معرفی
Naoco Wowsugi is an Art Professor at American University's College of Arts in Washington, DC, where she teaches courses including ARTS-235 Artist's Perspective: Video Art, ARTS-245 Artist's Perspective: Digital Photography, and ARTS-475 Expanded Photography Studio. As a first-generation immigrant from Japan, she has established herself as a prominent community-engaged artist whose work examines belonging and inclusive community building through cross-disciplinary approaches.
Wowsugi received an MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and dual BFAs from the Kansas City Art Institute and Osaka University of Arts in Japan. Her educational background in both Japanese and American art institutions informs her unique perspective on cultural exchange and community engagement.
Wowsugi's research interests center on community-engaged art practices that explore the intersections of nature, culture, and social justice. Her work often incorporates bioregionalism—the study of how nature affects local cultures—and investigates themes of belonging through portrait photography, participatory performance, sound healing, and horticulture. She creates platforms for community dialogue around food justice, immigrant experiences, and emotional processing, with a particular focus on how marginalized communities navigate urban spaces and cultural transitions.
Her artistic output reveals a consistent exploration of community building through unconventional intersections—punk music with urban farming in 'Permacounterculture,' language learning with portraiture in 'Thank You for Teaching Me English,' and sensory experience with food justice in 'The Umami Taste Development Center.' These works demonstrate her commitment to creating participatory experiences that address social fragmentation while fostering connection through shared rituals and practices.
- The Surf Point Foundation Residency (2022)
- Oak Spring Garden Foundation Residency (2022)
- Wherewithal Project Grants from the Washington Project for the Arts and The Andy Warhol Foundation (2022)
- The Rauschenberg Residency (2017)
Wowsugi actively mentors emerging artists through programs like Transformer's Exercises For Emerging Artists (E16), where she provides guidance to DC-based artists exploring video as a medium for socially conscious commentary. Her community-focused approach extends to collaborative projects such as 'Empathy Zone,' which connected artists in Washington, DC and Beijing to address challenges faced by immigrants and marginalized groups during the pandemic. She has secured significant grant support from organizations including The Andy Warhol Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts' Creativity Connects, and Washington Project for the Arts.
Her work often involves collaborative community spaces like 'The Umami Taste Development Center' and 'Permacounterculture,' which functioned as greenhouse-venues where sound waves from punk performances nurtured wheatgrass that was then converted into wheatgrass shots for the community. These projects demonstrate her innovative approach to creating interdisciplinary spaces where art, ecology, and social practice converge to address contemporary urban challenges.
