of political agency and cultural celebration. In 2012, I completed an apprenticeship with Mural Arts Philadelphia. 

After assisting on numerous projects across NYC and Philadelphia, I was hired by Groundswell as a Teaching Artist in 2015. Here I have collaborated with a range of youth, from elementary school children in Queens, to middle schoolers in the Bronx, to incarcerated men and women on Rikers Island. These experiences, particularly the projects I have led on Rikers, have been truly transformative. This combination collaborative art making and community outreach inspire me to no end and there is no other work I’d rather be doing.