Laurie Harue Sumiye

Laurie Sumiye is a contemporary artist, animator and filmmaker whose work about Hawaiian endangered species explores the interconnectedness of nature, place, and humans through her multidisciplinary creative practice. She has exhibited her art in New York, Los Angeles, UK, Brazil and South Africa, and screened her films at DOC NYC, BAMcinemaFest and PS1 MoMA. Laurie was selected as an Artist-in-Residence at Blue Mountain Center (NY) and received its 2021 Harriet Barlow Commons Residency Award, Digital Artist Studios (N. Ireland), Sacatar Institute (Brazil), Artfunkl (UK) and Bishop Museum (Hawaii). She was awarded filmmaking fellowships with Sundance Institute/Women in Film, Firelight Media, Jackson Wild & UnionDocs Center for Documentary Arts. Laurie received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from CUNY Hunter College, BA in Art & BS in Communications from Bradley University, and studied art at Instituto Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence and Pratt Institute in New York and served as Assistant Professor of Film at University of Hawaii-West Oahu. Laurie's debut feature documentary, A PARADISE LOST received support from Pacific Islanders in Communications and Firelight Media, and nominated for Hawaii International Film Festival's top prize for emerging international directors.

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