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Biography: 

Sisavanh Phouthavong-Houghton was born in Vientiane Laos in 1976 and at the age of four her family emigrated from Nong Khai refugee camp in Thailand to Winfield, KS. She earned a B.F.A (Painting) from the University of Kansas and an M.F.A. (Painting/Drawing) from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, IL. She is currently an Associate Professor at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN, where she teaches advanced level painting courses. In 2014, she won an MTSU Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Mrs. Phouthavong-Houghton's source material for research is autobiographical and stems from her personal experience and an observer of the everyday culture.  She is a multimedia artist using classical and contemporary techniques and materials.  Her work has been seen in national and international solo, juried, and invitational exhibitions throughout the U.S., Surinam, Belgium, France, Canada, and New Zealand. Most recently, Arts at the Embassy has selected her collaborative artwork with Jarrod Houghton for a permanent collection at Paramaribo, Surinam.   Her painting has hung on Gwyneth Paltrow's loft and been featured on Goop.com.  She has been published in Studio Visit magazine and has been recognized as a New Superstar of Southern Art by Oxford American.  Her research has been funded several times by the Tennessee Arts Commission and MTSU grants.  She has partnered with the Frist Center for the Visual Arts' Educator for Community Engagement; the Oasis Center; and CRIT, the Center for Refugees and Immigrants of Tennessee.