Justin Olmstead is a contemporary painter and storyteller born in 1983 in Olympia, Washington, where he currently works and resides with his wife and young daughter. He is a lineal descendant of the Santa Ynez and Barbareno California Mission Indians (Chumash).

Justin earned his Bachelor of Arts in 2012 and Master in Teaching in 2017 from The Evergreen State College. He currently works as an art educator for the North Thurston School District. Justin also serves as a private consultant for the American Indian Health Commission (AIHC) with a focus on working with youth using Indigenous trauma-informed frameworks to support leadership development, promotion of healthy lifestyles, understanding brain development, and addressing concerns of Native youth in dealing with commercial tobacco, cannabis and other substances in their communities. He has worked with the AIHC for the last 13 years, which he began as a student intern supporting public health programs.

Justin explores traditional Indigenous concepts and ideas in a modern context. He dives deep into introspection throughout all of his work. His canvases weave lines through spirituality, theology, epigenetics, storytelling, racism, and historical traumas and triumphs, allowing a glimpse into Justin's personal generational clarity of lineage.

[email protected]
Olympia, WA