Yuko Okabe (she/they) is an illustrator and cultural worker playing at the intersection of youthful whimsy and community engagement.  Research and engagement drive her creative community work. Working in collaborative and interdisciplinary modes continually expands her understanding of the artist’s role in civic engagement, as well as the integral role creative thinking plays in processes and decision making to imagine a better world.

She holds a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Fellowships include RISD’s Maharam STEAM Fellowship with the Boston Children’s Hospital, RISD’s Leadership and Community Engagement Fellowship with DownCity Design, Enterprise Community Partners Rose Fellowship with North Shore Community Development Coalition, and the Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists. Okabe’s work has received recognition from the Society of Illustrators NYC, Society of Illustrators LA, Creative Quarterly, and 3×3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration. Collaborators include Big Cartel, Hester Street, Dunamis Boston, Isenberg Projects, Utile, Design Studio for Social Intervention, The New York Times, and Light Grey Art Lab. For children’s books, she’s represented by Andrea Morrison of Writer’s House. Okabe is a proud auntie and an amateur oatmeal influencer @yukoats.

www.ykook.art
@ykook.art on Instagram

Photo by Bob Packert