Gili Rappaport (they/them) is a New York-born artist, writer, educator, and naturalist, raised between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. They earned a BA in American Social-Political Movements from Washington University in St. Louis in 2010, then pursued graphic design. Under apprenticeship with naturalist Laura Chávez Silverman, Rappaport developed profound connections to observation and wilderness, influencing their art practice.
Recipient of an MFA in Contemporary Art Practice: Art & Social Practice at Portland State University School of Art + Design ('24), Rappaport's interdisciplinary, socially engaged work has garnered recognition in exhibitions at The Front Room at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Content 2024 at The Society Hotel, Assembly 2024 at Lloyd Center Mall, The Arlene Schnitzer Prize Exhibition at The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at PSU, Making Earth Cool at Parallax Gallery, as well as The New York Times, Reuters, and Willamette Week. Notable publications include They Call Me The Mayor at Riis Beach: Ralph’s Beach Parties 1994—2000 (Anthology Editions), I See What You See (KSMoCA), and Field Guide To The Northeast Volumes I—III (The Outside Institute). They are also founder and artistic director of their press green flash projects. King School Museum of Contemporary Art (KSMoCA) and PSU Special Collections and University Archives hold their work in public collections.
In 2025, Gili will open their first solo show at the Multnomah Art Center in partnership with Urban Forestry at Portland Parks & Rec. They will also exhibit work in group show Subject:; which will travel throughout the Pacific Northwest to Umpqua Valley Arts, the Chehalem Cultural Center, Pendleton Center for the Arts, and the Newport Visual Art Center. Gili is lead instructor for the inaugural spring 2025 Amber Hollibaugh Seminar in the City, co-sponsored by CLAGS: The Center of LGBTQ Studies at CUNY and the Barnard Center for Research on Women.
Gili is queer, nonbinary, and of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. They reside in Portland, Oregon where they collaborate on site-responsive projects, and research the bonds between making art and caring for the land.
Portrait by Seth Caplan, 2024.
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E-mail gili@gilianrappaport.space
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