Juju Ishmael (b.1960, Kansas City, MO) received a BFA in Painting from Kansas University, Lawrence, in 1983, during which time she organized and launched KU annual juried undergraduate shows. Her photography and performance-environmental art documentation were exhibited at Scissors Paper Stone Gallery in 1982. 

She was a visual artist fellow resident at Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center 1986-87 and soloed at the Walker Gallery during her residency. Her work was included in the Boston Art Fair exhibition in 1987. 
During a creative sabbatical in the southwest U.S, her work was shown in Jerome, Arizona 1989 - 1990. She participated in group shows in Lawrence, KS in 1991 and 1992. In 1992, she worked in set design, in conjunction with the graduate theater program at Kansas University. 

1993 - 94, Ishmael was involved with Chameleon Theater through experimental performance and theater. She launched her own performance-art pieces in 1993, weaving mythology with personal history. Upon moving to Seattle in 1996, she worked in theater tech and staging with Seattle Improv Company.

​After a hiatus from painting, she took classes at Gage Academy, Seattle, from 2016-17. In 2020, she took part in the CoCA member show and was included in the 2022 Seattle Design Fair with CoCA members. She has recently shown her work locally and in online exhibits. Juju Ishmael lives and works in Seattle, WA.