Finding Identity: Heritage as Inspiration

Aimee Lee, Sage, Ink on hanji, thread, 2017 

Chi Wong, Boiling Noodles, Watercolor, gouache,
acrylic ink on cold press paper, 2020

Jordan Wong, Tao, Industrial print on DIBOND, 2023

The term Asian American often elicits a singular image whether in popular culture or in the media landscape.  The concept of “Asia” tends to find itself simplified without any distinction between the many varied cultures, languages, and people that make up the region.

In Finding Identity: Heritage as Inspiration, three Asian American artists, Aimee Lee, Chi Wong, and Jordan Wong, share artwork that shows the different ways one’s unique Asian American experience can be brought to life.  Drawing inspiration from various places and ideas such as the bustling crowds of Chinatown, and the pop culture influences of manga and video games, to the more traditional craft of Korean papermaking, the artwork illustrates that being Asian American is not a singular experience, but one that is varied through heritage, personal experience, and time to define one’s unique identity.

We invite the visitor to both engage with the big picture as well as take time to look at the details and see commonalities as well as differences between the artwork and the cultures that inspired their creation, and leave with a more nuanced idea of what it means to be Asian American in today’s society.

—Tim Arai, Guest Curator

This exhibition is held in conjunction with the NEA Big Read. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. For a complete listing of NEA Big Read exhibitions and programs in Massillon, Stark County, and beyond, visit www.MassillonMuseum.org/BigRead.