Brandy Fortune, a North Philadelphia born artist, created her first large-scale public mural as part of the Soil & Soul Art Initiative. Installed at 18th and Cumberland , the very block where she was raised. The mural honors her grandmother, Emma Fortune, a revered community matriarch who served as a mother figure and leader to generations of neighbors. Placed directly beside Emma Fortune’s home and Brandy’s childhood house, the mural transforms a long-disinvested corridor into a site of memory, pride, and healing. Through this work, Fortune gives back to the community that shaped her, using art as an act of restoration, legacy, and love.

Bossed Up Canvas For Change

The name “Bossed Up Canvas for Change” tells a story of empowerment, transformation, and healing through creativity. It reflects the belief that every person and every neighborhood, can become a canvas: a space for growth, beauty, and purpose. To “boss up” means to take agency in painting your own future, owning your voice, and rewriting your story through art.

The BU Rose Experience

Explore The Rose Collection

Smell Your Rose Collection

Smell Your Roses is more than a design, it’s a movement, a reminder, and a moment of reflection. In a world that often moves too fast, we forget to pause, appreciate, and express love while we still can. This collection was created to encourage mindfulness, gratitude, and the simple yet profound act of giving people their flowers now, not later.

The front of this design reads, “May I have my flowers before the end”. A powerful reminder to give and receive love while we’re still here. The back reads, “Smell your roses,” calling us to slow down, be present, and honor life in real time.

This concept was created to inspire us to love loudly and intentionally. Let’s not wait until someone is gone to express gratitude. I challenge you to stay alive in spirit, to embrace your own roses, and to pour love into life while you’re here.

So tell me, who would you give a rose to today?