About the Artist

Joanna Hallstrom is a portrait painter, illustrator, and designer in Minneapolis, MN. She creates in her studio at the Traffic Zone Center for Visual Art.

Joanna’s art education began in her father’s rural Minnesota illustration studio where she would watch her father paint for hours while they listened to the radio together.

Access to the articles and stories her father was illustrating fostered a deep love for people and culture besides art. Hallstrom moved to Chicago to study social justice, cross-cultural communication, and ministry; integrating art into her life and practice whenever possible. She spent her early career working with newly arrived refugees and doing neighborhood organizing and development work.  

Hallstrom embodied her artistic interests by going back to school to study communication, art, and design at Alexandria Technical and Community College. She graduated with honors and a fresh energy to work as an artist.