Lila Alexis Thomas

Lila Alexis Thomas (she/they) is a Seattle-based figurative painter and educator from Southern Louisiana. Rooted in community, Black and queer joy, rest, and the deep, unspoken understanding that comes from gathering together, Lila’s work captures moments of intimacy, connection, and ease. Their paintings offer a counter-narrative to the historical erasure of Black and queer identities in Western art, centering the Black figure in spaces of tenderness, sovereignty, and belonging. Lila earned their BFA in Drawing and Painting from Nicholls State University. 

Lila’s an Artist in Residence at Actualize AiR & their work has been featured in Seattle Art Fair, Actualize Gallery, ARTS at King Street Station, Hometeam Gallery, Hologram Gallery, Koplin Del Rio, Geheim Gallery, Forest for the Trees, the Richard E. Peeler Art Center at DePauw University, Inscape Arts, Manifest Gallery, North Seattle College Art Gallery, Behnke Family Gallery, Gage Academy of Art, Lilith Pole Studios, and Inside Studios. 

Lila is curating and will be included in a group exhibition at ARTS at King Street Station titled This Room Is Ours: Centering the Black Figure. The exhibition features six Washington-based artists presenting figurative works that center the Black body in moments of joy, stillness, ease, and sovereignty. The exhibition opens with a public reception on June 4, 2026 and runs through July 18, 2026.