AJ Strout, Artist
AJ Strout is an educator, artist, feminist, and entangled machine body from Los Angeles, California whose interdisciplinary practice includes creative writing, media studies, and art-technology integration. He is currently pursuing his second MFA in Creative Writing & Arts Education at the California Institute of the Arts.
As founder and producer of the Ex Corpse Art Collective since 2018, AJ leads a 20-member radical trans and queer collective dedicated to creating immersive live entertainment and fostering inclusive, non-traditional community spaces. Their teaching portfolio spans guest lectures and co-taught courses at CalArts, including "Worldbuilding" and "Will AI Kill Writers," alongside independent zine-making workshops. AJ's published work appears in literary journals such as The Eye Literary Magazine, Next Words Reading Anthology, and Mr. Roach Magazine, with pieces that combine his interests in critical theory and themes ranging from the queer experience to radical trans joy.
With expertise spanning creative writing, visual arts, video production, and community-focused curatorial practice, AJ combines theory with hands-on artistic practice in his evolving creative career.
AJ’s performance and event work are exercises in queer entertainment and space making. AJ produces and curates work that celebrates the unusual, the unconventional, and community building. His creative writing in speculative fiction explores the queer / alternative / trans / experience as a tool to interrogate and resist the dominant culture's tendency to pathologize departures from the norm.
While his image + text work has been published in the Calarts Eye, Mr. Roach Magazine, and Hardy Zine, his installations and performances have shown at the Calarts Digital Expo, Night Gallery in Los Angeles, and Civic Center Studios. His music video collaborations have been reviewed and recognized by several digital magazines and screened at Outfest, Failed Film Fest, QueerX Film Festival, The Porny Awards, and more.
Male Tears's Model Citizen on Post-Punk.com
Violent Vickie's Serotonin on EDM Joy
MRK's Almost There on Animals Magazine
MRK's Almost There on Fun Size Horror
AJ received his Bachelor of Arts in Film and Gender studies from Pitzer College in Claremont, Ca. He also attended California Institute of the Arts where he earned two Masters in Fine Arts; One in Creative Writing and Arts Education and a second in Art and Technology with a minor in Integrated Media. He currently directs and curates live events for the Ex Corpse Art Collective, which he founded in 2018. Ex Corpse is a growing community of LA based independent queer artists that celebrates counter culture by showcasing local artists whose work is situated in the fringes.