Valerie Piraino is a contemporary artist who works mainly in sculpture, drawing and instillation. She was born in 1981 in Kigali, Rwanda and raised both in her home country as well as in the United States. Her art reflects her transnational identity and includes themes like defining the many aspects of identity as a whole, anti-colonialism (or anti-imperialism), African diaspora, and ancestral identity and memory. She has been the recipient of over a dozen awards and residencies, and has been featured in over thirty exhibitions in eight state and at least three countries.