About the Artist

Teruko Nimura preparing for the Ground to Sound installation of her Upstream Together work.

Teruko Nimura is a Tacoma-based interdisciplinary artist whose work explores memory, cultural identity, ecology, and the power of collective creativity. Through community-centered installations, interactive experiences, and public art, Teruko invites people to reflect on their relationship to each other, their heritage, and the environment.

Born in California to a Filipina mother and a Japanese father, Teruko draws from her multicultural background to shape projects that honor both tradition and transformation. Her early experiences, including a formative visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial as a child, continue to influence her belief in the ability of art to inspire healing, action, and deep emotional connection.

Her recent work as the Environmental Services Artist in Residence for the City of Tacoma (2024–2025) has brought that vision into public space. In this role, she has collaborated with youth, schools, and community members to create projects that raise awareness around sustainability, creative reuse, and climate justice.

Among her notable recent projects:

Upstream Together: A large-scale temporary installation using handmade koinobori (Japanese carp streamers) crafted from reused shopping bags and featuring papier mâché dragons created in collaboration with Tacoma’s Science and Math Institute. The project centers youth voices and environmental stewardship.
Extended Family Table: A pop-up event and installation reimagining how we connect across cultures and generations through food, art, and storytelling.
Entangled: A temporary public sculpture made from woven plastic netting and produce bags, evoking a massive spiderweb to represent interconnectedness and environmental urgency.
How Are You?: A community engagement project asking participants to reflect on the simple but profound question of well-being, shared through hand-written signs and photo documentation.

While her past work often involved textiles, Teruko has increasingly focused on reclaimed materials—emphasizing how art can serve as both message and method for sustainability. Whether crafting delicate, ephemeral works or leading hands-on workshops, her practice consistently centers care, connection, and creative agency.

Teruko lives in University Place, WA with her family. When she’s not making art, she’s likely organizing a workshop, building a dragon with local youth, or thinking up the next way to bring people together through creativity.