LILY KALOUSTIAN
New York, NY
2024-2025 Scholarship New York Academy of Art
Lily Kaloustian is pursuing a BFA from New York Academy of Art. She was born in New Orleans, where her parents’ owned a gallery and practiced art until Hurricane Katrina uprooted her family. They moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to reopen their gallery. “As a kid, that gallery was a kind of sanctuary and I got a very raw view of the inner workings of the art world,” she says, crediting her time in the gallery for her continued interest in curating and desire to sell her work.
At the age of twelve, she moved back to New Orleans. “I started painting with oils then and set up an old portable easel in different spots to do live painting and sell my art to tourists,” says Kaloustian, whose home was the French Quarter. It was around this time that she discovered YAYA, further fueling her passion for art.
After graduating from Willow School in 2022, she moved to New York City, where she honed her skills through a year of oil painting and live model study courses at Art Students League. Following her time in Manhattan, she embarked on a self-funded artist residency, spending two months traveling the West Coast. “I reflect on the desert of New Mexico, the swamp of New Orleans, and the city of New York,” she says. “I’m inspired by the various terrains, trees, and overall experiences in the world.”
Lily Kaloustian first joined the YAYA Guild in 2018.