About

Akiko Surai (she/they) is an artist, writer and administrator working in San Diego, California. Surai explores memory, interconnectivity, and inheritance through diverse studio, research, and curatorial projects. Her current work investigates the body in its endless capacity for adaptation and change.

Surai earned her Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art with honors and distinction at San Diego State University in 2011, completed graduate work at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2013, and holds a specialized certificate in museum studies with an emphasis in contemporary art. Outside of traditional studio arts, Surai has a passion for tattoo culture and history. She maintains a tattoo practice and was invited to participate in Lee Mingwei’s Living Room Project at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 2014 where she designed and presented a correspondence project exploring tattooing as a contemporary craft and art medium.

Surai is the resident writer and historian at the Hill Street Country Club in Oceanside, CA. They served as contributing editor of contemporary art practice for Fabulously Feminist Magazine and recently finished editing an 800-year survey of art history for international collector Matthew Strauss. Surai has worked in education and engagement with the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and at the San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery. She is affiliated with the Rising Arts Leaders of San Diego, Emerging Museum Professionals, LOUD collective, and the Feminist Image Group, she envisions an art world connected by community and critical discourse.