Em Sixteen was born in 1978 in New Jersey and moved to New York City in 1997. In 2001, she received her BFA from Parsons School of Design in Fine Arts and her BA from Eugene Lang College in Writing and Sociology. She will receive her MFA in Studio Art from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts in 2009. She has also studied Integrated Media Arts in Hunter College’s MFA program and printmaking at the School of Visual Arts.

Em is dedicated to addressing classism, racism, and gender issues through her writing and art. She works in a variety of mediums, including digital art, drawing, video, writing, and printmaking. She currently teaches drawing, video, and graphic design to undergraduate students at Rutgers and to high school students in New York City. Em has been as graphic designer and webmaster for ten years, working both fulltime and freelance. She spent several of her primitive years as a community art educator and counselor for adults and at-risk youth tin the city.

Em is interested in exploring difference and human connection through the personal stories told in her art. The riot grrrl, zine, and punk movements were strong influences to her early work and gender, racism, and sexuality are important issues in her current body of work. She emphasizes working on art with her friends and community. In this spirit, she is co-editor and designer for riffRAG, a political art magazine in print and online that showcases the work of emerging artists and writers.