Bio
Royal Sumikat is a multidisciplinary artist born in the Philippines and currently based in Houston. Their work moves fluidly across installations, murals, and spoken word poetry, weaving together vibrant juxtapositions of color, texture, and concept. Through these contrasts, they create visual and narrative spaces that invite curiosity, introspection, and connection.
As a queer migrant and priestess, Royal draws deeply from the intersections of their identity, channeling mythology, ancestral wisdom, and personal storytelling into their art. Their practice is a bridge—between past and future, seen and unseen, tradition and innovation—offering a glimpse into worlds that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Curriculum Vitae
Media & Publicity
Artist Statement
In the days of our ancestors, storytelling was a form of community building—sharing space through oral tales and creation myths, shaping worlds with gestures and symbolism, breathing life into each other by the fire.
Now, as a modern-day ancestor, I build upon that foundation. My art is an offering, my workspace an altar, my tools talismans. In times of uncertainty, they have provided me with protection, solace, and magic.
Much of my work explores portals—thresholds where time, identity, and reality blur. These liminal spaces invite transformation, guiding people between past and future, self and collective, dream and waking life. My pieces symbolize divine warriors, healers, tricksters, and neon indigenous-futuristic archetypes, not just as figures in my work, but as energies I embody in how I navigate the world.
The media often presents a bleak future, especially for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. My work is a spell to change that narrative. Each installation, painting, print, and mural is a ritual, powered by the ancestral giants whose shoulders I stand on—gently directing me toward my re-membering. The Royal Universe is a prophecy, where technology, art, and spirituality converge to envision a thriving, futuristic culture where everyone gets theirs.
I dig deep to the water of my roots, seeking the influences that shape me—my priestesshood, astrology, and the creation myths woven into my lineage. This exploration isn’t just for myself; it’s an invitation for others to step into the liminal, to see what is possible beyond what has been dictated.
Lately, I feel as if I’ve been catapulted through a portal into a fast-moving, fast-thinking, ever-shifting world. I am finding my equilibrium. But through it all, I remain anchored in one truth:
With every brushstroke, every installation, every ritual, I am shaping the future. My work is a bridge, a prophecy, and an invitation to remember.
Artist Manifesto
1. Art means nothing – Because it means nothing we are free to do anything. Scream into a chocolate cake while bound to a broken television. Paint a sunset without using reds or oranges. Build an uneven chair using scraps of wood from an abandoned house. Nothingness is freedom, artists shall use this to their advantage.
2. Art means everything – Because it means everything, when artists say it’s nothing, THEY. ARE. LYING. Art is that gasp of air from violently waking up out of the nightmare of swimming in the dark abyss, unknowingly holding our breath in our sleep. Art is that one memory you still remember from your childhood that paved the way for more creation. Art is ____ (fill in the blank by asking another artist).
3. If it is a diamond in the rough, expect for it to be removed from its natural setting, commercialized, and regurgitated repeatedly – Observe it while it gets washed, tumbled, filed down, and made shiny so the masses can digest it easily. This is an inevitable phenomenon that occurs in any art platform and expelling energy in resistance is futile. Seeking for the diamonds? Go underground.
4. Never procrastinate on any important projects that require your undivided attention and concentration – I have not mastered this yet and I am utterly guilty as I write this manifesto which was supposed to be a month in the making but instead I am completing this two days before I turn it in and it is past my bedtime.
5. Artists are forever a work in progress – This applies to the artist’s body of work as well as his or her life. Stagnation is death. Satisfaction leads to boredom. Boredom leads to repetition. Repetition is mediocrity. Mediocrity is not art. Be content with the progress but never satisfied in one place.
6. Art is for the people – It must be shared with the historically excluded, to the sick, to the lonely. Make sure it reaches the eyes, ears, and souls of people who don’t have the bus fare to get to the closest art museum, the internet connection to research history’s greatest art pioneers, or the free time and mind space to THINK about creativity.
7. Build portfolios, not egos – If one is marketing themselves, networking, or rubbing elbows more than creating, they are not artists. If one has time to criticize other people’s work, then his mind is idle. If you are expecting praise but not getting it, this is due to you doing most of the praising on your own. Alleviate this by making more art.
8. Get lost – Get lost in a book. Get lost in the eyes of a stranger you met at happy hour. Get lost on the way to the bathroom. Get lost in a foreign country. There’s no harm in asking for directions if only to make an intimate acquaintance in a fleeting instant.
9. Find meaning in it all – “What is the purpose of my life, my skills, and my awareness?” – A question that should be meditated upon regularly. When one has discovered the answer – follow that path. Is it to piss off your high school art teacher? To send a message to the bourgeoisie? To heal the wounds of your past?
When artists find meaning, they’ll see beauty in the breakdown, magic in everyday mundanity, synchronicities in typical situations. The artist should pursue spirituality so long as it does not tread on anyone’s safety, beliefs, or growth (but then again, it wouldn’t be considered spiritual if safety concerns are present).
10. Acknowledge the impermanence – Sad? This too shall pass. Happy? This will also change. Angry? Only for a moment. Victorious? Don’t dwell in it too long. The artist understands that nothing lasts forever so we MUST be vigilant in cherishing each passing moment. Artists shall dedicate their existence to the practice of equanimity, mental calmness, and collected composure.