Lois Harada

9066

Letterpress print

"Lois Harada utilizes text and the medium of the poster to tell her family’s story of incarceration. She takes inspiration from propaganda printed and distributed by the United States government and prints with type and equipment similar to that which would have created the original works.

Much of her work is based on her family history and identity as a Japanese American citizen. Her paternal grandmother was interned from 1942 to 1945 in Poston, Arizona and it was a subject that was not discussed. Through interviews with other family members and research, Harada is investigating her grandmother’s experience and the greater history of racism against Asian Americans."

– Lois Harada

About the artist

Lois Harada

Lois Harada is an artist and printmaker working in Providence, Rhode Island. She studied printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and settled in Providence after graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2010. She works at DWRI Letterpress, a commercial letterpress printshop where she also prints her own work. Harada utilizes text and the medium of the poster to tell her family’s story of incarceration — her paternal grandmother was interned in Poston, Arizona from 1942 -1945. She takes inspiration from propaganda printed and distributed by the United States government and prints with type and equipment similar to that which would have created the original works. Harada has exhibited her work across the United States and internationally.

Her work is included in private collections as well as the RISD Museum. Her practice is bolstered by residencies and she just completed a five-week stay at Anderson Ranch in Colorado in the spring of 2022. She recently finished a seven year term on the board of New Urban Arts, a nationally recognized free, arts drop-in program. This year, she started a second term as a City Commissioner, and first as Chairperson, on the Art in City Life Commission serving the city of Providence. She has also rejoined RISD to teach two courses, a Portfolio Projects class in the Printmaking Department and a Pre-Press and Risograph course in the Graphic Design Department.