Leilani Nobuko Derr (she/her) is a visual storyteller and multidisciplinary artist who explores thought-provoking themes through playful illustrations, art, and design. Her inspirations stem from an interweaving of her hapa upbringing, love of collaborative public art, and admiration for artist advocacy. She studied graphic design and printmaking at Coastal Carolina University for her BA before moving to Colorado where she has resided since 2010. Leilani is an award-winning designer with over 15 years in the branding and marketing sector. She spent the past decade working with public libraries and collaborating with arts, education, and nonprofit organizations. These experiences and partnerships have continually inspired her path forward as an artist and reinforced her focus on meaningful storytelling throughout her work.

Images courtesy of the artist.

Virtual Studio Tours are 30 min interactive programs that explore local contemporary artist studios. Artists take viewers behind the scenes of their studio practice with insights into their processes, inspirations and artwork. Moderated by BMoCA’s Associate Curator of Community Engagement this Instagram Live series is an initiative to support local artists and give viewers the opportunity to take a closer look at art practices and ask questions to contemporary artists.