Raised in the deep South, Raina’s experience with the living past through storytelling and reenactment is extensive. Whether it is through painting, installation, video, writing, sound, or collaborative projects, her work investigates narrative through a poet’s lens. Raina Benoit received her BA from Louisiana State University in Liberal Arts and minored in Creative Writing (1999). After living and working in New York City she continued her studies in France at the Atelier des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (2001) where she studied in painting and drawing. She completed her MFA (2006) at the University of Arizona and for close to a decade has lived and researched along the South Eastern U.S coastline. She lives between France and Louisiana where she currently works on the project space, The Creative Refuge
Selected exhibitions and performances include Mass Moca (North Adams, MA), 1134 Gallery (New York, NY), Ad Hoc Gallery (Brooklyn, NY), Platform Gallery (Tucson, AZ), Deland Museum of Art (Deland, FL), 911 Media Art Center (Seattle, Washington), The Morean Art Center, C. Emerson Art Gallery (St.Petersburg, Fl), Antenna Gallery (New Orleans, La), and various other international and national entities.
EDUCATION
2006 Master of Fine Arts, University of Arizona, Summa Cum Laude,Tucson, AZ, Painting/Drawing
2001 Atelier des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France, One Year Study Painting/Drawing
1999 Bachelor of Arts, Louisiana State University, Magna Cum Laude, Baton Rouge, LA, Liberal Arts Painting/Drawing