Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, Rachel Brewer grew up in a diverse community where one would say the minorities are the majorities, which has allowed her to appreciate and adapt to different cultures easily. It is also what helps her produce art. However growing up in a society like that, she had become color blind. It was not until 2010 when she move to Tempe, AZ that she really began to understand how race is affected in different states. In March 2012 Rachel traveled to Shreveport, Louisiana to visit her grandfather, and while down there she had the opportunity to meet his friend Ms. Thelma. She instantly linked her to characters from the books she had read as her actions, the way she spoke, and her personality, was all of stereotypical old black southern women. Thelma had become her gateway into exploring the African-American south. With the help of the friends she has made back west, those she has made for the north, and now of the south, Rachel takes what she has experienced, heard, and read, and creates art as a form of demonstrating and documenting to people what African American history is about (past and present). Without forgetting her roots, she also includes different cultural references through ethnicities such as the Asian and Hispanic to use in religious and political ways. Rachel believes her art can help open people’s eyes to what it means to be Black in America, not just what is seen commercially.
Graphic Artist and Printmaker 