Emma Sulkowicz is an American artist and performer of Japanese-Chinese-Jewish descent who lives and makes art in New York City. Sulkowicz graduated in 2015 from Columbia University and was a studio artist at the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program. Known for the endurance performance work Carry That Weight (Mattress Performance), for which Sulkowicz spent their senior year carrying a mattress around campus as a public demonstration and institutional critique of the University’s handling of rape, their more recent works include Ceci N’est Pas Un Viol, an Internet-based participatory artwork, and Self-Portrait (Performance With Object), their first solo gallery show, which responded to the media’s sensationalization of sexual violence and their assault. The Healing Touch Integral Wellness Center extended the artist’s in-depth research on issues of social interaction and public conversations about rape. Sulkowicz's awards include the National Organization for Women’s Woman of Courage Award (2016), the Susan B. Anthony Award (2014), the United States Student Association’s National Student Movement Builder of the Year Award (2015), and the Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. Magazine’s Ms. Wonder Award (2015).
