Biography

Michele Tuohey was born on April 24, 1966, in Miami, Florida. From the time she was very young she was immersed in ballet, music, art and nature. The daughter of a Cuban mother and an Irish father, her cultures and upbringing shaped her into the person she is today. Her mother taught her to love music, to dance and to honor the beauty in our environment. Her grandmother taught her to appreciate the creation of art and performance. And, her father, in his later years, taught her that the ultimate love is unconditional.

All of these influences are what Michele draws from in each of her paintings. She studied theatre at the University of London's Westfield College in 1986 and in 1988 received her Bachelor of Science degree in Performance Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In 1995, Michele received her Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law with a focus on international human rights and violence against women in 2000. Having experienced art censorship firsthand, Michele is outspoken about issues concerning free expression and the rights of artists. She was awarded a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Visual Arts CAAP grant from 1991 to 1994 and has won critical attention in numerous publications and articles. Her work has been included in many exhibitions in the United States and she has appeared in several performances in the U.S. and London.