Asia North 2025
Graphic Design: Ameena Fareeda
May 2 – May 31
Various locations throughout the Station North Arts District
Celebrate Baltimore’s Charles North – Station North – neighborhood’s constantly evolving identities as a Koreatown, arts district, and creative hub. Co-produced by Asian Arts & Culture Center and Central Baltimore Partnership.
Location Info
Credit: Katherine Mann
Exhibition
EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS
GUEST CURATED BY PHAAN HOWNG WITH NERISSA PAGLINAUAN
FRIDAY, MAY 2 – SATURDAY, MAY 31
Gallery Hours
16 W. North Avenue: Friday 5 – 8 p.m. | Saturday 12 – 3 p.m.
Currency Studio: Thursday – Friday, 1 – 5 p.m. | Saturday, 12 – 3 p.m.
Motor House: Monday & Wednesday 6:00 p.m. -12:00 a.m. | Friday 11:00 - 1:00 a.m. guided gallery tours | Thursday - Saturday 6:00 -10:00 p.m.
The Club Car: Friday – Saturday, 6 p.m. – 1 a.m. | Sunday, 5 – 10 p.m.
Mobtown Ballroom: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Monday, 7 – 11 p.m. | Friday, 7 – 11:30 p.m.
14 W. North Avenue: On view 24/7 from the window and open during special events
EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS features the work of 25 artists of the APIMEDA diaspora who live and create in the Baltimore and the DMV area. The exhibition title is a sardonic nod to what the phrase “exceeds expectations” triggers across the APIMEDA community while also showcasing works that transgress inherent preconceptions of artworks expected to be seen at an AAPI exhibition during AAPI heritage month.
The artists selected for this exhibition create spectacularly audacious artworks using their chosen medium and independent visual languages. Through their stylistic choices, humor, subject matter, and more, their artworks visually deviate from all stereotyped clichéd within traditional cultural art settings. In addition, this year's Asia North exhibition exceeds the scope of our previous Asia North exhibitions by taking place in more locations in unexpected ways from Motor House to spaces throughout North Avenue Market.
To honor the Charles North neighborhood's ongoing transformation from a historic Koreatown to a diverse arts district, the exhibit also includes research from AA&CC’s Greater Baltimore Asian Community History Project.
Guest curated by Phaan Howng with Nerissa Paglinauan.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Reed Bmore, Thea Canlas, Neil Chatterjee, Cindy Cheng, Sejong Cho, YunKyoung Cho, Sutton Demlong, Ameena Fareeda, Taha Heydari, Tae Hwang, Kei Ito, Zara Kahan, Gaeun Kim, Wednesday Kim, Andrew Liang, Yefu Liu, Katherine Mann, Audrey Naiva, Nova Pan, Sookkyung Park, Emon Sirakitkoson, Clipber Tran, Thiang Uk, Stephanie J. Williams, and Lite Zhang.
Guest Curator Phaan Howng
Mr. Mrs. Boots
Opening Event
ASIA NORTH 2025
Friday, May 2, 5 – 9 p.m.
16 W. North Avenue, Motor House and The Club Car
Celebrate the kick-off of Asia North 2025. Meet guest curator Phaan Howng and the artists featured in Exceeds Expectations. Spend the evening learning Bollywood moves, take in the guzheng (Chinese zither) with a Baltimore twist, parade with dragon dancers, and dance to conscious hip hop, drum lines, drag queens, and more! Featuring performances from Qi Yu, Stepping Stones, Utpalasia, Mr Mrs Boots, Spike Yee & Proper, and the Baltimore Chinese School Dragon Dancers. Savor dishes provided by the Baltimore Xiamen Sister City Committee. Hosted by Eva Barrie, Asia North 2025 performance curator.
Installation in Progress
BIG ASS SNAKE(PLANT)S ON A PLANE BY PHAAN HOWNG
Ongoing,
1718 N. Charles Street Garage
Curated by Baltimore’s own Derrick Adams, and supported by a Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $1 million Public Art Challenge project grant, Inviting Light is transforming the Station North Arts District with five breathtaking site-specific public art installations and a series of dynamic community events and arts programming this year. Phaan Howng, one of the five artists chosen for this project, has manifested her paintings of snake plants into reality, creating a large scale sculpture of them taking over the Charles St Garage. Inviting Light is managed by Central Baltimore Partnership in association with the Mayor’s Office of Arts & Culture and the Neighborhood Design Center.
Portrait of Mr. Kim by ECB
Walking Tour & Meet the Authors
HISTORIC KOREATOWN & LANDMARKS + MEET THE AUTHORS, GINGER AND FRANCES PARK
Saturday, May 3, 2 – 4:30 p.m.
Meet at 16 W. North Avenue
Join a guide for a walking tour of the Charles North neighborhood’s historical Koreatown landmarks and favorite food spots. Then, meet the award-winning authors Ginger Park and Frances Park. The sister team will share their love of writing as well as read from their newest children's book SUKA'S FARM inspired by their father's boyhood during Japanese occupied Korea. SUKA'S FARM was selected for NBC4's 4 Your Reading series hosted by Jummy Olabanji. The presentation will also include a fun and interactive Q&A session for adults and children, and a chance to win copies of their books. The presentation will end with an author book signing and reception. Visit Ginger and Frances at www.parksisters.com Hosted by the Baltimore Changwon Sister City Committee and Korean American Foundation – Greater Washington.
Social Hour
NAAAP BALTIMORE 2ND THURSDAYS AAPI MEET-UP
Thursday, May 8, 6 – 8 p.m.
16 W North Ave
$15 NAAAP Members, $20 Non-Members
Registration Required by May 5
Celebrate artists who are exhibiting in the EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS exhibit while bringing people together for Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Your registration fee includes food from Chef Sylva Lin of Culinary Architecture Market+Kitchen. The menu includes handcrafted Baked Bao Snack Boxes that include Chinese Stuffed Milk Buns (Minced Pork or Shiitake Mushroom Mapo Tofu); Brown Crispy Potato Chips; and Coconut Mango Macaroons. The Second Thursdays program brings together APIA professionals to socialize, hear from local leaders, and learn about upcoming events and opportunities. We also celebrate local businesses owned by APIAs, especially restaurants, as anchors of the regional APIA community.
Kamayan Feast at Asia North 2023
Discover & Dine
ASIA NORTH KAMAYAN FEAST
Saturday, May 10, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
The Club Car
TICKETS: $60, purchase by May 6
Experience Asia North's annual communal Filipino feast where food is artfully laid out atop banana leaves in the middle of long banquet tables. "Kamay" literally translates to "hand" in this traditional Filipino practice of eating with your hands. Enjoy specialty cocktails by Club Car while Asia North featured artist Thea Canlas talks about her food-centered artwork. Participating caterers include Frisco Baltimore and Barkada Breads.
EXHIBITION
VEILED FORMS
Opening Reception: Friday, May 9, 6 – 10 p.m.
Exhibition: Saturday, May 10 – Friday, May 16
By appointment and 5 – 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 and Friday, May 16
Exhibit Closing + Fundraiser: Saturday, May 17, 3 – 6 p.m.
Bogus Gallery
This exhibition highlights the work of local Asian artists Lika Yuyun Su, Winter Dior Hart, Kei Ito, Dooree Kang, and Lucia Shuyu Li, each engaging with the tactile and ephemeral qualities of texture, light, color, and form. Through intricate layers, coverings, and floating elements, their works invite viewers to explore the interplay of materiality and meaning, as traditional and contemporary elements merge.
Lika Su’s sculptures, with their meticulous textures and layered forms, evoke a sense of both groundedness and lightness, blurring the line between permanence and fragility. Winter Hart’s vibrant use of color and unconventional materials creates surfaces rich in texture, where layers and coverings hint at hidden histories. Kei Ito’s photographic works are imbued with light and shadow, using transparency and layering to echo themes of memory and intergenerational trauma. Dooree Kang’s installations and videos evoke a sense of floating and impermanence, with translucent materials and delicate compositions that capture the fleeting nature of time. Lucia Li’s digital works play with fluid color and form, creating a dialogue between the digital and physical, where lightness and depth coexist in tension.
The exhibition itself becomes a layered experience, offering viewers multiple modes of engagement. From the opening performance, which enacts the fluid interplay of light and form in real time, where layers of meaning will be uncovered through dialogue, each event invites reflection on how surface and depth, covering and revealing, shape our understanding of both art and life. A Baltimore Kawasaki Sister Cities Committee fundraiser will further activate the space, fostering a community that supports and uplifts local and international l artists. Through this thoughtful exploration of form and texture, this exhibition transcends the visual to create a sensory experience. It celebrates the lightness of floating forms and the weight of layered histories, offering viewers a space to reflect on how cultural and personal narratives are woven into the fabric of contemporary art.
Curated by Liz Faust and Michael Young.
Workshop
IMPOSTER SYNDROME & AUTHENTICITY
Wednesday, May 14, 6 – 8 p.m.
16 W. North Avenue
Participants will engage with each other and themselves by way of a guided writing workshop, during which we will explore easy conversations with each other and ourselves. The aim of the evening is to engage with and generate dialogue around what we consider to be our homes, as a way of understanding our individual and collective power to change our homes into what we desire them to be. Directed by Ryan Jafar Artes and Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi. The writing workshop will be followed by an open mic, during which audience members will have the opportunity to share their just-written work.
A fun and creative exploration that includes sharing, writing and art-making for APIMEDIA folks and friends. Facilitated by Sel Hwahng (Towson University Assistant Professor of Women, Gender, Health, and Sexuality) and Rieko Chacey (Multimedia artist and Towson University faculty of Graphic Design & Interactive Media).
Conversation and Gathering
ACKNOWLEDGE AND REFRAME - ENGAGING WITH ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY
Tuesday, May 20, 6 – 8 p.m.
16 W. North Avenue
Engage with the history of Asian American racialization and activism. Interact with history, art, and each other to imagine how to amplify and sustain the Asian American experience. Facilitated by Paul J. Koh (Towson University Professor of Education) and Phyllis Zhu (artist and therapist). Co-sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies.
Workshop
What We’re Growing: Queer Asian Crafting
Sunday, May 18, 4 – 5:30 p.m.
Blueprint Café
Hosted by: Hannah Shaw, Ray Glasser, and Phyllis Zhu
Registration Required
Engage with the history of Asian American racialization and activism. Interact with history, art, and each other to imagine how to amplify and sustain the Asian American experience. Facilitated by Paul J. Koh (Towson University Professor of Education) and Phyllis Zhu (artist and therapist). Co-sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies.
Improv Comedy
A++ IMPROV TEAM JAM AND SHOW
Saturday, May 24, 5 — 6 p.m. jam, 7 — 8 p.m. show
Baltimore Improv Group Theater
Join A++, an Asian American improv comedy team based in Baltimore for an improv!
Tickets
AAPI Improv Jam (5 – 6 p.m.): Improv Jam (5 – 6 p.m.): join us on stage and make up comedy with us! The performers of A++ will lead you through improv games and exercises. No prior experience with improv necessary! All who identify as AAPI are welcome and encouraged to attend. Free and friendly.
A++ AAPI Heritage Month Show Spectacular (7 – 8 p.m.): Awkward family vacations? Weird parental advice? Total chaos at work? Drop the tea, and we'll turn it into fast, ridiculous, totally unplanned comedy. No tiger moms, no math jokes, just real stories and big laughs. All are welcome.
Thea Canlas
Sip & Paint
STILL LIFE: LONGING
Wednesday, May 28, 6 – 8 p.m.
Motor House West Bay
Tickets
Artist Thea Canlas will guide participants through painting a still life as part of her series of works titled "Still Life: Longing", on view in this year's Asia North exhibition, EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS, curated by Phaan Howng. Thea's piece, “Still Life: Longing,” is a series of installations of locally sourced Pilipino foods as an homage to the immigrant experience of searching for home (or close enough to home) in unfamiliar terrain.
Participants will be guided through painting a still life created by the artist, using acrylic paint on canvas and your choice of either a glass or bottle of wine. No experience necessary—this is a beginner-friendly class!
Single w/ Drink $35 +$.88 ticket fee
Single Ticket w/ Wine Bottle $53 + $1.33 ticket fee
Couples Ticket w/ Wine Bottle $80 + $2 ticket fee
Prices include wine and materials and support Motor House and the artist. Additional food and beverages are available for purchase at The Showroom.
Performance & Workshop
K-POP DANCE PARTY
Thursday, May 29, 7 p.m.
Mobtown Ballroom & Café
Sponsored by Korean Cultural Center Washington, D.C.
YES there is a K-pop dance party! Learn choreography and dance with the award-winning JUB K-Pop Dancers, led by former SM Entertainment K-Pop trainee, Eunsong Kim. Enjoy the group’s performances to music by NewJeans, Aespa, Jungkook and more.
Nova Pan
Short Film Screening
EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS EXTRA CREDIT
Friday, May 30
6 p.m. Reception
7 p.m. Screening + Q&A
SNF Parkway Theatre
Tickets
Curated by Zara Kahan, EXTRA CREDIT is a one-night-only assembly of short films by Asian and Asian American filmmakers from the Baltimore–DC area, presented as part of the Asia North 2025 Exhibition and Festival. Spanning experimental narratives, lyrical documentaries, and deeply personal visual essays, this program invites audiences to witness the complexity, contradiction, and beauty of diasporic life through a hyperlocal lens. Includes work from filmmakers Kei Ito, Christina YR Lim, Sihan Xu, Zara Kahan, Wei Chen Lou, Chung-wei Huang, Yefu Liu, Nova Pan, Stephanie Williams, Nadia Hironaka, Matthew Suib and Zeiyingtai Steven Lyu. TRT: 106.5 minutes
Workshop
THE ART OF INDIGO: A HANDS-ON WORKSHOP IN EAST ASIAN TEXTILES
Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Blue Light Junction
$125 - $165 sliding scale
Register
Join artist Rosa Sung Ji Chang 장성지, creator of the Indigo Shade Map, for a hands-on workshop at Baltimore’s natural dye and color lab, Blue Light Junction. You will create a unique fabric book featuring various shades of indigo and intricate patterns. We will explore two traditional East Asian textile techniques: Stitched Shibori and Soy Flour Paste Resist. These methods, historically practiced in China and Japan, allow for expressive pattern-making on fabric. Unlike rice paste, soy flour paste is easier to prepare and apply, making it an excellent medium for detailed designs.
Each participant will receive fabric to experiment with these resist techniques—adding shibori patterns or drawing imagery with soy paste. By the end of the session, we will bind the dyed fabric pieces into a sewn book, creating a one-of-a-kind textile journal.
Closing Event
ASIA NORTH 2025
Saturday, May 31, 5 – 9 p.m.
16 W. North Avenue and Motor House
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5 p.m. Exhibit opens at the 16 W. North Avenue, Club Car, Currency Studio, and Motor House
6 p.m. Welcoming remarks at the Motor House
6:15 p.m. Performance by Dr. Ilsa Xiaoshan Yin at the Motor House
6:40 p.m. Performance by Hon Jao Violin at the Motor House
7 p.m. Performance by the Fictionals at the Motor House
7:20 p.m. Performance by SilverSity at the Motor House
Celebrate the conclusion of Asia North 2025. Congratulate the artists featured in EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS. Enjoy performances by Chinese guqin player Ilsa Yin, uplifting music from The Fictionals, party with Indie-Pop-Funk band Silversity, and close out the evening dancing to DJ Hon Jao. Hosted by Catrece Mariano. Curated by Eva Barrie.
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A++ is an Asian American improv comedy team based in Baltimore.
Baltimore Chinese Dragon Team is a dynamic, student-run organization proudly operating under the Baltimore Chinese School in cooperation with Dulaney High School. Our team, made up of enthusiastic middle and high school students from Baltimore County, is dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the rich traditions of Chinese dragon dance.
Our young performers embody the core values of teamwork, collaboration, and dedication, bringing the dragon to life with every graceful movement. ✨ Through our performances, we inspire and captivate audiences across the region, fostering a deeper appreciation for diverse cultural traditions.
Eva Barrie (she/they) is an award winning creator, artistic leader, and educator. She is currently pursuing an individualized masters in dramaturgy in connection with liberation-based alternative creative infrastructures at Towson University.
Mr. Mrs. BootsTaking traditional dance styles, injecting them with depravity, and mixing them with gender fluidity, this clown enjoys subverting expectations and pleasing the masses. These boots were made for serving- you’ll never be bored when Mr. Mrs. Boots is in town!
Thea Canlas is a Filipina-American artist whose conceptual, research-driven work explores the entanglements of diasporic Philippine identity through sculptural objects, installations, and digital media. Her current body of work, Value Studies, explores the intersections of globalized economies, racial capitalism, post-colonial statecraft, (trans)national identity, and systems that dictate cultural and economic value.
Thea received her BFA in Fibers from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2006 and her MFA from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2023. As a Jacques and Natasha Gelman Travel Fellow, she researched Spanish colonial-era archives and textiles collections in Spain and the Philippines. She also spent a year studying indigenous textile weaving practices in the Philippines. This research led to inquiries into colonial economies and the Philippines’ history of labor migrations. Her work has been exhibited in Washington, DC, Houston, Philadelphia, Vancouver, BC, and Baltimore. Thea was selected as a semifinalist for the 2024 Janet and Walter Sondheim Art Prize and the recipient of a Ruby's Artist Grant. She was also chosen to be a part of the 2024 cohort at Skowhegan. Thea lives in Baltimore with her husband, David, and son, Isagani. She currently works as a studio artist and educator.
Rieko Chacey is a Baltimore-based multimedia artist who has a professional background in graphic design, motion design, video editing, interactive design and illustration. For her detailed background, please read this article: Conversations with Rieko Chacey on VoyageBaltimore.com .Her works have been exhibited at Brentwood Arts Exchange, SNF Parkway Theater, the gallery at 16 W. North Ave., Baltimore Visitor Center, NYC Big Screen Plaza, and The Asian Arts Culture Center. Website: RiekoChacey.com | Instagram: @riekochacey
Rosa Chang is an artist based in Baltimore whose work is deeply rooted in fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and nature. Drawing inspiration from natural materials and environments, Rosa creates art in various forms, mediums, and scales. Her current focus is on sharing the cultural significance of Korean and Asian traditional indigo and natural dye processes through community engagement and exchanges.
In May 2023, Rosa released her debut picture book, My Indigo World, which she both authored and illustrated. The book has garnered widespread acclaim, being named a 2023 New York Public Library Best Book and a 2024 NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book. Additionally, My Indigo World was selected as one of the best children's books of 2024 by the Bank Street College of Education and Maryland's 2024 "Great Reads from Great Places" Library of Congress Children’s Book Selection for the National Book Festival.
Rosa currently teaches a natural dye course at the Maryland Institute College of Art and serves as the Executive Director of Hand Papermaking, Inc., a nonprofit publication dedicated to advancing both traditional and contemporary practices in the art of hand papermaking.
Fictionals The DMV’s very own Jess Trúc My is a musician, political educator, and activist who became a founding member and Creative Director of Viet Place Collective (VPC) with a revolutionary vision— tend to the intergenerational wounds of a post-war community with creativity at the forefront.
Creating under the alias “Fictionals”, they embark on their debut musical project (EP) that serves a powerful duality: (1) uplift the stories and dreams of a double-displaced diaspora and (2) stitch together the loose threads of oppressed peoples around the world with our shared experience in unlearning the dominant narratives of history, traditionally dominated by empire.
How does the story of grief and seeming contradiction of abundance in cultural love delicately weave itself into the identity of our people? This is a question our EP, “Ancestor”, will engage, safeguarding a culture contending for survival and serving as a commentary on the connection between the social, personal, and political.
Ray Kei Glasser (they/them) is a licensed social worker specializing in supporting LGBTQ+ and Asian communities, utilizing an Internal Family Systems and Emotionally Focused Therapy approach. With a unique understanding of the intersection of cultural and personal identities, Ray brings a compassionate and holistic perspective to their practice, helping clients navigate the complexities of self and relationship dynamics.
Born to a Japanese immigrant mother and a Jewish father, Ray has always been deeply connected to the interplay of multiple cultural narratives. In addition to their professional work, Ray is an avid woodworker and mixed media artist, finding creative expression through their hands and materials. Their passion for nature-based arts is reflected in their creations, often highlighting the ways in which different mediums interact and transform. Ray believes in the therapeutic power of creativity and strives to integrate this belief into their practice both professionally and personally.
Hon Jao Violin is a second-generation Taiwanese American violinist and DJ based in Maryland and D.C., blending classical and electronic music with deep cultural and meditative influences. His work reflects a journey of exploring identity through sound, healing generational trauma across the diaspora, and redefining concepts like stillness and slowness—luxuries his immigrant parents and grandparents fleeing civil war couldn’t afford in their pursuit of stability.
With a lifelong foundation in violin and piano, Hon Jao weaves improvised violin melodies with organic rhythms, creating immersive live looping and DJ sets that transport audiences into meditative, transcendent spaces. His performances—whether on the dance floor or in wellness communities—bridge ancestral heritage with contemporary sound healing, offering an experience that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
His discography includes collaborations with Enamour ("Dragonfly," Kindisch 2021), Neekola ("A Message," 2022), and Ursidae ("It Comes in Waves," BearHeart EP 2024). Beyond clubs and festivals, Hon Jao is an integral part of the yoga, dance, and meditation community, performing at sound healing events and transformational gatherings. Through music, he seeks to create space for reflection, connection, and healing across generations.
Phaan Howng (she/her) is a Taiwanese American artist who creates lush paintings and immersive installations that tease a post-human ecology defensively brandishing its landscape, what she calls an “optimistic post-apocalypse.” Her portraits of dense vegetal matter, appearing both luridly seductive and ominously aggressive, “choke out” the picture plane, obscuring what may lurk behind it to captivate the viewer, just as certain plants seduce pollinators, as well as humans. Inspired by ethnobotany history, Victorian botanical goth literature and the sublime of blockbuster action movies, Howng’s paintings remind the viewer of how plant life is still alien to us and that there is still much more we need to understand and learn about them. Her goal is to challenge the superficial way that we relate to plants, encouraging us to be better ecological stewards and make the changes needed to live in balance with our environment.
Howng lives and works in Baltimore, MD. She received her BFA in Painting from Boston University in 2004 and her MFA from the Mt. Royal School of Art at MICA in 2015. The artist has presented solo and two-person exhibitions at galleries and museums including the Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore, MD), the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery through Smithsonian Gardens (Washington, D.C) Dinner Gallery (New York City, NY), PRACTICE (Philadelphia, PA), and MonoPractice (Baltimore, MD), Art in Buildings (New York City, NY), Asian Arts and Culture Center (Towson, MD), and MoCA Arlington (Arlington, VA). Her work has been included in group shows at M+B Gallery (Los Angeles, CA), OCHI Gallery (Los Angeles, CA & Sun Valley, ID), Sean Kelly Gallery (New York, NY), Smithsonian Arts and Industry Museum, (Washington, D.C.), and No Place Gallery (Columbus, OH). Her work has been commissioned by CityCenter (Washington, D.C.), American Express Platinum and Meta. Her work has been written about in publications such as The New York Times T List, Smithsonian Magazine, Maake Magazine, Artnet, and the front page of the Baltimore Sun.
Sel J. Hwahng, PhD, Sc.M. is assistant professor in the department of Women’s and Gender Studies at Towson University and received their Ph.D. in Performance Studies (Cultural Studies emphasis) with training in Asian American Studies, Ethnic Studies, and Gender & Sexuality Studies. Publications include over 30 sole-, first-, and co-authored articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes. Dr. Hwahng has also edited and co-authored a book Global LGBTQ Health: Research, Policy, Practice, and Pathways (Springer Nature, 2024; open access URL: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-36204-0), is a member of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, alpha chapter, and leads an ontological-based leadership course at higher education institutions. LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seljhwahng
JUB K-Pop Dancers are five passionate performers from diverse backgrounds: Eunsong Kim, Lindsay Kim, Hailey Park, Sophia Kan, and Soohyeon Kim. The group has had the honor of performing and competing at several notable events, including: 2024 Hanbowl Speech Contest (1st Place), 2025 Hanbowl Performance Contest (2nd Place) Korus Concert Performance, GMU K-Night Performance, K-Culture Festival (Kimchi Festival) and Yoon Bok Hee Concert Performance.
Zara Kahan is a Baltimore-based and Borneo-born filmmaker and mixed media artist. She has written and directed a feature film and digital series. Her work was nominated for an Asian TV Award, and Malaysian cable company Astro Malaysia optioned her feature film. She is a Leslie King Hammond Fellow and an Eisenstein-Zimmerman award winner.
Paul J. Koh is a Korean-Immigrant-American scholar dedicated to centering the experiences of racially marginalized communities, particularly the Asian American/AAPI community. His research focuses on educators' and educational leaders' experiences in cultivating transformational spaces, developing counternarratives, engaging in collectivist leadership actions, and forming cross-racial coalitions to help schools transcend their racialized contexts.
For over 20 years, Paul has worked as a history teacher, assistant principal, principal, principal supervisor, and assistant superintendent in the Bay Area and Wake County (NC). He is proud of his heritage and his educational journey at UC Davis, UC Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute, and East Carolina University's International EdD program.
As an assistant professor in Towson University's College of Education, he teaches courses on leadership, school finance, and school law. He enjoys working with students to ensure schools are places of purpose, belonging, and success for all.
Catrece Mariano is a Filipino-American nurse, photographer, and choreographer based in Baltimore. Originally from Missouri, but raised in Maryland, Catrece earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing with a Minor in Clarinet Performance at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.
As a self-taught photographer with over 10 years of experience, Catrece specializes in capturing the beauty of life through fashion editorials, branding, and headshots. Catrece’s photographic and choreographic work has been published and featured on Asian Pasifika Art Collective, AAPI Art Gallery 2020 and 2021, Baltimore Magazine, Asian Arts and Cultural Center (Towson University), Baltimore Voyage Magazine, WBAL, WYPR, Storycorp Inc., Baltimore Museum of Art, Metro Weekly DC, FinalMag Online Publication, Voyage Baltimore Magazine, CanvasRebel Magazine, Worldeye Magazine, and Vigour Magazine. Accolades include Baltimore Game Changer Award nomination and acceptance in 2022. Catrece has 16 years of formal dance training and is a Grade V Pre-Professional level dancer in the Cecchetti ballet technique. She specializes in Filipino Cultural Dance and Contemporary Dance.
Nerissa Paglinauan is co-curator of the Asia North Exhibition. Born in Baltimore to Filipino immigrants, Paglinauan is in her 13th year as Program Manager of the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University where she engages audiences through diverse exhibitions and programs. During that time, she has curated or co-curated 12 group exhibitions, all with the focus of centering underrepresented APIMEDA cultures, stories and experiences. Through these group shows, the AA&CC has developed a deep and diverse network of APIMEDA artists based in the Greater Baltimore and DMV region. In 2013, she helped organize Art Filipino: Works by Master Artists, AA&CC’s first exhibition featuring all Filipino artists, with works on loan from the collection of the Philippine Center New York, and from local collectors in the DMV. Paglinauan previously held editorial and production roles at National Public Radio and was a Program Director at the Living Classrooms Foundation. Paglinauan holds B.A. degrees in Music and Child Development from Tufts University, and sings with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.
Ginger Park and Frances Park are the Korean American author-sister team of many books for children and adults. They have received multiple awards for their work, including the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award, the IRA-CBC Teachers’ Choice Award, the Notable Books for a Global Society Award, the Paterson Prize Book Award for Young Readers, and the Bank Street Book Award, among others. They live in a suburb of Washington, DC. https://www.parksisters.com/
Hannah Florence Shaw is a Baltimore-based artist with Taiwanese and Armenian roots. Her work is often inspired by the wisdom, cycles, and beauty found in nature. She is the Senior Communications Manager at Wide Angle Youth Media, a nonprofit that uses media arts education to amplify the voices of Baltimore youth. Hannah holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Social Design from MICA. Her cat Bashi gets cuter every day.
SilverSity is a multicultural music trio whose masterful blend of diverse backgrounds creates a unique pop music experience. Composed of Tyler Phimphahn (main rapper), a first-generation Thai and Lao American; Ahn Caintic (lead vocalist), a Filipino immigrant; and David Davon (lead guitarist), a multi-generational African American Baltimorean, SilverSity's songs incorporate different languages and influences, celebrating unity in diversity.
With electrifying performances and music that transcends borders, SilverSity delivers an unforgettable musical journey that bridges cultures and captivates audiences.
Spike Yee & Proper are a rapper/DJ duo based in Morgantown, WV. Both hailing from east Asian descent, they blend their cultures with modern Hip Hop and Electronic music for an easily digestible set that has been curated for audiences of all walks of life.
Stepping Stones is a key program of the Korean Culture & Art of MD. The Korean Culture & Art of MD (KCAMD) was established in 2002 to teach Korean values to Korean minorities and to raise up future leaders through love of music and performing arts. In order to do so, Stepping Stones, a young generation drum team, was established.
By educating the next generation about valuable cultural values and establishing a layout that enables development by bringing out Korean culture, it can be used as a place to promote more and instill pride by providing opportunities to provide Korean traditional performing arts, encouraging artistic achievements and humanity in a range of fields, and it can be used as a place to promote the pride of Korean culture to the American society. It regularly maintains support from groups and organizations in the American community.
Utpalasia is a cultural heritage organization dedicated to the dance and music of South Asia and the Himalayas. They are members of the Prince William County Arts Council and have a long history with the Smithsonian Institution for their work in keeping traditional arts alive and vibrant as well as introducing them to new audiences. They are well-known for their original choreography in classical Indian Kathak, Nepali folk, Tibetan Buddhist, and Bollywood Fusion dance along with their unique interactive workshops.
Dr. Ilsa Xiaoshan Yin holds a Ph.D. degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland and teaches as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland and the University of Baltimore. Her research and musical practice focus on the Chinese seven-string zither guqin. Yin has performed the guqin in China, U.K., Denmark, and U.S. in venues ranging from the British Parliament to Howard Community College. She has presented the instrument and her research at public sectors including the Smithsonian Center for Folklike and international academic associations including the Society for Ethnomusicology and the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance. Her research has been published in Asian Music.
Qi Yu is a guzheng (Chinese zither) player and audio/video engineer currently based in Maryland. She began learning the guzheng at the age of six, training in both traditional and modern Chinese music. Yu later earned master’s degrees in world music and recording arts from Northern Illinois University, expanding her repertoire to include new music, world fusion, blues, rock, jazz, and electronic music. In 2019, she received a Grammy nomination for her work as an assistant recording engineer on Nathalie Joachim and Spektral Quartet’s album Fanm d’Ayiti.
Phyllis Zhu (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, Registered Play Therapist, and self-taught visual artist based in Baltimore, MD. Her therapy practice focuses on reclaiming cultural identities, healing intergenerational trauma and finding joy and nourishment in APIMEDA community. Phyllis graduated with her MSW from Hunter College CUNY and has since worked in community mental health, school-based programs in Baltimore City, and with survivors of sexual trauma and the LGBTQIA+ community.
As a child of Chinese immigrants, Phyllis also uses her art process to explore the immigrant experience of navigating liminal spaces and reconnecting with ancestral power in a playful way. Phyllis works primarily with fiber arts using knitting, weaving, and embroidery techniques to create textiles and images that draw on elements of nature and her Asian heritage.
Thank You to Our Supporters
Motor House, Currency Studio, Club Car, Mobtown Ballroom & Café, Maryland State Arts Council, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Citizens of Baltimore County, Orange Barrel Media/IKE Smart City, Johns Hopkins University, Korean Cultural Center Washington DC, Majer Studios, TU-BTU Presidential Priority, Community Housing Partners, Barkada Breads, Baltimore Changwon-Sister City Committee, Korean American Foundation – Greater Washington, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, Mike Shecter, Neighborhood Housing Services, Neighborhood Design Center, NAAAP Baltimore, OTS Productions, Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies, Baltimore Improv Group, Baltimore Improv Group, Rosa Chang, Twenty-Two Lanes, Baltimore Jewelry Center, Hayelin Choi, and Blueprint Café.
Background
Asia North celebrates the arts and Asian culture that are defining characteristics of Baltimore’s Charles North neighborhood, part of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.
Inaugurated in spring 2019, Asia North is a collaborative community celebration that recognizes, showcases, and honors the art, culture and the Asian heritage of Greater Baltimore, especially the Korean history of Baltimore’s Charles North community.
The Asian Arts & Culture Center co-produces events with the Central Baltimore Partnership, and multiple community partners. Area artists and organizations present exhibits, performances, films, and more.
2025 graphics by Ameena Fareeda, Logo by Mika J. Nakano.