Alexandra Bowman

We like things defined. Race. Education. Sexual orientation. We like to figure people out and put them in boxes that we store away for future reference. It’s human nature to define and categorize.

But growing up, Alexandra Bowman didn’t fit neatly into any box. She wasn’t so easily placed in a category. Her mom is white and her dad is black which makes her brown. The only space on school forms for Alexandra was “other.”

Other is a very confusing place to rest.

So Alexandra turned to art: to navigate her way through her otherness and help her find her identity.

Alexandra went to art school in Chicago but moved back to California when her dad was diagnosed with cancer. She cared for him until his death. After he died, she made art. For him.

Today, when Alexandra isn’t working her 9-5, she’s an illustrator. She draws all kinds of pictures, many of them women of color who are artists, writers, activists, and leaders. She “ focuses on ways to celebrate the female and illustrate her as a focal point of the community and social movements.”

Now Alexandra uses her art to show the world that “other” is beautiful and everyone fits. 

“When I didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to or when I felt like I didn’t have anyone that could relate to me I felt like I could relate to myself through my drawing.”