Starting this season, Seattle Rep is offering the Bagley Wright Theater gallery wall as free gallery space for local artists. The art presented is meant to enhance your experience of the show while highlighting and supporting a local artist. Check out our featured artist for Shout Sister Shout!, Rae Akino.

About the Artist: Rae Akino

Seattle based, self-taught visual artist. What began as a coping mechanism for depression and anxiety became a lens to examine and understand the world. Being closeted, a slave to others' expectations, and losing one of the most important people to their existence caused a mental, emotional, and spiritual paralysis. The need to escape turned into isolation, until they were encouraged to draw their way out of it.

Influenced by music, theater, literature, film, life, people, etc., the DC native uses bold colors and expressive form to explore identity, sexuality, Afrocentrism, spirituality, mental health/awareness, consciousness, and self. Centering the viewer into an emotional, mental, and spiritual connection with themselves opens the door to endless possibilities. Awakening desensitized emotions lead to the questions that spark conversations.

Artist Statement

Living in a society where boxes and labels are a way of life forces one to hide and resent the parts of themselves that are not accepted.  

Never being strictly one thing or another fostered the realization that “I am all things” “We are all things.”

Telling stories that are unheard or undervalued gives greater meaning to any work.

My objective is to make the viewer connect and think outside themselves or what they know to be true.

To see beyond the pretty picture on the wall.

CONTACT

To contact the artist about purchasing their work, visit raeakino.com