Reina Kashima is a Japanese American visual artist, upcycle designer, and founder of Courage2Cre8, Inc., a veteran-founded nonprofit arts organization dedicated to creating connection and community through accessible public art, artist support, and creative placemaking. Her interdisciplinary practice explores identity and resilience, shaped by cultural duality, military discipline, and a lifelong pursuit of belonging and healing.

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Born in Chicago and raised between North Carolina and Japan, Kashima navigated early experiences of harassment in the U.S. for being Asian and bullying in Japan for being American. These experiences shaped her understanding of hybridity and the “in-between,” themes that later define her work. She found refuge in creative expression during high school, studying music, sewing, and visual art, and earning top honors in regional competitions.

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At age 19, she enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, beginning a 20-year career that took her around the world. She retired in 2023 as an Operations Specialist Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8) and received the Meritorious Service Medal for exemplary leadership. In her final years of service, she returned to art, channeling her story into bold compositions influenced by hip hop culture, fashion, and third-culture identity.

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Now based in Atlanta, Kashima works full-time as a visual artist and upcycle designer. Through Courage2Cre8, she is building her curatorial and community-arts practice, designing exhibitions, public art activations, and creative programs that promote empowerment, belonging, and healing through shared creative experience.