You may not know who Johanna Toruño is, but chances are, you’ve probably seen her artwork on street corners around Bushwick, Ridgewood, and even Manhattan. Who is she? Johanna Toruño is honest—blatantly so. But, she’s also humble. And that mix of characteristics has led her where she is today—to starting The Unapologetically Brown Series, a street art series all about making space for the representation of people of color.
Toruño herself knows this issue firsthand, having immigrated from El Salvador to Virginia before she was ten years old. And her roots in El Salvador serve as inspiration for her art: she grew up surrounded by streets full of art, much of it guerrilla art. “I’m just used to that, and I think messages should be on the street,” she said.
As an activist and an artist, Toruño has always noticed the underrepresentation of people of color, especially in the media. That’s what led her to start Unapologetically Brown.
