Souphaluck Phongsavath
Souphaluck Phongsavath was born in Sayaboury Province, in the North West of Laos. Later her family moved to the South of Laos, near Savannakhet. After finishing Thakek Secondary School her aunt supported her to study art at the Secondary Fine Arts school in Savannakhet Province and then at the Lao National Institute of Fine Art, Vientiane. In 2011 Souphaluck was awarded a Bachelor of Fine Art.
Souphaluck is a full time artist who also supports herself working in the limited Vientiane art industry; as a gallery assistant at i:cat gallery Vientiane, running art classes and workshops, illustration commissions, short-term event’s assistant and art resource person initiating community projects.
During 2022 and 2023 Souphaluck has had the opportunity to work with Art Project Space - Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden - Luang Prabang: employed as a researcher for the project Women in Contemporary Lao Art & Culture Since 1975–now. First ever survey about women artists in Laos. Currently Souphaluck is organizing for Project Space workshops at the Art school in Savannakhet; eco-printing and charcoal production for art practice and drawing workshops. Both these workshops were suggested by Souphaluck as she was aware of the lack of opportunity for art students in Savannakhet.
Throughout 2022 Souphaluck set up a series of workshops with the Lao Disabled Women’s Centre potters. Her focus was to provide the potters with drawing and design skills to push forward decorating techniques. As the workshops were well received the opportunity to develop this further, with the Mekong Cultural Hub: Local Gatherings 2022, was taken up successfully in partnership with i:cat gallery and a group of visual artists. Souphaluck has plans to develop this further responding to the potters request to learn Lao decorative pattens; a complex technique.
Souphaluck’s commitment to community art projects began even before she graduated from art school. As a student she volunteered with community art projects. Souphaluck volunteered with the Zero 1 project in 2015 which brought together artists for public art projects. She worked with artists from Laos and Thailand for an exhibition fundraiser for people of Attapeu after a devastating dam burst in the south of Laos.
While working as an intern with Elevation Laos,Souphaluck initiated a clay workshop with the Lao Deaf school and a local Lao school. This is a project she would like to continue with as the students from the Lao Deaf school do not have access to art workshops.