Explore the work behind eight boundary-defying Asian and Pacific Islander artists who flip the script on the all-too-common question, “where are you from?” to lay claim to the myriad identities that inspire their work.

1. Celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander creativity.
Swipe to explore their work
Hanna
LE
E
JOSHI
Jiaqi
WANG
Shyama
GOLDE
N

2. SHYAMA GOLDEN
Visual Artist, based in Los Angeles
“I’m always looking for what’s
missing,” Shyama Golden says of
choosing subjects to depict in her
art. “Growing up, when I’d draw
my friends and family, I was bridg-
ing that disconnect between what
was out there and what was in my
world,” the Sri Lankan American
painter says. “I did not see people
who looked like me in illustration
at all.”
Today, through oils, acrylics
and digital media, Golden paints
figures that allow her to unpack
identity in its many forms.
“We’re all different,” Golden
says, “and we’re celebrating that
difference instead of trying to
create one identity.”
“We’re celebrating
that difference instead
of trying to create
one identity.”

3. MEIKO ARQUILLOS
Photographer, based in Los Angeles
A Los Angeles-based photographer
with roots in Japan, Arquillos’
creative expression reflects an
undeniable flair for color, a trait
she no doubt shared with her
grandmother, her muse.
A similar lightheartedness carries
forward in Arquillos’ photography.
“I tried to be ‘the model photogra-
pher,’” Arquillos says, “but I couldn’t
help but take weird photos. Finally,
I said, ‘Forget it,’ because it wasn’t
helping me to stick to anybody
else’s vision. And that’s when I start-
ed getting more work. If you really
love what you create, there is going
to be someone attracted to it.”
“I couldn’t help but take
weird photos. Finally,
I said, ‘Forget it’.”

4. SHXPIR HUANG
Artist and Fashion Photographer, based in New York/Los Angeles
Based in New York City, Shxpir
Huang’s emphasis on artful,
exuberant compositions stems
from his background in fine arts.
However, his photographs diverge
notably with their emphatic inclu-
sion of diverse faces, a deliberate,
subversive choice on Huang’s part.
One that is not often seen in the
fashion industry.
“For fashion, an industry that draws
so many young people, it’s import-
ant to me that young people see
vibrant faces from all different races,”
he says. It’s about giving audiences
the power to envision themselves
in the fantastical realms that he
creates for his camera.
“It’s important to me
that young people see
vibrant faces from all
different races.”

5. JIAQI WANGv
DON MUÑA
Filmmaker, based in Guam
Creative expression is vital to
preserving and revitalizing various
facets of cultural identity. And the
ability to pass on that opportunity
to countless others is at the core of
CHamoru American filmmaker and
festival organizer Don Muña’s mis-
sion. So Muña and his brother Kel
launched the Guam International
Film Festival in 2011, the first and
only annual U.S. film festival in the
western Pacific Islands.
After a full decade of running the
festival, Muña says he feels lucky.
“Ten years is just opening the door.
OK, now we are here. We’ve started.
We are proven.”
“Creative expression
is vital to preserving
and revitalizing
various facets of their
cultural identity.”

6. JIAQI WANG
Globetrotting is a way of life for
Chinese-born, Los Angeles-based
illustrator and animator Jiaqi Wang.
She’s called three continents home
in adulthood, setting up shop in
cities like Rotterdam, London
and Shanghai.
These diverse tableaus find their
way into Wang’s work, where bold
colors and geometric shapes leap
from the screen and the page.
Wang says she’s found freedom
Illustrator and Animator, based in Los Angeles
“When you’re proud of
your culture, your
roots make their way
into your art.”
in reinterpreting the world she’s
captured on camera and through
her illustrations. Now she’s nod-
ding to the many people and places
that have shaped her. “When you’re
proud of your culture, your roots
make their way into your art,”
she says.

7. HANNA LEE JOSHI
Illustrator, based in Vancouver
For Hanna Lee Joshi, much of her
work tethers her back to the memo-
ry of her beloved grandmother.
While her grandmother has since
passed, she continues to serve as a
role model for Lee Joshi, who finds
fortitude and therapeutic value in
working out life’s struggles on the
canvas. “All artists go through self-
doubt,” she says, “and when I was
young, there wasn’t too much
representation reflected back to
me,” as a woman in the Korean
diaspora. The hope now is that
other women might see themselves
reflected in the vivid female forms
that she brings to life.
“When I was young,
there wasn’t too
much representation
reflected back to me.”

8. REBECCA HSU
Illustrator, based in California/Taiwan
Rebecca Hsu’s art acts as an invita-
tion to come closer. Inspired by the
deceptive simplicity of traditional
Chinese paintings, Hsu modernizes
centuries-old techniques through
her playful digital renditions that
evoke the varied lines of calligraphy
brushes and blushes of color.
Hsu sees her art as a reflection of
her Taiwanese family’s stories, her
California childhood, and her deep
reverence for her ancestral
homeland. To her, Asian American
identity is all about balance: “It’s
not like you’re just American or just
Asian—I think it’s a combination of
everything you are and whatever
you feel is part of your culture.”
“It’s a combination of
everything you are and
whatever you feel is
part of your culture.”

9. NISHAT AKHTAR
Creative Director, Professor and Illustrator, based in Portland
Through her work, it’s clear
that Nishat Akhtar has spent time
articulating the experiences that
have shaped her. “There are too
many parts of my identity to distill
into one singular expression,” the
illustrator and creative director says.
Which lead her to the world of
independent comics and zines.
“There are all kinds of people in this
space, all ethnicities, people across
the gender spectrum, who
reflect their experience in a strange
comedy to help people grapple
with who they are,” she says.
The freedom to create means hav-
ing the ability to unapologetically
embrace her many different
identities and talents.
“There are too many
parts of my identity to
distill into one singular
expression.”