Who We Are
Nikiko Masumoto
2016 IFTF Fellow
Organic Farmer/Agrarian Artist, Masumoto Family Farm
Born in the Central Valley of California, Nikiko Masumoto spent her childhood slurping over-ripe peaches on the Masumoto Family Farm (an 80-acre organic farm in Del Rey, CA). She has never missed a harvest. Through work with the land, leadership, art, and community involvement, Nikiko combines her passion for creative expression and storytelling with food, farming, and dreams for a just and equitable world.
Nikiko has earned degrees in Gender and Women's Studies from University of California, Berkeley and Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas, Austin. Her creative work is infused in her work on the farm and extends into the community. She serves on the board of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, California's folk & traditional arts organization, as a trustee of Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), and on the advisory board of the College of Arts & Humanities at California State University, Fresno. She is an alumna of WESTAF's Emerging Leaders of Color in the Arts program as well as a former fellow of National Arts Strategies in their Creative Community Fellows program for creative entrepreneurs.
Nikiko's most recent creative projects are focused on water & sustainable futures, and cross-generational cultural exchange. On many days you can find her on a tractor, dreaming of projects yet to be born and justice yet to be won.