Tarrah Aroonsakool
[Image description: A photo of Tarrah, an Asian female artist with short hair, sitting in her art studio, framed by a rich brownish-red velvet backdrop and surrounded by her painted fabric canvases in striking hues of deep red and light pink.]
Tarrah Aroonsakool (she/her), is a San Diego-based, second-generation Thai and Lao queer multidisciplinary artist. Expanding beyond traditional methods of painting to create large-scale mixed media sculptures and installations, her mediums include concrete, wire, cloth, and paper. Through these found materials, her art challenges social structures, celebrates countercultural rebellions, and explores unique identity narratives.
As an artist and arts educator, Aroonsakool is passionate about bringing art into underserved communities. She has collaborated with the City Heights Community Development Corporation to install public sculptures in low-income neighborhoods and taught at non-profit organizations such as Anna's Arts for Kids, where she led after-school programs for children. At Project Lazarus, she served as the program art coordinator, offering creative support for individuals living with HIV and AIDS. Currently, she teaches incarcerated individuals through Project PAINT, a prison arts initiative, and runs a studio space that provides mentorship and resources to queer artists.
Aroonsakool received a Bachelor's degree in Studio Art from Loyola University. With over ten years of experience, her work has been exhibited locally at the San Diego Art Institute, the Athenaeum Art Center, The Hillstreet Country Club, and The Front Arte & Cultura Gallery; nationally at Birds Nest Gallery in New Orleans; and internationally at Psicosis Art Gallery In Mexico City.
Read about her work on HereIn: