Individual Artist Fellowship in Mural Arts Recipient: Elisheba Mrozik

By Krishna Adams, Director of Visual Arts, Craft, Media, and Design –

Memphis native and Nashville resident Elisheba Mrozik has been awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF) in Mural Arts by the Tennessee Arts Commission. IAFs are awarded annually to recognize and acknowledge outstanding professional artists living and working in Tennessee who, through their work, add to the state’s cultural vitality.

A multidisciplinary artist with a focus on community engagement, Elisheba Mrozik’s motto is  “Fine art with community focus.” Her work explores themes of identity, culture, and history through various mediums, including murals. Her art challenges, celebrates, and redefines the Black experience, while also serving to educate and empower through narratives on racial identity. With over 15 murals in Nashville alone, Mrozik is often found transforming walls and perceptions with her paint, brushes, rollers, and spray cans.

Mrozik’s early talent for art was recognized by her kindergarten teacher, who suggested to her mother that she pursue art classes. As a teenager, a student foreign exchange trip to Japan further shaped her life and artistic direction. It was during this time that she began creating murals. Mrozik explains, “I always liked murals because they were large and public. They can affect many people and have impact in a larger way. Creating murals gives artists a chance to share a message that can start to change perspectives and mindsets.”

After graduating from Memphis College of Art in 2006 with a BFA in Computer Arts, Mrozik moved to Nashville and opened her own tattoo business on Jefferson Street in 2011 with just $3,000. She hired a female tattooist to complete her training and became the first licensed Black tattooer in Middle Tennessee later that year. The success of her tattoo business has provided her with the financial security to pursue other artforms, including murals, paintings, public art installations, and textiles.

Mrozik has received numerous awards and unique opportunities throughout her career. Notably, in 2010, she created murals at events with the Goo Goo Dolls in Buffalo, NY. In 2015, she was named Indie Ville TV’s Nashville Tattoo Artist of the Year. A year later, she appeared on the eighth season of the TV series Inkmaster and published her first coloring book, Notable Nashville, featuring unique and remarkable Black men and women with a connection to Historic North Nashville. In 2018, she released another coloring book, Sovereign Goddess, followed by Nashville Strong in 2020. In 2020, she was also named one of Nashville’s Emerging Leaders, an award recognizing young professionals under 40 for their accomplishments and community contributions.

Mrozik plans to use the IAF award to start an ambitious project titled 4C. “Through a series of monumental abstract sculptures crafted from silicone, I will invite participants to immerse themselves in an interactive experience that redefines perceptions of Black hair and its significance. These sculptures, ranging from 4 to 15 feet in height, serve as both a celebration of the resilience of Black hair and a catalyst for meaningful change. ‘4C’ is a descriptor of the texturization of Black hair on a scale created by Oprah Winfrey’s hair stylist. 1a is the thinnest straightest hair while 4c is the thickest, kinkiest, coiliest on the scale…This award will help with the cost of materials and fabrication of these sculptural pieces. I believe that this project will be a catalyst for my career.”

Artists considering applying for the IAF grant this fall should, “Apply and think about what category you are applying for; find the best fit. If you don’t receive the competitive grant, ask for feedback, keep working on your goals, and apply again. Artists often shy away from applications. Use your words to explain what your artwork is and does. Convey what you’re trying to do and what your work means,” advises Mrozik.

Murals, paintings, and installations created by Mrozik have been on view in Nashville at the TSU Hiram Van Gordon Gallery, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Vanderbilt Divinity School, Corvidae Gallery, NKA Gallery, National Museum of African American Music, Frist Art Museum, Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Fisk University, Centennial Arts Center, Boheme Collectif, and other venues. Just last year her work was exhibited in Crafting Blackness 100 Years of Black Craft History in Tennessee, a traveling exhibition from East Tennessee State University’s Slocumb and Tipton Galleries in Johnson City, TN.

Her work is in collections, including the National Museum of African American Music (mural), Vanderbilt University (mural), and Studio Bank at Nashville Public Radio (paintings), Postmates (painting), Pinnacle Bank Metro Nashville (paintings and sculptures), and Crossroads Campus (25 pieces of art).