Sophie Brussaux is a woman in charge of her own destiny. She is an artist, mother, feminist, humanist and adventurer. Sophie Brussaux is more than the mother of a rapper’s first born and an artist who paints bright, surrealist portraits of other famous people. It’s clear the second you meet her, enraptured in conversations and ideas for the past, present and future.
Sophie Brussaux is an only child. She was born outside of Paris, France, and describes her background with humility and apology as one of privilege. Her father was a hard-working breadwinner with ambitions of being an engineer. Her mother was a doting housewife and poured her heart into raising her.
As a young woman, art was something that existed unconsciously in every fibre of her experience. Her mother, an accomplished artist herself, encouraged her to take ballet and tap, gymnastics and jazz dancing. Together they did pottery, worked with beads, knitted and embroidered.
Brussaux’s life plan was simple: she wanted to get out. Education was crucial, so she studied for a degree in business and moved out at the age of 18. She also fell cripplingly in love and got engaged. At 21, after she finished studying in France, Brussaux moved to the UK, then to the US. The second she stepped into New York City, the American dream captured her.
Between the ages of 21 and 25, Brussaux was struggling to make ends meet, so she wound up working as a bartender at a club. Starlets was its name, and it gave her a steady source of income. The work at the club gleaned connections for her all around the world, starting with the art world. She’d work a few nights a week back then to bring in money, but in tandem she discovered painting in a very serious way. Brussaux saw an opportunity to tell stories with her canvas and open doors she’d always wanted to walk through. She sold her first painting to her friend Busta Rhymes. She then moved to Milan. She fell in love. She continued to jet set. Her travels eventually led her to Dubai.
Brussaux successfully developed educational programs for young artists and co-founded Arts Help, meant to develop meaningful projects and drive social change. She has since left Arts Help in order to focus on her own impactful arts, including eco-friendly NFTs and creating new ways to help artists all over.
Brussaux briefly studied the ethics of AI at MIT to understand how to integrate technology with art. She painted Icons With A Purpose, which debuted at Design Exchange museum in Toronto, during which she highlighted iconic people who use their platforms to make the world a better place. She received a UN Habitat award as a result. Brussaux has been involved in humanitarian initiatives such as World Habitat Day at City Hall, the Urban Economy Forum in Toronto and UN Global Goals. Meeting the Pope for Third World Day of the Poor was the icing on the cake. Her work focuses on encouraging us to reconnect with empathy. For herself, for her son Adonis, for their new life.
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