YUKO OKABE

In response to the special exhibition, Betye Saar: Heart of a Wanderer, Yuko Okabe designed an art-making activity where visitors were invited to create their own accordion books taking inspiration from works in the Museum’s permanent collection.

Yuko Okabe (she/they) is an illustrator and cultural worker playing at the intersection of youthful whimsy and community engagement.

Okabe's practice as a multifaceted creative encompasses experience as a teacher, facilitator, illustrator, and co-creator of projects exploring narratives of journey and the future. In all of their work, Okabe champions themes of inclusivity and future-building narratives. As an illustrator, their depiction of people and architecture establishes a world with boundless potential for different bodies, languages, and philosophies to flourish.

Okabe 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. They have been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, Walkaway House, Pao Arts Center, and Urbano Project. Okabe’s work has received recognition from the Society of Illustrators NYC, Society of Illustrators LA, Creative Quarterly, and 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration. Collaborators include Big Cartel, Hester Street, Design Studio for Social Intervention, The New York Times, City of Boston Arts and Culture, and Light Grey Art Lab. For children’s books, they're represented by Andrea Morrison of Writer’s House. Okabe is a proud auntie and an amateur oatmeal influencer @yukoats.