Elysha Rei - Japanese Australian Artist
Biography
b.1986 Saudi Arabia | Lives and works on Yaggera and Turrabul Land, in Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia
Elysha Rei (pronounced eh-lee-sha ray) is a Japanese-Australian artist that explores narratives of cultural identity, site-specific history and environmental elements through paper cutting and public art. She has a Bachelor of Visual Arts from USQ (2008), a Masters in Business Administration (2018) and is currently undertaking a PhD at QUT exploring how Nikkei Australian identity is archived through contemporary paper cutting arts practice. Rei has created and exhibited work, curated exhibitions and managed cultural spaces across Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Netherlands, Thailand and the US. She founded the international artist residency program, Sam Rit Residency in rural Thailand in 2014, and co-founded the Artist-Run-Initiative Made Creative Space Toowoomba from 2011-2013. She has been an invited artist in residence for Museum of Brisbane, Artspace Mackay, and Barcaldine Arts Council. In 2018 was the recipient of an Asialink Arts Creative Exchange in Japan. She has public artworks in Brisbane, Toowoomba and Warwick, and artworks in the collection of the Westin Brisbane, Brisbane City Council, Warwick Regional Council, Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery, QIC and the University of Southern Queensland. From February to April 2023 Rei was artist in residence in Victoria BC, Canada, as part of the Past Wrongs Future Choices global project. In 2022, Rei became the inaugural Chair of Nikkei Australia.
Upcoming in 2024
- Until 11 February - work in the Linden Postcard Show, 2023-24, Linden New Art, St Kilda, Australia.
- Until 1 May 2024: The Strength in Sixty Sakura, commissioned installation at Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto.
- 11-14 April: Panel presenter in the Organisation of American Historians 2024 Conference on American History, New Orleans
- 25-28 April: Panel presenter in the Association for Asian American Studies Conference, Seattle
Artist CV:
elysha_rei_artist_cv_jun23_2pg.pdf |