Akiko Kotani, born in Waipahu, Hawaii, received her BFA in painting from the University of Hawaii and her MFA in Textiles from the Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA. Now residing in Gulfport, FL, she spent her former years as Professor of Art at Slippery Rock University, PA, and at Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Awarded prestigious awards throughout her career, most notably are the 2010 Creative Development Grant from the Heinz Endowment and the Pittsburgh Foundation to present her 2013 Pittsburgh Artist of the Year Exhibition at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, PA. Recently named 2019 Artist Laureate by Creative Pinellas, Largo, FL where she now serves as a Member of the Creative Pinellas Board of Directors.
Her work is in the permanent collections of several private and public museums including the Cleveland Museum of Art, OH, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY. She is represented by Leslie Curran Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL.
