ARTIST STATEMENT
My practice operates at the intersection of art, design, history and culture. I use creativity to explore place, memory and collective experience. I work across painting, mixed media, digital art and installation, blending traditional processes with contemporary techniques to make layered visual narratives rooted in personal stories and shared cultural histories.
Landscape is central to my work. It is how I understand the way environments shape identity, movement and belonging. My background in landscape architecture, environmental design and visual art shapes how I look at the relationship between people and place, through texture, material and spatial composition.
The name Ijeomalandartscapes begins with "Ijeoma," an Igbo word from Nigeria that means "a wish of happiness or a safe journey in life." It is the spirit I bring to the work: helping people, communities, groups and small businesses find their way, whether that is through a piece of art, a shared space or a conversation about what comes next.
My work invites people to pause within everyday spaces and reflect on how creative expression can honor history while imagining what is possible next.
ARTIST BIO
Stephanie Onwenu is a Detroit-based landscape designer, visual artist and educator. Her work explores the intersections of art, design, history and culture, with recurring attention to identity, place and belonging.
She is the founder of Ijeomalandartscapes LLC, where she offers creative consulting, art and design to communities, groups and small businesses making original art and installations. She uses creative storytelling and design to challenge norms, experiment with materials and transform spaces with intention and meaning.
Stephanie holds a Bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture with a minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies, and a Master's degree in Environmental Design, both from Michigan State University. That training sits beside her art practice, which blends art, design, modeling and natural materials to create immersive experiences.
Her recent work includes the solo exhibition Living Layers: Living, Layered, and Restorative (closed August 6, 2026), a Resident Teaching Artist role with ProjectArt Detroit (2023 to 2024), Their Untold Stories: Black Landscape Architects Michigan Connection exhibition (Detroit Month of Design, September 2022) and the Englewood Nature Trail Project Model (June 2021).
