Over the years, Columbus College of Art & Design student Maurielle “MJ” Cooper (Fine Arts, 2026) has shown her artwork in some impressive places. London. Paris. Milan. Spain. Luxembourg. Cooper was awarded a 2021 VSA Emerging Artist Excellence Award from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and her work is part of the permanent collection there. And now, her brightly colored abstract creations have a new home, on bags and backpacks in the limited-edition collection JanSport x Artlifting sold by JanSport, one of the world’s largest backpack manufacturers.
Artist transforms pain into beautiful works of art
Cooper, a Columbus native, has loved art—viewing it and making it—since she was a kid. And it was art that became a key component of her recovery when she fell ill with viral meningitis in 2018. The virus took her vision for six months, and left her suffering from chronic migraines for nine straight months. Cooper still experiences vestibular migraines as a lasting impact of meningitis, but she has found a way to transform the trauma of that illness and chronic pain into something beautiful, painting what she sees when she closes her eyes during a migraine. Cooper says her approach “is one of listening to myself and feeling what I want to make. Trees and the natural world inspire me.”
This painting was inspired by space. During a vestibular migraine all I can see is static with flashes of lights and various colors.”
MJ Cooper (Fine Arts, 2026)
Galaxy III by MJ Cooper © 2024 ArtLifting, PBC. All Rights Reserved.
ArtLifting, a social enterprise that creates access to the art market for artists impacted by disabilities and housing insecurity, recruited Cooper and formed the partnership with JanSport. Two of her acrylic paintings, Galaxy III and Garden Petals, were selected for the collaboration.
“We believe art is a powerful means to connect, communicate, and educate,” says ArtLifting Marketing Director Michael Korcek. “MJ’s beautiful abstract artwork is inspired by her lived experience as a young Black woman with disabilities. Her work is vibrant and often references what she sees or visualizes when having migraines related to her condition. This adds a powerful layer to her striking compositions.”
Cooper says she was excited to learn about plans for the JanSport-ArtLifting collab at the end of last year. Now, she says, it feels “surreal and exciting to see the final product.” Having artwork up on gallery walls is thrilling, of course, but with this partnership, her work and personal history are out in the world, where other young people—even kids—might see them and find encouragement.
It means so much that others could be inspired by my story and that my art is visible in a big way.”
MJ Cooper (Fine Arts, 2026)
CCAD Fine Arts student’s career blossoms
Cooper is one of three artists with work in JanSport x ArtLifting. Each “have visual styles and stories that resonate deeply with JanSport's Gen Z audience,” says Korcek. Cooper’s paintings adorn JanSport backpacks, lunch bags, and cross-body bags, including adaptive designs intended to meet the needs of people with disabilities. And that’s not all—each bag has a cloth tag inside featuring a line-drawing portrait of her and a brief bio.
Cooper, like other ArtLifting artists, receives 55% of profits from art sales and licensing royalties. ArtLifting directs an additional 1% of profits to the ArtLifting Community Impact Fund, which provides grants to artists and supports art supplies for community partners and studios where many artists work. Cooper, who has also licensed her work to Bank of America via ArtLifting, says the JanSport partnership “is helping to pay for college.”
ArtLifting artists range in age from 18 to 80+, and Cooper is unquestionably a standout for her age, says Korcek. “MJ is an incredibly talented and dedicated artist. Her commitment to her career is evident in her myriad accomplishments, exhibitions, and growing portfolio. MJ also serves on the ArtLifting Artist Advisory Board, where she helps to represent the ArtLifting artist community and advise on the future of our business,” he says.
Cooper’s career—art exhibitions around the world, lucrative licensing deals—are impressive for any artist, much less one still in college and dealing with chronic pain. But she isn’t slowing down. She says her next goal is to secure more licensing deals and have her bags in even more stores.
That shouldn’t be a problem. Cooper, Korcek says, is “thoughtful, driven, and talented—a combination that has served her well in her artistic career. MJ has a bright future and we couldn't be more proud to represent her and her artwork.”
Header image: Fine Arts student MJ Cooper shows off JanSport bags featuring reproductions of her acrylic paintings.
Learn more about Fine Arts at CCAD or apply here.
Follow MJ Cooper on Instagram, see her collection for ArtLifting here, and explore more of the ArtLifting x JanSport collaboration on JanSport’s website.
