Trae Harris is an artistic shapeshifter, born in  Baltimore, bred in Brooklyn and now based in Los Angeles, whose work moves fluidly across poetry, performance, film, and esoteric mysticism. Trae’s creative practice centers on amplifying the stories of queer women of color across the Americas, exploring the intricate intersections of identity, memory, and migration. Guided by an instinct for uncovering hidden truths, Trae crafts work that bridges the personal and the collective, inviting audiences into narratives that challenge, transform, and reimagine.

Trae’s journey as an artist began with storytelling through performance, debuting as a teenager on HBO’s critically acclaimed The Wire. Since then, their path has been shaped by bold, dynamic roles that traverse the landscapes of film, theater, and television. Trae starred in the Sundance feature Newlyweeds (2013), Naomi Wallace’s searing play And I and Silence (2014) at New York’s Signature Theatre, and Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black. Their work in the award-winning short films Hair Wolf (2019), which won the U.S. Fiction Award at Sundance, and The Vacation (2022), recipient of Sundance’s Directors Award, showcases versatility and depth that breathes life into richly layered characters.

As a filmmaker, Trae’s vision is expansive, blending speculative storytelling with visceral emotion. Their solo performance piece, Detachment (2015)—a meditation on release and selfhood—was later adapted into a short film collection by the same title. Trae has also written the feature film It’s Always Sunni and the TV series Down in the Gullah, crafting worlds that pulse with vibrancy, imagination, and unique cultural specificity.

Beyond the screen, Trae’s visual arts practice deepens their creative dialogue. They have illustrated narrative coloring books for youth and adults, designed graphics for musicians and community projects, and created art for children’s literature. These works are driven by a commitment to accessibility, joy, and storytelling as a form of connection.

In 2020, Trae released the poetry chapbook Hindsight, a lyrical exploration of love, loss, and resilience in their own life. This marked an evolution in their creative journey, leading to the co-founding of A Love Supreme, an innovative arts incubator dedicated to experimental publishing and collaborative storytelling. While A Love Supreme is a cornerstone of Trae’s practice, it reflects a larger commitment to the printed word and how it’s shared, centering voices too often left in the margins.

Trae’s artistry has been recognized with numerous accolades, including a 2020 Rubys Artist Grant, a Maryland Arts Council Grant, and a 2022 Sundance Episodic Intensive Fellowship. Their creative reach extends into commercial modeling, partnering with brands like Adidas, Calvin Klein, Carol’s Daughter, and Shea Moisture, embodying a boundary-breaking spirit that informs every aspect of their work.

At the heart of Trae’s practice is a profound curiosity about the human experience. Their poetic, cinematic, or visual art is an offering—a bridge between what has been and what could be. Trae invites audiences to step into spaces of complexity, transformation, and wonder, finding beauty in stories that honor both the familiar and the extraordinary.