Andrew Sookrah was born in Guyana in 1956. In Georgetown he attended Queen’s College where he was recognized for his artistic expression from an early age having won the school’s art prize in 1971. At age 16, Andrew started working as a designer and illustrator at Ace Advertisers (Georgetown, Guyana), and quickly moved into the role of the company art director.
In 1974 Andrew immigrated to Canada and attended multidisciplinary continuing education programs at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), George Brown College, and Ryerson University. His beginnings in design and illustration opened a life of parallel passions.
While continuing to paint and carve out his artistic existence, Sookrah involved himself in advertising and opened Engine Room Creative, a successful design development studio and advertising & marketing agency in Toronto. As the Creative Director of Engine Room, he has worked on provincial and national campaigns, as well as international campaigns in the US and UK.
His body of work includes portraiture, figurative, landscape paintings and ceramic sculpture. Sookrah has presented his conceptual / multimedia work at Nuit Blanche in Toronto three times, including “Can Religious Beliefs be Identified From Examining DNA” in 2012. His work is currently being promoted by the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Sales and Rental Program and can be found in Corporate and Private Collections in Canada and the US.
An active member of the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto for twenty-four years, Sookrah served many terms on the Club’s Art Committee and was the convener of its 3rd Floor Sunday Figurative Painting Sessions for nine years.
He regularly supports charitable auctions and foundations by donating work to assist in their fundraising efforts, including Gilda’s Club, Creative Art GEMS Auction, KidSport Canada, and the Roseneath Foundation, etc. He was also a sponsor of the Student Drawing Award at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition (TOAE) at City Hall for five consecutive years.