Saira Crawford is an artist and art therapist living and working in Los Angeles. She was born in 1986 and grew up painting, sculpture, writing and using mixed media to shape her identity. Her B.A. in Journalism was received from San Francisco State University. In San Francisco she worked as a freelance writer for SF Weekly, Citysearch, and SF Magazine. After moving to Los Angeles in 2010, she attended the Graduate program for Art Therapy at Loyola Marymount University.
In 2012, Saira was awarded the CFA scholarship for art therapy. She was a recipient of the MFT State Consortium Stipend Award, in 2013 for providing therapeutic services to culturally diverse populations. Saira currently serves as the Southern California Student representative, bridging the gap between professional art therapists and students. Her recent exhibitions include an art instillation, “We Miss You Already,” at Upstairs at the Market Gallery and a performance piece named “Transference,” at Artist Speak. Saira is currently finishing a research project on art making as a way of stress relief, identity formation and clinical understanding.