Kate Thompson
b. 1989∙ CE artist since 2011
Kate Thompson (b. 1989) is inspired by people. “I like to tell stories . . . I like to draw things where people are doing things, people on bikes, on buses,” she explains. An artist at Creativity Explored for thirteen years and counting, Thompson’s unique drawings depict collectivity and community. As the daughter of an artist, her eye for landscape and body language is one she has been training her whole life.
Thompson, a sensitive and reserved presence, conveys elaborate narratives and creates intriguing scenes of daily life through her distinctive line drawings with simple color palettes. Her work sometimes emphasizes individual characteristics like distinctive hairdos and ornate fashions, while other times, figures are more indistinguishable, conveying a collective populace. Despite the size of the crowd, you can almost always spot her teaching artist Victor in every scene, distinguished by his long, wavy hair. Her most recent body of work, inspired by daily readings of the New York Times, features expansive crowds of protesters holding up signs such as “Food Not Bombs,” “Free Rent,” and “Let’s Dance.”
Thompson has exhibited over thirty-five times, nationally and internationally in France and Belgium. Her work, Salsa Dancers, was featured on a CB2 pillow released in Fall 2013, and in 2015, Google selected Thompson's artwork to be featured on their prototype self-driving cars. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco and the Oakland Museum of California, among many others.
Select Exhibitions & Projects
2025
“Looks Like a Home to Me: Inside the Progressive Art Studio,” Los Angeles Public Library, LA, CA
“I Wish I Had A Window,” & Beyond Gallery, Oakland, CA
“Karl,” Levi’s Plaza, San Francisco, CA
Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY
2024
“Claiming Our Space,” Petaluma Arts Center, Petaluma, CA
“All Things in Motion,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“Versus,” Jonathan Carver Moore, San Francisco, CA
2023
“Into the Brightness: Artists from Creativity Explores, Creative Growth & NIAD,” Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
2022
“BODY WORK,” Sage Studio, Austin, TX
2021
“Mode Brut,” Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco. CA
2020
“Local Lens,” Rare Device, San Francisco, CA
2019
Outsider Art Fair, New York, NY
“6 Women of Creativity Explored,” Marriott Stanton Hotel, Miami, FL
“Cityscape,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“The Grand Finale,” Spark Arts, San Francisco, CA
2018
“Faces and Places in the City,” Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Library, San Francisco, CA
"From All Over the Place,” 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, San Francisco, CA
2017
“Flying Like a Rock,”, Pacific Northwest College of Art Center for Art and Contemporary Culture, Portland, OR
“Exposed,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“Black White,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2016
“Dance Party!” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“Fonds Duvel Moortgat,” MADmusée , Liège, Belgium
2015
“Tree of Life,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2014
“West Coasts,” Museum of La Creation Franche, Begles, France
“INK,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2013
“Introductions,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“San Francisco's Calacas: Day of the Dead,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2012
“Are We There Yet?,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
“Parallel Visions,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2010
“Tiger Leaping Gold Mountain,” Creativity Explored, San Francisco, CA
2009
“Pro Arts Annual 2,” ProArts at Oakland Art Gallery, Oakland, CA