Rachel Rader (she/her) is an artist and educator based in Richmond, Virginia. Rachel creates work that derives from her love of material exploration and her investigation of the enigmatic. In her current project Ancient Truth Investigators, she creates jewelry and sculptural objects that are central to the ongoing narrative delivered by the alter-egoes she personifies during her performances. Rachel is devoted to sharing her passion for the Craft materials that she utilizes in her work by teaching across the country. She has taught at institutions including Arrowmont School of Crafts, Pratt Fine Arts Center, Penland School of Crafts, UrbanGlass, and the Visual Arts Center.
Rachel holds a BFA in Crafts + Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. She was a 2017 resident artist at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC as a part of the Artists’ Studios Program, and the recipient of a 2016 CGCA Flexible Fellowship at Wheaton Arts in Millville, NJ. She has shown her artwork in various galleries and museums including Alma’s RVA Gallery, The Brooklyn Metal Works Gallery, The Bullseye Gallery New York, Heller Gallery in NY, NY, Quirk Gallery in Richmond, VA, The Racine Art Museum in Racine, WI, The Society of Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Norfolk, VA and The Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR.