JA's Favorite AAPI Artists & Designers
/Note: For this recent blog post, JA’s Marketing Specialist, Jasmyn, reached out to JA staff to learn more about the AAPI artists we support in our community. Jasmyn also shares her perspective on the lived experience of a Filipina in today’s United States.
It’s Asian-American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, and we look forward to sharing, in celebration with you, the beautiful AAPI peoples, cultures, and contributions that have shaped America. But first, on behalf of JA, we want to acknowledge the pain and discrimination AAPI communities have endured in our nation’s history and present day. The United States holds a long history of racism against people of Asian decent, and the Covid-19 pandemic, paired with racist rhetoric repeated some of our nation’s elected leadership, only fueled the flame for anti-Asian hate crimes over the last year.
According to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes increased 169% in the first quarter of 2021 over the same period in 2020 in large U.S. cities. It is important to note that this data reflects reported incidents only - there are likely many more unreported attacks and violence against AAPI individuals. Locally, the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes have steadily increased over the last five years in Seattle, with targeted acts of violence against AAPI individuals and businesses.
As a first-generation Filipina woman with AAPI friends and family across the country, learning about these racist injustices causes me anguish as I fear for the safety and security of my loved ones. However, I believe there is more good than evil in this world, and that it’s going to take all of us who believe the same thing to actively stay aware, support, and advocate for any marginalized communities, if we want to make lasting change.
An empowering way to support our AAPI friends, family, and neighbors is to frequent their businesses so their families, and broader communities, can thrive. When asked to share their favorite local AAPI-owned businesses, the employees of Johnston Architects responded with so many great recommendations that we decided to it break down into three parts. Today we’re focusing on only handful of the artists and designers who bring cultural diversity, and their unique perspectives as makers, to the greater Seattle area.
ARTISTS & DESIGNERS
CERAMICS Ceremony / Stephanie Hsie & Karen Chung
Making up 2/3 of the founding partners, Hsie and Chung met while taking a pottery class at a community center ceramics studio. Their first partnership was a hand-thrown ceramic teacup in class, ultimately incepting their studio, Ceremony. JA Partner Jack is a fan of Ceremony’s work not only because he’s a former colleague of Hsie, but for their playful illustrations paired with the simple ceramic forms. While away from their studio throughout the month of May, you can ogle the charming ceramics on their Instagram page!
IMAGE CREDIT: Ceremony’s Website
PERFORMANCE Mak Fai Lion Dance Team
Preserving the Chinese tradition of lion dancing in the Puget Sound region, Mak Fai aims to enrich and promote this customary dance by teaching it to younger generations in the community. The strength and stamina expressed by these dancers is truly admirable, and if you haven’t seen a traditional lion or dragon dance before, check out this performance from a restaurant opening in Seattle’s Chinatown in March of 2021. The Mak Fai Lion Dance Team can be hired for all types of occasions, so keep them in mind for your future celebrations! (And some of them are JA Principal Cindy’s cousins!)
iMAGE cREDIT: eRIKA sCHULZ / THE SEATTLE tIMES
PAINTER Nikita Ares
Discovering the work of Nikita Ares was by chance. I attended a People’s State of the Nation Address organized by the Malaya Movement last summer, and was handed a pamphlet by one of the organizers, that Ares designed the artwork for about supporting the Philippine Human Rights Act. They suggested to follow the young artist on Instagram, where I instantly become a fan of the energetic and joyful work! An immigrant from Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, Ares was recently featured in an exhibit at the Museum of Museums and will be a guest speaker on King County TV’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month’s Live Broadcast on Friday, May 21st at 1:00 pm.
FLORIST Blue Poppy Floral / Diep Shippen
If quarantine turned you into a full-fledged plant parent, then you’re welcome in advance for introducing you to this shop! Led by a mother-daughter duo, Diep and daughter Audrey, Blue Poppy specializes in floral arrangements for all occasions and carries a lovely selection of house plants, too. Diep, the shop’s floral artist, acquired an affinity for flowers and lush foliage as a young child growing up on the coast of Vietnam, and fulfilled her dream to share this art by owning her own floral design business. Before heading to their Wedgewood neighborhood shop, make sure to stop by their Instagram page for a bloom of inspiration.
iMAGE cREDIT: wING lUKE mUSEUM
MUSEUM Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific Experience
Named for Wing Luke, the first Asian-American (and person of color, for that matter) on the Seattle City Council, this is the only community-based museum in the United States that is solely dedicated to the history of pan-Asian Pacific Americans and became a National Park Service affiliated area in 2013. The museum lives in a historic building built by Chinese immigrants in 1910 in Seattle’s Chinatown neighborhood and provides a glimpse into the AAPI experience through authentic storytelling from Asian pioneers to accomplished works by Asian Pacific American artists. Current exhibits include Where Beauty Lies, I Am Filipino, and Vietnam in the Rearview Mirror, and is running limited hours Friday-Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
TATTOO ARTIST David Basia
JA Designer Sarah wears a 3/4 sleeve tattoo, completed in five sessions, from this incredibly talented artist, and once you’ve seen Baia’s work, you’ll understand why! He pays fine attention to detail with a light handed-touch that translates into delicate, yet dynamic pieces of permanent wearable art. You can find David at the shop he co-owns with his brother-in-law, The Needle Lounge, in Lakewood, Washington.
iMAGE cREDIT: sARAH’s PERSONAL pHOTO, David Basia Tattoo