ARTIST:
Brandan “BMike” Odums, Studio BE (2016)
Brandan “BMike” Odums is one of New Orleans’ most recognized visual artists and culture bearers of the last decade, whose murals have become iconic symbols of the city’s post-Katrina identity and resilience. He founded Studio BE in 2016, a 35,000-square-foot gallery space in the Bywater neighborhood that has drawn visitors from across the country and become one of New Orleans’ defining cultural landmarks. His work has reached far beyond the city: he has collaborated with major brands and organizations including Nike, Cadillac, Red Bull, Starz, Spotify, Bleacher Report, Complex, and Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, and his public murals have appeared everywhere from Palestine to New York City’s Times Square. As a speaker, he has lectured at Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, and Tulane, among others. The piece featured on this cover was commissioned from Odums in 2016 as a personal graduation gift — a work by one of the most influential artists of his generation, now marking a full-circle moment on this Changemaker issue of UMOJA Magazine.
