I’m Avi Loud, a photographer and multi-disciplinary artist from Seattle, WA. I come from a family of teachers and artists and was raised in a multi-cultural household. Since I was young, I knew that I wanted to work in the arts. My first extra-curricular mentors introduced me to the world of hip-hop specifically through the breaking scene, which opened my eyes to new levels of creativity, expression and community. Experiencing the relationships between artists and community forging through shared energy deeply impacted and inspired me.

After taking a few film photography classes in high-school, I knew that I wanted to pursue photography as a career. As I was beginning to work with local music acts, I enrolled in the Commercial Photography program at the Seattle Central Creative Academy. During my time there, my focus began shifting towards shooting fashion and working with local clothing designers. While still in school, I began my first internship and job as a photographer at the skate boutique, Alive & Well. At the time, the local fashion scene wasn’t as established nor did it represent the diversity I saw in my own communities, so it became a part of my purpose to help fill that gap.

As my photo work picked up, I needed a studio to work out of. After working out of a gallery in Belltown, 2312 Gallery, I joined and subsequently began running a photo-studio in Capitol Hill. Because of the rapidly gentrifying area, the need to carve out affordable art-space for lower income and minority-background artists became much more important. At the same time, I had also joined a communal sewing studio, collaborating with local designers on garments and pop-up experiences. This culminated in the forming of the Prototype Sessions collective, which was an intersection of our love for music, art, design and communal experience and a reaction to a void in the nightlife and youth culture.

Getting into deejaying was finally a way for me to start building a foundation for my musical endeavors and participate in the hip-hop tradition. Similar to my approach with photography, it was my intent to spotlight and collaborate with underrepresented artists, aligning with like-minded folks interested in uplifting their communities through music, dance and shared experience. Having spent a lot of time playing and recording music with my brothers Aaron and Ariel over the years, I felt it was only natural that I begin to work on my own music production. I feel blessed and lucky to be able to have a career in the arts, where I can connect and align with others and make work that inspires people to do the same.