Donna Backues has a BA in Studio Art from Southern Illinois University and an MFA from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and an MA in Urban Studies & Community Arts from Eastern University, PA. She lived for 18 years in Indonesia raising a family and working in grassroots community development. Currently residing in South Philadelphia, Donna has been awarded residencies through the Philadelphia Art Museum’s Delphi Art Futures & Art Partners program, Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts, and Spiral Q. In 2013 Donna won first prize in the American Batik Design Competition and in 2014 she was awarded the Art & Change Grant by the Leeway foundation and the NewCourtland Fellowship in 2017. Four of her paintings are in the Philadelphia Convention Center’s permanent collection. Her murals can be seen in Philadelphia, Camden NJ and in Leeds, England.