Asia North

Asia North 2024 / May 3 – June 1

Various locations throughout the Station North Arts District, Baltimore, MD

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.

Featured Artists

Kurt Astudillo * Hannah Atallah * Nancy Berson * Katherine Broadwater * Rieko Chacey * Yunkyoung Cho * Anna Divinagracia * Barbara Han * Jahru * Annette Wilson Jones * Priyanka K * Adele Yiseol Kenworthy * Heejo Kim * Myungsook Ryu Kim * Paige Dasol Kim * Jinyoung Koh * Anthony Le * Nipun Manda * Tayyab Maqsood * Sushmita Mazumdar * Gabriel Pilac Melendres * Adrianna Morgan * Kat Navarro * Nadia Nazar * Josh Nguyen * Lynn Nguyen * Sookkyung Park * Syeda Rahman * Yeeve Rayne * Hannah Shaw * Asma Shikoh * Amelie Wang

Performer, Presenter and Host Bios

Ryan Jafar Artes (he/she/they) is an activist, memoirist, and poet. Ryan’s work calls for a re-imagination of culture via cultural renaissance from their perspective and lived experience as a transracial transnational South Asian Indian American adoptee. Ryan is the host of The Adoptee Open Mic, and hosts virtual writing classes to support their activism and creative work, most of which is self-published, including their debut poetry chapbook After Midnight.

Ryan’s work appears in Panorama: The Journal of Travel Place and Nature, and anthologies published by Querencia Press, Moonstone Arts Center, and Capturing Fire Press. Ryan’s poem “8,049 Miles,” was a finalist in the 2021 Prometheus Unbound Competition and is featured in the accompanying anthology published by Prometheus Dreaming. Ryan participated in a DIY MFA program of their own design and implementation, and hosts letter writing workshops to support their creative work and activism.

Joanna (Joohyang) Chang is a first-year pre-med student at the University of Maryland, specializing in Cell Biology and Genetics. As an honors ambassador for the Integrated Life Sciences Honors program, she brings insight to prospective honors students and their families. With a background in volunteering at the annual Korean Festivals and serving as a teaching assistant for Korean schools, Joanna has cultivated a reputation as a hardworking and thoughtful individual who shares her cultural values within her community. Guided by her experiences, she aspires to pursue a career as a clinician scientist, integrating her Korean-American values with her passions for medicine and scientific curiosity.

Amrita “Ami” Kaur Dang is a South Asian-American vocalist, sitarist, composer and producer from Baltimore. Her sound blends elements of North Indian classical, noise/ambient electronics, beat-driven psych and experimental dance pop. The work references her hybrid identity as a first-generation South Asian-American, Sikh upbringing, musical education, as well as the chaos and spirituality of the landscapes of both Baltimore and urban India.

Picking up her first sitar when she was twelve years old, Dang has studied North Indian classical music (voice and sitar) in both New Delhi and Maryland, and she also holds a degree in music technology & composition from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. Following in the footsteps of artists like Ravi Shankar and Philip Glass, she seeks to advance the sound of contemporary experimental, pop, and electronic music with the sounds of South Asia—through vocals and sitar, ragas, and sampling. And vice versa, she aims to bring a broader sound palette to the legacy of South Asian music. These goals are a lifelong mission. To that end, she has collaborated with Animal Collective, William Cashion (of Future Islands), James Acaster, Thor Harris—to name a few. She has provided tour support for Beach House, black midi, Grimes, Lower Dens, Florist and more.

Steve Hung is a fingerstyle guitarist and one-man band who was born and raised in Texas, but has been living in the Mid-Atlantic for over a decade. He has been compared to Shakey Graves, another one-man band act who stomps on foot percussions while simultaneously picking the guitar and singing a mixture of folk, blues, and old country. His guitarwork has been compared to Chet Atkins, and highlights his speed, accuracy, and intricacy.

Steve has supported internationally acclaimed guitarists such as Mike Dawes and Olli Soikkekli, won the regional Deer Creek Fiddler's Competition, and has been praised by other highly acclaimed guitarist such as Peppino D'Agostino, Toby Walker, and Shaun Hopper. Steve's influences include Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Justin Johnson, Shakey Graves, Ry Cooder, John Fahey, and Leo Kottke.

Soo Kyung Jung is Director of DI DIM SAE Korean Traditional Art Institute, in Washington, D.C. She currently teaches Korean dance and drums in Centreville and Chantilly High Schools in Virginia. She was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for the 12th International Asian Art Competition. She is a registered trainer and permitted to teach the Seungmu Dance (South Korea’s National Intangible Asset #27). Ms. Jung will perform Seungmu to kick-off Asia North 2024 on May 3. Ms. Jung's performance is sponsored by the Baltimore Changwon Sister City Committee and the Korean American Foundation - Greater Washington.

Adele Yiseol Kenworthy (she/they) is a first generation Korean American artist[1]organizer and her vulnerability is her superpower. She explores how flowers have dyed, draped, and nourished social movements; what it means for socially engaged art to exist as an embodied practice of care; and tending the spaces of cultural memory and art as reimagined heritage work. They’ve exhibited at Transformer Gallery, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Brentwood Arts Exchange, The Fearless Artist Pop up Gallery at Art Basel Miami, Gallery 102 at George Washington University and NEXT (2022) Festival at the Corcoran School of Art and Design. Adele leads a Flowerhands Natural Dye workshop at the Asia North 2024 closing event and her work is on view in the Asia North 2024 exhibition. themeowingbird.com IG @themeowingbird

Joy Kim is a first-year student studying marketing at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. As a student at the University of Maryland, she is exploring her growing passion for business, marketing, and international relations. As a member and ambassador of the International Studies Scholars program, she incorporates her interests outside of business, learning about global issues and cultural diversity. In the past, she has served as a teaching assistant for the Korean Education Center, assisting in the planning and leading beginner-level Korean language classes for adult learners. As she learns about the business world and what it means to be a global citizen, she strives to share her culture and voice as a Korean American.

Lucia Li: As an artistic professional, I’m always looking for the next opportunity to translate what I experience into art. I have fully experience with all kinds of fine arts media. I use my own way to combine the traditional techniques with contemporary culture and aspect in my arts. If you are interested in my works, please reach out to me in any way you like. I would be honored to communicate with you about all my works or cooperate with you.

Joyce Liang (b. 1997, China) is a Baltimore-based curator specializing in uncollectible art mediums in unconventional exhibiting spaces. Completed her B.F.A. in Art History at Maryland Institute College of Art, she now serves as the Gallery Manager for AREA 405 and Arts Operation Coordinator for Central Baltimore Partnership. Her curated exhibitions have been exhibited in the U.S. and China, including Creative Alliance, the Parlor, and Charles Theatre in Baltimore, and Tree Art Museum in Beijing.

Meki’s Tamure Polynesian Arts Group, Inc. was founded in 1969 by Meki & JoAnn Toalepai who were performers at Baltimore’s most famous tiki restaurant – The Hawaiian Room in the Emerson Hotel. Meki is an immigrant from Western Samoa performing across the United States in the early 1960s when he met JoAnn who was a Baltimore native that practiced hula as a hobby. They met when Meki’s group had a contract with the Emerson Hotel to provide entertainment. The Hawaiian Room closed around 1970 and the Emerson Hotel was demolished in 1971. The couple had married in 1966 and formed Meki’s Tamure Polynesian Arts Group a few years later. Tamure is a Tahitian term for “dance festival or party”. Meki’s Tamure Polynesian Arts Group is still run by the Toalepai family and continues its mission to use the cultural group to entertain, educate and instruct audiences in Maryland and surrounding states with regards to the art forms of Polynesia. Polynesia is defined as the geographical region within a figurative triangle formed by Hawaii (North), New Zealand (Southwest) and Easter Islands (Southeast). www.thebash.com/mekistamure 

Adrianna Morgan uses an interdisciplinary approach to express her creativity as an artist. She strives to work resourcefully, often using materials from her previous artworks and re-purposing unconventional or found items. Adrianna explores and connects with her ethnically diverse Caribbean heritage as a Trinidadian-American through the creation of her wearable art and installation pieces. She hopes that her work sparks curiosity, encourages conversation, and fosters connection points with the viewers' cultural background as well. Adrianna hosts the Asia North 2024 closing event. Her work is on view in the Asia North 2024 exhibition. IG @a.morgan.art, behance.net/adriannamorgan

Nerissa Paglinauan is Curator of the Asia North Exhibition and Program Manager of the Asian Arts & Culture Center at Towson University where she engages audiences in Asian arts and culture through exhibitions and programs. In 2013, she co-curated AA&CC’s first all-Filipino art exhibit, Art Filipino: Works by Master Artists, featuring works by Jose Joya, Fernando Amorsolo, Pacita Abad, and Toym Imao, among others. She previously served as an administrative, editorial and production assistant at National Public Radio and as a Program Director with the Living Classrooms Foundation. She holds B.A.s in Music and Child Development from Tufts University and is active as a choral singer with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society.

WeiAnne Reidy is the organizer of Asia North 2024’s Makers Market. She has previously curated Growing Our Gardens living altar and APIMEDA Makers Market during Asia North 2022 and 2023. WeiAnne is particularly invested in amplifying cultural identity and LGBTQ+ experiences across the Asian diaspora. WeiAnne is delighted to continue connecting and highlighting local artists, creators, and makers. 

Setsuhi Shiraishi is a professional in Japanese calligraphy also known as shodo. She continues to pursue the beauty of the lines and spaces that influence the viewers momentarily. Shiraishi views calligraphy as a comprehensive art, such as collaborating with other arts in a unique style while transmitting the world of traditional calligraphy. Her live performances are created by the fusion of live music, dancers, performance artists and more. Shiraishi has designed the concept of the new uniform for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Japan National Team, "Circle". With Shiseido Co., Ltd. for Clé de Peau Beauté. She was selected as "6 women", and works to transcend the frame, such as producing TRM of Panasonic and wall paintings of Oracle Japan Co., Ltd. She has worked in Baltimore and many cities along the east coast since 2017. Locally, Shiraishi has performed and given workshops at Charm City Night Market, Baltimore Museum Of Art, The Crown, OpenDoors Baltimore in Waverly Main Street, Peabody Heights Brewery for Free Fall Baltimore, Montgomery College, UMBC, Jemicy High School, MICA, and more. Her solo exhibitions have been on view in Paris, NY, SF, JICC Embassy of Japan in the United States.

Shonay K is a Baltimore-based singer & producer. Born in Upstate New York to two Pakistani parents and having lived all over the Northeast, Shonay K’s music is boundless with inspiration and references to his culture and his idols. Shonay K’s music career began in 2014 after starting a production quartet named “PiXELVISION” with three of his close friends. Going solo in 2015, he spent the next years sporadically releasing projects such as the instrumental-only album, “Neon Nights” in 2017. With the release of the album “Lunar Eclipse” in 2021, Shonay ushered in a new era in his musical journey by leaning into more vocal heavy tracks. 2022 and 2023 brought about the release of joint EP’s, “Neon” and “Blacklight”, which explored themes such as fast and obsessive love, heartbreak, making peace, and bad coping habits. Tracks like “Love U Loco”, “All In”, “Too Fast” and “Falling” show Shonay K’s immense love for dance music and romantic lyrics while songs like “Every Night”, “Peace With The Pieces”, and “Blacklight” show a darker, sadder side to his artistry.

SilverSity is a multi-ethnic music trio whose masterful blend of diverse backgrounds creates a unique pop music experience. Comprised of Tyler Phimphahn (main rapper), a first-generation Thai and Lao American; Ahn Caintic (lead vocalist), a Filipino immigrant; and David Booker Jr. (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.

The Somapa Thai Dance Company, based in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area, has been actively giving performances, presentations, classes, and workshops since 1999. Key performers have over 30 years of performance experience, having been trained in Thailand with the most celebrated dance masters including National Artists and others from the prestigious Department of Fine Arts in Bangkok, Thailand. The group has performed extensively in the D.C. Metropolitan area and has been invited to perform in many prestigious locations in the U.S. and outside the U.S. The Somapa Thai Dance Company's mission is to preserve and promote Thai culture and arts in the Americas. Through performances and workshops, the Company hopes to encourage understanding and appreciation of the arts between people of different countries, cultures and ethnicities in the communities in which we are invited.

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.

Mohammad Rohaizad Suaidi (he/him/his) is a Queer theatre-maker and performer who has directed and conceptualized new devised works in Honolulu, Kuala Lumpur, Micronesia, New York, Singapore, and Baltimore. Rohaizad has taught at institutions of higher learning since 2002 and is currently Adjunct Professor at Towson University and UMBC, where he teaches courses in Acting, Theatre Ensemble, Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Theatre, and Queer BIPOC Theatre. He is also a trained ESL teacher who has been teaching at the Adult Learning Center in Baltimore since 2016, working with adult learners who are refugees and recent immigrants.

In 2018, Rohaizad co-founded the Asian Pasifika Arts Collective (https://baltimoreapac.org/), a non-profit organization that uses art to advocate for more diverse representation of Asian and Pacific Indigenous Americans. As an immigrant, Muslim, brown Southeast Asian, and gay cisgender man, Rohaizad is committed to creating platforms and opportunities for AAPI artists to make and present works that explore intersectionality and the community’s complex diversity.

Sutradhar Institute of Dance and Related Arts (SIDRA) founded in 1988 by Nilimma Devi, is under the combined leadership of its Director Nilimma Devi and Artistic Director Anila Kumari (mother and daughter). The company is anchored in the South Indian dance form of Kuchipudi and the teachings of stalwart gurus: Jaggantath Vedantam Sarma, Prahlad Vedantam Sarma, Dr. Nataraj Ramakrishna and Padma Bhushan Kalanidhi Naryanan. Seeing tradition itself as timeless the company takes a radical stance in reimagining South Asian storytelling into multi-lingual celebrations of those whose voices are historically silenced: women of color, people of indigenous origin, immigrants, and refugees. Her own life experience of fleeing violence in India’s Partition, informs Nilimma Devi’s work. The company has been hailed by the Washington Post as “having pushed the form forward with contemporary innovations,” and by the Hindu Times as an "exquisite exponent." Students train in three traditions which flow into each other – the South Indian form of Kuchipudi, the East Indian martial arts of Thang Ta and the North Indian tradition of visual arts. Every aspect of the five-level curriculum is rooted in the Kathiya storytelling tradition in which myths instill courage, compassion and peace. The Sutradhar Institute itself is built on landscaped gardens with a mural of the epic princess Sita and a granite yoga space created by landscape environmentalist Chuck Woolery.

Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe is a Baltimore based lion dance group composed of Johns Hopkins University students. They keep the ancient art of lion dancing alive and provide Chinese cultural enrichment to Maryland and DC communities by performing for cultural events, weddings, birthday parties, and more. You can send any performance inquiries to yonghanldt@gmail.com.

Michael Miki Young / OTS Productions is a curator, event organizer, artist manager, artist, & performer from Baltimore, Maryland. Has been working in the Japanese artist industry and supporting Asian artists since 2008 and in performing and event organizing since the late 90s. Instagram: @otsproductionsbaltimore 

TU Asian Arts & Culture Center, Central Baltimore Partnership, Station North Arts District, Motor House, Maryland State Arts Council, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Citizens of Baltimore County, TU-BTU Presidential Priority, Baltimore Changwon-Sister City Committee, Korean American Foundation – Greater Washington, Barangay Baltimore, Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee, NAAAP Baltimore, Baltimore Improv Group, Night Owl Gallery, Johns Hopkins Medicine Asian & Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group & Allies, and Critical Responses to Anti-Asian Violence (CRAAV).