Heidi Grace Acuña

Together

Drypoint, paper lithography on Chinese paper

"This piece is a hand-stitched collage of individually printed butterflies native to various Asian countries. Predominantly, the Appias phoebe butterfly from Mount Talinis, Negros Island, Philippines, symbolizes my own support for other Asian ethnicities. The variety of color combinations represents the diversity of individuals. 'Together' was made in response to ongoing Anti-Asian violence."

— Heidi Grace Acuña

About the artist

Heidi Grace Acuña

American

Heidi Grace Acuña (they/she) is an artist who “creates to live” for their mental health, for their communities, and to honor their ancestral calling. Born in Federal Way, Washington to immigrant Ilokano-Filipino parents, and raised on O'ahu since one year old, Heidi felt disconnected to a true sense of home and belonging. Now, Heidi makes art that finds the beauty in the multiplicities, imperfections, and expansiveness of identity, culture, gender, and home. Heidi’s dimensional works in ceramic sculpture, textiles, painting, illustration, printmaking, and photography reveal anxiously curious, and deep investigations of universal human experiences, which are inspired by the diverse tropical colors of her island homes, living in diaspora, and the need for connection.

Heidi has exhibited their multidisciplinary works in Seattle, Philadelphia, Bellingham, Tacoma, and O'ahu. She is a published artist whose work is part of the North Seattle College Permanent Art Collection. In 2022 they received the Edwin T. Pratt Scholarship and had their first solo show (LUSH) at Western Washington University. As a teaching artist they have worked with Bellevue Arts Museum, Gage Academy, The Feels Foundation, and Tacoma Sunday Market.

Heidi is a founding member of the QT arts collective, House of Kilig (HOK), who is a 2023 Precipice Fund grant recipient from Portland Institute for Contemporary Art and the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Heidi holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts and Art History minor from the University of Washington and an AA in English from North Seattle College. Heidi lives and works in Seattle with their partner and two bulldogs, Kodak and Carmella.