Programs & Exhibitions

ElevAsian: Honoring AAPI Experiences
Fall 2021 Programs

Exhibition | Asia in Maryland 2021

September 8 - December 11 (closed Nov. 24 - 28)
Opening Reception, September 8, 7:30 p.m.
Asian Arts Gallery, Center for the Arts
Gallery Hours: Monday - Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Explore diverse works of art by Maryland-based Asian and AAPI visual artists which showcase the stories of, raise awareness about, and facilitate dialogue about the ideas and issues that are most important to the 500,000+ Asian and AAPI residents who play integral roles in the fabric of Maryland life.

Virtual Listening Party | Mirrors and Windows: Art and Evolving AAPI Identities

Thursday, September 23, 7 p.m.
Virtual: Register Here (Free. Suggested donation: $10)

Explore artwork by Asia in Maryland artists Tima Aflitunov, Farida Hughes, and Jinyoung Koh and reflect on how their work provides a mirror and/or window into expressions and notions of AAPI identities. Hear from the artists themselves as they share the experiences, feelings, and aspirations that created the shapes, colors, and textures in their work. Hosted by TU Department of Theatre Arts professor, Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi. 

Panel Discussion | Through Our Lens – The Way Forward for AAPIs in the Media

Wednesday, October 6, 7 p.m.
Virtual: Register Here (Free. Suggested donation: $10)

Explore artwork by Asia in Maryland artists Yifan Luo, Ellie Rha, and Kiddo Pan and how it reflects the intersections between media representations of AAPIs and consequent perceptions of AAPIs in society at large. Delve into how art can serve as activism, be a source of cultural power, and play a role in correcting and realigning current representations and perceptions. Join the artists in envisioning a future for AAPI voices and visibility. Moderated by WeiAnne Reidy.  

Storytelling Festival | Our Stories Virtual Festival

Thursdays, October 21 and 28, 7 P.M.
Virtual: Register Here (Free. Suggested donation: $10)

Celebrate our common humanity and the unique beauty of diverse experiences during this community festival where friends from Maryland, California, India and the Philippines share stories about facing life’s challenges and their experiences with and reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic. 

OCTOBER 21, 7 P.M. (ET) — Confronting life's challenges

• Hanns Scheewe (Tandag City, Philippines) “A Love Letter From Space”
• Miyo Yamauchi (Los Angeles, CA) “I Know It All”
• Anila Kumari (Silver Spring, MD) “The Wind Under Me”
• Renu Narayan (Chennai, India) “Ambi Finds a Home”
• Maria Solita Zaldivar-Guzman (Aklan, Philippines) “The Little Star”

OCTOBER 28, 7 P.M. (ET) — Coronavirus chronicles

• Christine Marie Magpile, Cris Macazo, Katrina Saga & Patricia Marie Dizon (Manila, Philippines) “My Mother’s a Health Frontliner”
• Golpo Nodi (Kolkata, India) “Piu and Her Explorations”
• Hyunsuk Erickson (Rockville, MD) “My Father’s Shelter vs. My Shelter”
• Aya (Philippines) “Newton’s Third Law of Motion

Past Events

 

Exhibition | Phaan Howng: A Bag of Rocks for A Bag of Rice

Virtual: VIEW EXHIBIT HERE

Exquisitely disposed rocks and trees and vegetation. The promise of an inspired space of meditation and detachment. Such has been of the Westernized image of the Chinese and Japanese garden. Yet, such enchanted “natural” spaces camouflage the histories of empire, wealth, privilege, exploitation, ecological extraction, and displacement behind their creation. Phaan Howng’s site-specific installation engages East Asian gardens as a case study of the dynamics embedded within these private spaces.

Exhibition and Virtual Festival | Asia North 2021: A Celebration of Art, Culture and Community

April 10 - May 15, Station North Arts District and Online
Co-presented with Central Baltimore Partnership

Celebrate art, culture, and the Korean history and heritage of Baltimore’s Charles North community. Regional AAPI artists and organizations present an exhibit and virtual festival including artist talks, performances, cooking demonstrations, and art workshops.

Asia North 2021 schedule

Asia North 2021 Exhibition

April 10 - May 15

Virtual: VIEW EXHIBIT HERE
Launching on April 10, the exhibit will be on view online and in socially distanced locations throughout the Station North Arts District, including Motor House, Joe Squared, SNF Parkway Theatre, North Avenue Market, Impact Hub, and Nancy by SNAC.

Featured artists include: Reed Bmore, Cheng Cao, Molli Chang, Anu Das, Marlo De Lara, Gloria Tseng Fischer, Farhad Heidarian, Margaret Huey, Linda Kato, Jinyoung Koh, Sunjin Lee, Jing Ma, Hadrian Mendoza, Miki + Dolor + Van Ngo + Hsiao-Chu Hsia, Sookkyung Park, Grace Ren, Slothpotato, Nahid Tootoonchi, , Anjali Wells, Andersen Woof, and Nikita Yogaraj.

Asia North 2021 Virtual Kick-Off

Saturday, April 10, 4 p.m. ET

REGISTER/JOIN
The virtual kick-off event features a video tour of the exhibit in Station North and performances and presentations by Greater Baltimore/DMV artists, including salmunori and pansori by Korean Performing Arts Academy of America (KPAAA), FilAm artist Derrick Quevedo, Sughra Hussainy (Afghani and Islamic miniature painting, calligraphy and illumination), Henna artist Ambika Ramsundar, and Jorgelina Lopez (contemporary home décor using Japanese textile techniques). Handiasporia blues musician and producer, EN’B, concludes the program with their performance of a fusion of Korean and R&B music.

Night Market Online

Saturday, April 10, 6:30 p.m. ET

REGISTER/JOIN
Charm City Night Market presents a Night Market Online cooking demonstration with Brown Rice. 

Virtual Workshop: Exploring Identity through Culture

Saturday, April 17, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. ET

LEARN MORE/REGISTER
AA&CC and the Asian Pasifika Arts Collective (APAC) co-present this virtual workshop led by artist, Lek Vercauteren Borja, on Saturday, April 17 at 1pm. Participants create collages from their personal and cultural experiences.

Virtual Concert: Dong Xi - The Way

Wednesday, April 21, 8 p.m. ET

REGISTER/JOIN
Chao Tian and Tom Teasley bring Chinese dulcimer and world percussion together in conversations based on the Taoist philosophy of Wu Wei, meaning “action through inaction.” Register/Join the event here 

Virtual Workshop: Zinemaking 101

Friday, April 30, 7 p.m. ET 

LEARN MORE/REGISTER
During this happy-hour virtual workshop with Margaret Huey, learn about the creativity, community, and action we can enact with zines, a cheap, accessible, and fun way to share information and stories. 

Virtual Workshop: Making Stories with Where We’re From

Friday, May 7, 7 p.m. ET

LEARN MORE/REGISTER
During this happy-hour virtual workshop with artist Margaret Huey, build your visual and written storytelling skills from your own memories, experiences, and knowledge.

Festival artwork by Ameena Fareeda.

Asia North 2021 partners, sponsors, and supporters include Asian Arts & Culture Center, Central Baltimore Partnership, Station North Arts District, Motor House, Joe Squared, SNF Parkway Theatre, North Avenue Market, Impact Hub, Nancy by SNAC, Charm City Night Market, Asian Pasifika Arts Collective, E. Rhodes & Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Maryland State Arts Council, Yoshinobu & Kathleen Shiota, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Citizens of Baltimore County, AA&CC Members, TD Bank, BB&T/Truist, PNC Bank, WYPR, Guppy Management Services, Community Housing Partners, Mike Shecter, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Kawasaki Sister City Committee, Baltimore Changwon Sister City Committee, and Brown Rice. 

Online Exhibition | Anak (My Child)

Virtual: VIEW EXHIBIT HERE

Lek Vercauteren Borja’s mixed media works explore the personal and social impact of Spanish colonization and American imperialism on the Filipino experience. Vercauteren Borja weaves history with personal experience to draw out broader contemporary Filipino American stories of identity, displacement, trauma, survival, resilience, and belonging.

Artist Talk | Meet the Artist: Lek Vercauteren Borja

Thursday, February 11, 6:30 p.m.
Virtual: Register Here (Free)

Celebrate the launch of Anak (My Child) with a talk by multimedia artist, Lek Vercauteren Borja, who discusses her dynamic and ethereal mixed media works and the experiences that inspire them. Vercauteren Borja emigrated from the Philippines to the U.S. with her family at age 10 and has since moved through the world many times feeling displaced. She uses art to return to those moments in order to better understand them and their effect on shaping her as a person.

Workshop | Year of the Ox Chinese Paper-cut Art with Cheng Cao

Premieres Friday, February 12
Virtual: View Here (Free)

Celebrate the Lunar New Year with artist Cheng Cao who will introduce you to Chinese paper-cutting, or jianzhi (剪紙), a folk art that originated in China around the 6th century CE. Learn how to craft a paper-cut ox. Materials needed: Red paper, pencil, eraser, and scissors. Presented by the Asian Arts & Culture Center for the Walters Art Museum's Virtual Lunar New Year Celebration.

Virtual 50th Anniversary Fundraiser | Salu-Salo: A Filipino American Cultural Feast

Friday, February 26, 7 p.m.
Virtual: Tickets: $0 - $45

“Salu-salo” is a Filipino word for gathering and eating together. Prepare yourself a Filipino meal and join the AA&CC for a virtual salu-salo featuring a cook-off with Sony Florendo, Chef Mike Ledesma (Perch RVA and InstaBowl RVA), Chef Rey Eugenio (Heritage Kitchen), and their takes on favorite Filipino recipes; music by Kulintronica and Diwa de Leon who have creatively electrified traditional Filipino instruments; a virtual tour with ANTHILL Fabric Gallery in the Philippines; and an Asian Arts & Culture Center 50th Anniversary cocktail.

Panel Discussion | Filipino American Diaspora: Self-Representations Emerging from the Shadows

Tuesday, March 9, 7 p.m.
Virtual: Register Here (Free)

How do poetry, art, oral histories and research convey the complicated histories of Filipino Americans, the fourth largest migrant group in the United States? With over 400 years of colonization and invisibilization, Philippine migrants continue to create a sense of the homeland in their new countries. Gain invaluable insights into Filipino American experiences with poet, Luisa A. Igloria; artist, Lek Vercauteren Borja, and authors E.J.R. David and Dwight Ong. Scholar and artist, Marlo DeLara moderates the discussion.

Exhibition & Virtual Festival | Asia North 2021: A Celebration of Art, Culture & Community

Exhibition: April 10 - May 15, Station North Arts District and online
Virtual festival kick-off: April 10
Co-presented with Central Baltimore Partnership

Celebrate art, culture, and the Korean history and heritage of Baltimore’s Charles North community. Regional AAPI artists and organizations present an exhibit and virtual festival including artist talks, performances, cooking demonstrations, and art workshops. 

• View the Asia North 2021 Exhibition Call for Artists. Applications due Feb. 19.

Wishes in the Wind: Korean Kite Kit

Kits starting at $20 donation
ORDER ONLINE

Are you a parent or caregiver looking for a creative and challenging STEAM* activity to engage kids at home? Are you a teacher in search of a project to teach remotely that integrates art, social studies, and engineering? Order our Wishes in the Wind Korean Kite Kits. Each kit contains kite paper, bamboo kite spars, kite string and spool, illustrated instructions, STEAM info, and more. Contribute to building bridges across cultures with your purchase.
*Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math

 

Continuing Programs

Family Arts Days

The AA&CC collaborates every semester with TU’s Community Art Center to engage families in experiencing and making art through drop-in art activities, performances, interactive gallery experiences, and story time.

 

 

TU Pin Peat Ensemble (Cambodian Classical Music)

The AA&CC and TU Department of Music teamed up to offer the TU Pin Peat (Khmer classical music) Ensemble led by master Cambodian musician, Chum Ngek. Through this course, which was established in spring 2017, TU students expand their artistic and cultural horizons while contributing to the preservation and longevity of a tradition that was nearly decimated during the Khmer Rouge era in Cambodia.

Special thanks to the Maryland State Arts Council, Citizens of Baltimore County, and AA&CC members for making this initiative possible.

Asia in Maryland (AIM) Cultural Connection

This ongoing project highlights exhibitions, performances, workshops, artist residencies, and online resources featuring local Asian arts and culture in Maryland communities . It also incorporates The Asia in Maryland (AIM) Cultural History Project, an interdisciplinary studies course combining ethnography and oral history to explore, understand and document Asian arts and culture in Maryland. Student research informs Center programming. In fall 2015, we initiated the “Connection” with an exhibition, performances, workshops and family days introducing local audiences to the living Khmer art and culture in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Asia in Maryland (AIM) Cultural History Project

The Asia in Maryland (AIM) Cultural History Project (IDFA 480/580 Interdisciplinary Fine Arts Special Topics Seminar) is an interdisciplinary studies course in Towson University’s College of Fine Arts & Communication. This course combines ethnography and oral history to explore, understand and document Asian arts and culture in Maryland. Students identify their own research topic and conduct independent research with guidance from the instructors throughout the semester.  Topics can include art, music, dance, theater, foodways, costumes, healing arts, martial arts and more. Students create a portfolio of their research as a culminating project at the end of the semester. Student projects will be used in programs at the Asian Arts & Culture Center.

Read about the topics OUR students researched...