Rae Threat is a multi-award nominated queer Thai-American artist, photographer, filmmaker, and activist renowned for reshaping cultural stereotypes and challenging conventional norms. Her bold, alternative approach to photography and art consistently uplifts underrepresented communities, amplifying voices often overlooked in mainstream discourse.
Currently, Rae serves as the Head of Creator Outreach at APClips and has been a pivotal member of the BIPOC Adult Industry Collective, contributing as part of its grantmaking committee. She also works with Sundayfaire, an adult industry community outreach and event organization. Additionally, Rae was an Artist Collective Leader at Level Ground, a Community Partner for Streamate’s Elevate Program, a curator and producer for Failed Films Art and Film Festival, and was honored as XBiz’s Woman of the Month in October 2024.
Rae’s impressive portfolio includes #TheUntitledBodyProject, a 3D gallery show and event she developed during her 2018 artist residency at Level Ground. The exhibition featured panels with speakers from the underrepresented adult industry community, providing a powerful platform for voices often overlooked in mainstream discourse.
Her work has also been featured in Duke University Press’s Transgender Studies Quarterly: Trans Pornography (Spring 2020), the season two premiere of Epix’s Sex Life docu-series, Nico Tortorella’s Space Between The Sheets, and in LA Weekly as an adult industry event photographer.
As a photographer and producer, Rae was the first to spotlight adult industry performers in Mishka’s skatewear lookbooks (Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014). Other notable projects include photographing Fleshbot’s iconic photoset featuring genderqueer icons Jiz Lee and Stoya (2011), photographing Mad Decent Records’ first fashion lookbook with Skrillex and Diplo (2014), and a design collaboration with Actual Pain Clothing featuring Kimberly Kane as a model (2013).
Rae’s work has been showcased internationally, from L.A. and San Francisco to Turkey, Vienna, and Berlin. Her first curated art show, “ALT to the ALT”, featuring prominent adult industry artists Eon McKai, Kimberly Kane, Carlos Batts, and Steak Mtn, was a highlighted exhibit with Month of Photography LA (2011). Her street photography with GroupLA was highlighted at the 2009 LA ART Show and exhibited at San Diego’s Lafayette Hotel (2013) before becoming a permanent fixture in USC Library’s archives.
As an activist filmmaker, Rae’s projects tackle complex issues, from documenting Thailand’s Trans activists and their pursuit of equality to co-producing the Bye Felipe / Change.org video campaign advocating to help end unsolicited dick pics on the internet and exhibiting in a collective art show advocating for sex workers’ rights at SOMArts in San Francisco.
Grants Awarded:
2020 United State Artists Fund
2020 Women’s Center For Creative Work Artist Fund
2018 Level Ground Artist-in-Residence
Speaker Events:
2025 TBA, SXTech Conference (Berlin, Germany)
2025 Creator Platforms: The Latest Trends, XBiz L.A. (Los Angeles, CA)
2024 The Importance of Creator Platform Relationships, Venus Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
2024 The Role of Representation in Adult Media, Virtual Panel (beyondsexwork.com)
2024 Radical Acts of Caring, XBiz Miami (Miami, FL)
2019 The Effects of Racism in Media, Los Angeles Public Library (Expo Park)
2019 Framing Agnes: Q&A Presentation, Los Angeles Public Library (Expo Park)
2019 Queering Experimental Art Panel, Los Angeles Public Library (Expo Park)
2019 #grlcvlt Body Image Panel, Space15Twenty, Los Angeles
2018 Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Past Exhibits:
2024 Failed Films Art Show, Los Angeles (Press Release)
2023 Failed Films Art Show, Los Angeles
2019 Failed Films Art Show, Los Angeles
2019 “Self-Center” (Art Installation), Evidence Film Studios, Los Angeles
2019 #grlcvlt Body Image Solo Art Show, Space15Twenty, Los Angeles
2019 Thicc Strip, Los Angeles
2018 #TheUntitledBodyProject 3D Art Show (Solo Art Show), Unit C, Los Angeles
2017 Failed Films Art Show, San Francisco
2017 “59”, Space 15 Twenty, Los Angeles
2017 Level Ground Film Festival, Pasadena
2017 “We’re Still Working: The ART of Sex Work”, SOMArts, San Francisco
2016 Failed Films Art Show (Fall), San Francisco
2016 “Queerly Beloved”, El Rio, San Francisco (Part of SF Pride Week)
2014 Permanent Collection (Group SC), Huntington Memorial Library, Pasadena
2014 LGBT Dynasty, Gallerie Sparta, West Hollywood
2014 Solo Exhibit, Private Island, Los Angeles
2013 Lafayette Hotel, Art Installation (GroupSC), San Diego
2013 Moviemento (Berlin, Germany)
2013 “TPCC”, ArtshareLA, Los Angeles
2011 “VEREIN FÜR POLITISCHE KUNST”, Palais Kabelwerk (Vienna, Austria)
2010 Brief Space, The Metreon, San Francisco
2010 “Autumn Lights”, Pershing Square, Los Angeles
2010 “L.A.ndscapes”, Los Angeles Center for Digital Arts, Los Angeles
2010 “GroupSC”, Gallery Skart, Santa Monica
2010 “Trade Show”, Zirrat Bankasi Gallery (Ankara, Turkey)
2010 FADA LA Art Show, LA Convention Center
2009 Isik University Gallery, Turkey Bienniel Art Fair (Istanbul, Turkey)
2009 “LA as Subject” Permanent Archive Collection, USC Library, Los Angeles
2009 “GroupLA”, Gallery Skart, Santa Monica
Curated Shows:
2011 “ALT to the ALT”, Show Cave, Los Angeles
Select Clients & Tears:
Actual Pain Clothing
Adult Video Network
Aorta Films
Coachella Magazine
Comedy Central
CrashPadSeries
Erika Lust Cinema
Fleshbot
ForPlay Films
Gawker Media
GBY Beauty
LA Weekly
Mad Decent Records
Marie Claire Magazine
Mishka NYC Clothing
Mixmag Magazine
Out Magazine
Play It Down Records
PUNY Entertainment
Richardson Magazine
Royal Fetish Films
Streammate
Sundance Film Institute
Urb Magazine
Wicked Pictures