​Artist Shelley Bruce . Interdisciplinary visual artist, founder, and poet, Shelley Bruce (they/she) is a 4th generation, Black Los Angelino, dedicated to creative expression, spirituality, and wellness, informing their community organizing. For nearly 20 years, Shelley has performed poetry at hundreds of shows, directed nonprofit organizations, and organized social justice programs throughout Southern California and internationally; notably, The Getty Center & Villa, the Skirball museum, the Culture List, and Frieze Art Week. They are the founder of grassroots movements, Day of Healing as well as BIPOC cultural production company: The Heart Dept, which maintains a central focus on wellbeing for all people through compassion-centered, sustainable movements. Through community events, arts programming, and conflict resolution frameworks, The Heart Dept has produced 300+ events, serving over 30k+ individuals and collaborating with 50+ facilitators and 40+ organizations. Shelley’s commitment to rejecting gatekeeping by making the arts accessible has created an inspirational legacy of Black communities forging interdependent ties to support their material realities.