Mayuka Thaïs (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, voice over artist, art educator, and edutainer.[1][2][3] She is known for her role as a bilingual singer and actress on the popular children's program Shimajiro.[3][4][5][1]
At the age of 10, Thaïs won the Tokyo Metropolitan Government art award.[3] In 2007, Thaïs's painting of a life-size Asian Elephant was exhibited at the Palos Verdes Art Center as part of a group show The Circus Comes to Town curated by Scott Canty.[25][26][27]
Activism
On December 13, 2006, when Thaïs was an art student at Otis College of Art and Design, she took her painting of an elephant in captivity to a town hall meeting to lend her voice to discuss conditions of elephants in captivity.[28] In 2007, Thaïs released her first independent single When Elephants Cry on YouTube to help raise awareness of the plight of Elephants in captivity.[29][30] She was asked to perform this song at the Comedy Store for a recognition dinner of high-profile celebrities including Jorja Fox, comedian Lily Tomlin and former Los Angeles City CouncilmanTony Cardenas and current Congressman.[2] In 2014, she was asked to march for the Global March for Elephants & Rhinos in San Francisco and to sing her song Tusks & Horns at the United Nations Plaza with her producer Geoff Levin on guitar.[31][32][33][34] In 2015, she went on her Tusks & Horns tour and toured Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kagawa, and Tokyo, Japan. She gave hanga artworkshops for children, art students, and families in hopes of raising and spreading awareness of the plight of endangered Elephants & Rhinos. She also joined in the march for the Global March for Elephants & Rhinos in Tokyo.[35][36]
Peace song for Hiroshima
In August 2015, Thaïs performed her song Yamayuri no Kimochi for the 70th war memorial in Hiroshima at the Akioota International Music festival.[37] The song was a collaboration between Thaïs for melody, lyrics by the children of Hiroshima, lyrics made into poetry by poet Arthur Binard, piano by Scott Nagatani.[38] The song has become the official song to commemorate the annual war memorial for the Akioota International Music Festival.
Art and music non-profit collaborations
Music
To help disadvantaged youth find their own voices, Thaïs worked with the non-profit program Youth Speak Collective students in the San Fernando Valley to cultivate their songwriting skills for Rockband 101. Drummer and percussionist Billy Hawn joined in to help teach, inspire, and arrange music for the students.[39]
Art
To help raise awareness of the plight of Asian elephants, Thaïs collaborated with a non-profit organization Elemotion, to paint a life-size baby Asian elephant with the students from International School of the Sacred Heart.
[40]
Television
In 2016, Thaïs was one of the two finalists on Skin Wars: Fresh Paint episode 2, hosted by RuPaul. A spin-off of the popular TV series Skin Wars specifically for artists who have never body painted before.[41]
