Asia North 2026
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.
Partcipating Locations
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Partcipating Locations 〰️
EVENT SCHEDULE
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EVENT SCHEDULE 〰️
2026 ASIA NORTH OPENING EVENT
SNF Parkway Theater, Friday. May 1, 5pm-9pm
Opening event from Asia North 2025
Come celebrate the kick-off of Asia North 2026 with the opening of Shoes at the Door curated by Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill, a series of live performances, and FOOD!
5 pm Shoes at the Door exhibit opens at the Parkway Theater and Currency Studio
Shoes at the Door
Guest curated by Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill
Featuring Artists: Hannah Atallah, Thea Canlas, Aishwariya Chandrasekar, Rosa Chang, Michelle Chen, Riya Devi-Ashby, Anna Divinagracia, Heejo Kim, Anthony Le, Nadia Nazar, Lynn Nguyen, Katherine Pon-Cooper, AX Qin, Artie Sadahiro, Julie Sayo, Asma Waheed, Amelie Wang
6:15PM Opening Remarks
6:30 pm Han Pan Samulnor
Hanpan Korean American Cultural Center is a nonprofit, Korean cultural group, comprising of students and adults ranging in age from 10 years old to 75 years old. They will be performing Samulnori, which means the “playing of four instruments” and has roots in Pungmul, a Korean folk genre comprising of music dance and rituals.
6:45PM Arpita Rakshit Sabud
Arpita Rakshit Sabud started learning Odissi 30 years ago. She learned under Guru Smt. Sudha Dutta and Guru Madhavi Mudgal. Currently in Maryland, she runs her own dance institute and teaches Odissi dance to the diaspora.
7 pm Hello Fans
Hello Fans is Willa Fan whose music crosses decades as a collage of 70s Fender Rhodes sounds, 80s synth pop, with a central melodic and memorable hook to each song. Her messages include themes of political action, self discovery, and independence.
7:15 pm Plant Dad
Plant Dad is Baltimore's indie-pop sensation, is an exciting act on the rise, winning over listeners with infectious melodies and an energetic sound. Led by Ralph Bernabe, the band features Jake Fine on drums, Jack Jahries on bass, Matt Hurd on guitar, and Noelle Acaso on keyboard—each bringing their own artistry to Plant Dad’s immersive sound.
7:30 pm Performance by B’more Taiko
B'more Taiko Taiko literally means "drum" in Japanese, but it also denotes a specific style of group percussion. Rooted in religious and festival music going back centuries, contemporary taiko ensembles often include elements of other musical traditions, including American jazz. Grounded in Japanese and Japanese-American traditions, but now practiced all around the world, taiko offers a unique form of music-making and physical activity that's accessible to all.
Bites provided of Baltimore Xiamen Sister City Committee
Image: Heejo Kim, Dalonga, 2025, oil and baking soda on canvas, 24.5” × 36
ASIA NORTH MAIN EXHIBITION
SHOES AT THE DOOR
Guest curated by Dylan Kaleikaumaka Hill
May 1 - May 31
Parkway Theater + Currency Studio
»Featuring Artists«
Hannah Atallah | Thea Canlas | Rosa Chang | Aishwariya Chandrasekar | Riya Devi-Ashby | Anna Davinagarcia | Heejo Kim | Anthony Le | Nadia Nazar | Lynn Nguyen | Katherine Pon-Cooper | AX Qin | Artie Sadahiro | Julie Sayo | Asma Waheed |
Amelie Wang
Every household is familiar with the pleasures and pains of hospitality. Hours of unseen preparation yield specialty dishes and spotless interiors for strangers and family alike. For many of us who are part of the APIMEDA (Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and Desi American) community, guests are not expected to do anything, but leave their shoes at the door. This simple act–rooted in respect and ritual–demonstrates the way in which hospitality creates space for communal exchange. Shoes at the Door brings together works by sixteen artists living in the greater Baltimore and DMV region whose artworks consider hospitality as a malleable practice shaped by diaspora, cultural tradition, inheritance, colonial commodification, and celebration.
The works in this exhibition capture the breadth and diversity of hospitality customs and notions of home through installation, ceramics, painting, sculpture, drawing, and textiles, displayed throughout SNF Parkway Theatre and Currency Studio. Some of the featured artists engage explicitly with intergenerational practices associated with welcoming others into our homes, reimagining household objects that evoke familial gatherings and celebratory meals. While such works incite nostalgia and joy, they also excavate the gendered labor and colonial legacies that inform them. Select artists also offer meditations on hospitable conditions within our built and natural environments, gesturing to the complexities of diasporic placemaking.
Shoes at the Door offers a nuanced glimpse of what it means to prioritize the care of others through acts of hospitality, which have the ability to both strengthen our ties to distant homelands and subvert cultural expectation.
P.S. Unlike the title suggests, you will not be asked to take your shoes off at any point.
ABOUT THE CURATOR- Dylan K. Hill joined the Contemporary Art Department at the Baltimore Museum of Art as the Meyerhoff-Becker Curatorial Fellow in 2024. While at the BMA, she has supported projects including Crosscurrents: Works from the Contemporary Collection 2025, Amy Sherald: American Sublime 2025 and the upcoming Meyerhoff-Becker lobby commission. Dylan also co-curated the group exhibition, Exquisite Relations 2025, at the Rubelle and Norman Schafler Gallery at the Pratt Institute, NY.
She received her M.A. in the History of Art and Design at Pratt, where she also served as a research assistant, and holds a B.A. in Art History from Portland State University. Her research interests explore the ways in which Native Hawaiian culture, settler colonialism, and tourism manifest in contemporary art and design.
Locations & Hours:
SNF Parkway Theatre | 5 W. North Ave | During Asia North and Parkway events
Currency Studio | 16 W. North Ave | Thu-Friday 1-5pm; Sat 12-3pm
Queer Manifesto
Opening: Friday, May 1, 5:00 – 9:00 pm
Friday, May 1–Wednesday, May 27, 2026
The Club Car
AREA 405 presents Queer Manifesto, a pop-up exhibition featuring poems and visual collages of twenty-one (21) East and Southeast Asian queers. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Wishing Fountain Project, a virtual diasporic queer ESEA art book library (@the.wishing.fountain.project). Founded by You Liang and Zao Zao Zhang (MICA c/o 2024), the project began with a writing workshop that encouraged participants to transform poetry, prose, and diary entries into visual forms and was later published as a zine. Queer Manifesto loyally exhibits select pages of zines, with renewed visualization of words arraying themes from family relationships to immigration processes.
Born in Fire: Queer Asian Crafting Workshop
Sunday, May 3, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
Hosted by Hannah Shaw and Phyllis Zhu
Registration Required, limited to 15 spots.
The Year of the Fire Horse is here! What parts of you were shaped by passion or struggle and are ready to be expressed? Come collage, paint, and create with us in queer Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and Desi American (APIMEDA) community. Make your own mini canvas and/or add to a collective piece - supplies included. Snacks and refreshments will be provided by Blueprint Cafe!
Station North ‘Art Walk W/’ Dylan K. Hill
Friday, May 8, 5:30 pm
Starting location: SNF Parkway Theatre
Join Dylan K Hill, curator of this year's Asia North exhibition Shoes at the Door for Station North's May 'Art Walk W/...'! Hill will give Station North Art Walk W/ participants a tour of the exhibition starting at the Parkway Theatre and lead us to the opening of Katazomé at Gallery CA.
Save your spot here!
Katazomé: A Multidisciplinary Visual Art Exhibition
Opening: Friday, May 8, 6 – 9 p.m.
Gallery CA
Exhibition Dates:
May 8 – May 30
Mon-Fri 12 – 4 p.m. and by appt
Gallery Talks:
Saturday, May 16 & May 30, 2 – 5 p.m.
Hiromitsu Hubbard and his mother, Donna R. Omata tell the story of Donna’s journey to Japan to study the ancient art of katazomé through a multi-disciplinary visual art exhibition. Hiromitsu will present a series of new paintings inspired by Donna’s artwork and photographs shown alongside her original katazomé work on handmade paper and fabric from the 1970’s and 1980’s. Through this exhibition, Hiromitsu and Donna share a personal family story of discovering cultural roots, intergenerational exchange, and transcending discrimination by finding identity through art and creativity. This exhibition is a program of the 2026 Asia North Exhibition and Festival and is supported by a 2025 Rubys Artist Grant, which is a program of the Robert W. Deutsch Foundation.
Photo credit: David Ian Sloan
Text 443-370-4684 for appointment
Asia North Kamayan Feast!
Saturday, May 9, 6 – 8:30 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
TICKETS $65, purchase by May 4
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. Participating caterers include Frisco Baltimore and Barkada Breads.
Conversation: Love Has Never Been a Popular Movement
Monday, May 11, 6 – 8 p.m.
Impact Hub
Explore the role and dynamics of heritage knowledge—a community’s group memory that enables a sense of belonging—across the Asian Diaspora. Interact with concepts and each other to practice ways to imagine futures with expanded notions of belonging and solidarity. Facilitated by Paul J. , Professor of Education at Towson University.
NAAAP Baltimore 2nd Thursdays AAPI Meet-Up
Thursday, May 14, 6 – 8 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
Registration Link Coming Soon
In support of the theme for 2026's AAPI month, "Strengthening Communities Together," join NAAAP to celebrate the artists who are showcasing their work in the Asia North 2026 exhibit and strengthen the local community. Whether you are new to the community or already part of it, their event is welcome for all! NAAAP’s Second Thursdays program brings together AAPI professionals and local leaders and provides further insights about about upcoming events and opportunities.
Dil Dil Desi: South Asian Dance Social
Thursday, May 14, 8 p.m. – 12 a.m.
Mobtown Ballroom & Cafe
TICKETS
Join Dil Dil Desi for a high-energy night of non-stop dancing to the hottest beats from across the subcontinent. From Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood classics to the latest bangers, they’ve got it all lined up. Come dressed in your best desi fits or just as you are—the only rule is to bring the vibes and hit the dance floor!
Your ticket helps make it happen—the cost covers the venue and DJ, and any additional proceeds will be donated to a dedicated charity. Desi snacks and drinks will be available for purchase!
Sticky Stars and Sheets: A Spoken Word Play
Friday, May 15, 8-9:30pm
The Club Car
Regie Cabico takes on queerphobia in the classrooms and the dive bars with poetic lyricism and self-effacing humor, and resilience. Cabico presents his signature performance of poetry and stories of Asian appropriation and the daily triggers he confronts from a multiverse that gets smaller stepping out of a pandemic and surviving dive bars, bathhouses, teen stalkers, as he tries to get his groove back.
Regie Cabico: Writer & Performer
Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi: Director & Dramaturg
A++ Improv Show
Friday, May 15, 9 p.m.
Baltimore Improv Group
A++ is an independent improv comedy team based in Baltimore and comprised of all AAPI performers. Our improv shows explore cross-cultural traditions, finding a sense of belonging in diverse environments, and dealing with societal expectations. Our scenes are all made up on the spot based on your audience stories and our personal experiences.
The Past, Present, and Future of Baltimore Koreatown panel discussion part happening during K-town Culture Day.
K-Town Culture Day
Sunday, May 17
SNF Parkway Theater
4:00pm Walking Tour
4:35 Traditional Korean Performances
5:00pm Panel Discussion
6:30 – 7:30 pm Reception
Join our guides for a walking tour of the Charles North neighborhood’s historical Koreatown landmarks and favorite food spots. Then, join us for an exclusive panel discussion in the Parkway Theater 1 for The Past, Present, and Future of Baltimore Koreatown moderated by Jacqueline Shin, National Register Assistant at the Maryland Historical Trust. This event is organized by the Baltimore Changwon Sister City Committee.
Makan Pakai Tangan: The Art of Eating With Your Hands
Monday, May 18 6 - 8pm
Motor House
Limited to 20 participants.
Tickets $20 Purchase here!
In this lecture-demonstration, participants will learn about the widespread tradition of eating with the hands, without the use of utensils, in maritime Southeast Asia. This geographical area, known since antiquity as Nusantara in the Javanese language, includes the modern nations of Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia. Participants will get a “hands-on” opportunity to practice the art and etiquette of makan pakai tangan (eating with the hands) by sampling the Indonesian rice-based Nasi Tumpeng, a communal dish served and shared at special occasions.
Presented by Artharini (Artha Rini Indonesian Restaurant) and Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi (Towson University).
K-Movie: Our Season
Tuesday, May 19, 7 – 9 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
A mother returns to the world for three days after her death to spend time with her daughter, sharing meals and heartfelt moments. Directed by Yook Sang-hyon, 2023. Hosted by the Korean Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.
Minute Monologues Generative Writing Workshop
Wednesday, May 20, 6 – 8 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
Registration is encouraged. Limited to 20 participants.
Create and share 1-minute monologues inspired by the Shoes at the Door art exhibit at the SNF Parkway Theatre. In this workshop, participants will be invited to explore their imaginative responses to the artwork exhibited through a series of writing prompts to create short monologues. Starting with a contemplation of the theme "hospitality" and its practice across cultural traditions, the workshop will culminate in a reading of the monologues generated over the course of the evening.
Facilitated by Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi, Adjunct Professor in Towson University's Department of Theatre Arts.
Queer Asian Artist Gallery Walk and Talkback
Thursday, May 21, 6 – 8 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theatre
Join us for the Queer Asian Artist Gallery Walk and Talkback as part of the Asia North 2026 exhibition, Shoes at the Door. This free event invites participants to reflect on how queerness and Asian identity intersect in our daily lives. Together, we will enjoy a gallery walk of the exhibition as shared experience, followed by a facilitated talkback and dialogue with several queer artists from the show: Riya Devi-Ashby, Anna Davinagracia, Katherine Pon-Cooper, and AX Qin. The gathering is open to all. Refreshments will be provided.
Asia North Closing Event
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Asia North Closing Event 〰️
Asia North 2026 Closing Event
Wednesday, May 27, 5 – 9 p.m.
SNF Parkway Theater
Celebrate the conclusion of Asia North 2026. Congratulate the artists featured in Shoes at the Door. Enjoy performances by Soul of Persia and the Sutradhar Institute of Dance, curated by Kandi Wong. Conclude the evening with a selection of APIMEDA film shorts curated by filmmaker Zara Kahan.
Schedule
5pm Exhibit opens at the SNF Parkway Theatre and Currency Studio
6pm Welcoming remarks at the SNF Parkway Theatre
6:15pm Performance by Soul of Persia at the SNF Parkway Theatre
6:45pm Performance by Sutradhar Institute of Dance at the SNF Parkway Theatre
7:30pm APIMEDA Film Shorts Screening at the SNF Parkway Theatre
ABOUT
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ABOUT 〰️
ASIA NORTH
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.
Asia North 2026 is co-produced by TU Asian Arts & Culture Center and Central Baltimore Partnership.
Asia North 2026 partners and sponsors include Phaan Howng, SNF Parkway Theatre, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Currency Studio, Citizens of Baltimore County, Maryland State Arts Council, Hiromitsu Hubbard and Donna R. Omata, Korean Cultural Center Washington DC, TU-BTU Presidential Priority, Neighborhood Housing Services, Baltimore Changwon-Sister City Committee, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, Baltimore Kawasaki Sister City Committee, NAAAP Baltimore, Impact Hub, Motor House, Club Car, Baltimore Improv Group, Blueprint Café, and Hayelin Choi.
Graphics by Ameena Fareeda