Asia North

Asia North 2025 / May 2 – May 31

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

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.

Performer, Presenter and Host Bios

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 individualised masters in dramaturgy in connection with liberation-based alternative creative infrastructures at Towson University. In her spare time, she volunteers with Theatre Artists for Palestinian Voices, a Canadian ad-hoc collective advocating for a #FreePalestine.  

Mr. Mrs. Boots
Taking 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!

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.

Hon Jao, aka Jon Hao, 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

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.

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/

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.

Asia North 2025 partners and sponsors include TU Asian Arts & Culture Center, Central Baltimore Partnership, Station North Arts District, Motor House, Currency Studio, Club Car, Mobtown Ballroom, Maryland State Arts Council, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Citizens of Baltimore County, Orange Barrel Media, Johns Hopkins University, Korean Cultural Center Washington DC, 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, and Blue Light Junction.