Megumi Shauna Arai (b. 1989) lives and works in New York City. She is interested in points of encounter, practices of embodiment, enfolding and unfolding aesthetics and the material and immaterial as interconnected. She has an interdisciplinary BA in Sociology, Embodiment Studies, Political Science and Mysticism from the CUNY Unique and Individualized Studies Program. Selected exhibitions include American Stories: Artists' Books from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, (Washington D.C. upcoming 2026) The Tongue is the Child of the Heart, Nina Johnson Gallery (Miami, 2026); the host, the guest, ATLA Gallery (Los Angeles, 2026); Sinew, Koki Arts (Tokyo, 2025); Immanent Infinite, Object & Thing (New York, 2025); Summer Arrangement, Object & Thing at LongHouse (East Hampton, 2023); Madoo, Object & Thing (Sagaponack, 2022); At The Noyes House, Blum & Poe, Mendes Wood DM and Object & Thing (New Canaan, 2020); Lore: Reimagined, Wing Luke Museum (Seattle, 2018) and Midst, Jacob Lawrence Gallery (Seattle, 2018). Recent residencies include Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library, Headlands Center for the Arts, Commons / Oppes and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Pedagogical collaborations include Abrons Arts Center x School of Making Thinking, Powerhouse Arts, The Museum of Modern Art, Golden Monkey Trading Company, Field Meridians and The Mothership Tangier. Arai has given artist talks at Asia Art Archive in America, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library, Topical Cream, Montez Press Radio, Parsons School of Design, Wing Luke Museum and Henry Art Gallery. Her work has been featured in BOMB Magazine, The Here & There Collective, Topical Cream, Architectural Digest, The New York Times and Impulse Magazine among others. Arai’s work is in the collection of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.


CV available upon request