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Hosted by Celebrate Hmong
A Collaboration of Hmong Artists
SOUTHEAST ASIAN LEGACY
May 11, 2024 - June 02, 2024
about the exhibition
on view: may 11 - june 02
Established in 2018, Celebrate Hmong’s mission is to create a space where we can connect with aspiring, emerging, and established creators to inspire each other through visual art, literary art, performing arts, and film. By creating a cultural ecosystem of discovery, mentorship, and community sponsored funding for aspiring, emerging, and established creators, our hope is to create a platform that empowers future generations to come.
"Southeast Asian Legacy" aligns with our ethos of the transformative power of storytelling. The works featured are more than narratives; they are beacons of hope and change, inviting us to think, empathize, and act. We believe that these stories and works are essential for understanding our past, shaping our present, and envisioning our future.
We invite you to embark on this journey with us, to reflect on the works, and perhaps see reflections of your own story within these works. Not just a source of entertainment but a catalyst for thought, discussion, and inspiration.
Make sure to pick up our companion magazine featuring more works, interviews, and a full graphic novel at XIA Gallery & Cafe or online at our website at https://www.celebratehmong.com
about the
exhibition
on view: may 11 - june 02
Established in 2018, Celebrate Hmong’s mission is to create a space where we can connect with aspiring, emerging, and established creators to inspire each other through visual art, literary art, performing arts, and film. By creating a cultural ecosystem of discovery, mentorship, and community sponsored funding for aspiring, emerging, and established creators, our hope is to create a platform that empowers future generations to come.
"Southeast Asian Legacy" aligns with our ethos of the transformative power of storytelling. The works featured are more than narratives; they are beacons of hope and change, inviting us to think, empathize, and act. We believe that these stories and works are essential for understanding our past, shaping our present, and envisioning our future.
We invite you to embark on this journey with us, to reflect on the works, and perhaps see reflections of your own story within these works. Not just a source of entertainment but a catalyst for thought, discussion, and inspiration.
Make sure to pick up our companion magazine featuring more works, interviews, and a full graphic novel at XIA Gallery & Cafe or online at our website at https://www.celebratehmong.com
upcoming events
events &
creative
workshops
Saturday, February 16th, 2024
@6PM - 9PM
Opening Reception of Exhibition
Located at XIA Gallery & Cafe
Come celebrate the exhibition and celebrate Lunar New Year with the 12 artists. Come meet and learn about their creative works.
There will be a live performance by Phoenix Chinese Dance Academy and light food will be served.
Exhibition Reception
Saturday, May 11th, 2024 @12PM - 5PM
Located at XIA Gallery & Cafe
Celebrate the opening exhibition with us and enjoy the arts & crafts fair! We'll have local Hmong vendors selling unique and authentic handmade crafts.
Opening Ceremony
Saturday, May 11th, 2024 @5PM - 8PM
Located at XIA Gallery & Cafe
In the evening, we will host the opening ceremony in celebration of the exhibition with community performances, a short film showcase, and an artist Q&A starting at 5 PM.
"Prepare to witness the incredible talent of the rising tide of Hmong creatives. "
- Celebrate Hmong
meet the artists
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Angel Lee Yang
Visual Arts
Angel Lee Yang, a Minnesotan-based graphic designer, is known for her surreal digital drawings and collages that unveil daunting graphics of grievance and the Hmong culture. Her use of visual symbolisms, saturated colors, textures, and layered blending modes in Photoshop and Procreate allow Angel to manipulate her own creative world.
Choua Yang
Literary Arts
Choua Yang is a Hmong American multi-media artist living in Minnesota. She enjoys hiking and sleeping, but her true interests lie in exploring how people occupy spaces between one another in her writing (metaphysical spaces as opposed to physical space). Her work has also appeared in Hmong Museum’s Digital Zine Hmong American Experiences During the Pandemic. Currently, she is working on a script that explores the fun, light-hearted parts of sisterhood and sibling relationships.
Elizabeth Lo
Visual Arts
Elizabeth Lo is a Hmong-American artist based in Northern California. Lo is an alumnus from California State University, Chico and graduated in Fall of 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art Studio. What drives Lo’s body of artwork is the passion for voice. Lo’s art displays different identities that she has learned to embrace throughout her life.
izy
Visual Arts
Asleep by day, Artist by night: Izy is a queer, transgender Hmong-American freelance artist and comic creator. His webcomic, REEDS, is a magical LGBTQ+ action-adventure that combines elements of Hmong culture with the excitement and grandeur of high-fantasy Asian costume dramas. In the little spare time he has, he likes playing video games, admiring miniatures, and taking countless photos of his three cats.
Justin Y. Yang
Visual Arts
Justin Y. Yang is an interdisciplinary artist from North Carolina. His work is influenced by popular culture and often contains supporting underlying narratives. He also makes work that is related to his heritage to help him reconnect with the detachment that he has from it.
Mina Lor Gibes
Visual Arts
Mina Lor Gibes is from St. Paul, Minnesota. She is currently in medical school, but she always makes room for her creative endeavors. She has a strong passion for illustrating and expressing the richness of her Hmong culture through various art styles. It brings her immense joy to breathe life into her heritage through vibrant colors and captivating designs. Mina makes prints of her art and custom pieces for clients.
Ngianhormua Yang
Visual Arts
Ngianhormua, who is called Rich by his colleagues, had always nurtured a deep longing to craft worlds, weave narratives, and bring to life the vivid imagery thriving within the recesses of his mind. With a BFA in Illustration from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan, and an MFA in Illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, he has realized those childhood aspirations. Presently, he holds positions as an Adjunct Professor at the College for Creative Studies and as a full-time Instructor at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. In these roles, he imparts knowledge in digital painting, drawing, and concept art to aspiring artists and designers.
Pader Xiong
Literary Arts
Pader Xiong is an emerging Hmong American artist based in Milwaukee. She works across various mediums such as film, collage, printmaking, zines, and other multimedia forms to experiment and discover the best channel of expression to affirm her vision. The foundation of Pader’s work stems from herself and the complexities of identities which entails relationships, values, spaces, and experiences. She creates in order to satisfy the body and mind, to represent and take space, and to challenge conformity
Rosanna Yang
Visual Arts
Rosanna Yang is a Milwaukee-based Potter, specializing in playing with mud. Since she was a child, she has always loved art and knew she was meant to do something with her hands. Her creative journey led her into the world of pottery and ceramics. What started out with hand-building ended with wheel-throwing classes that developed her passion for clay. Rosanna’s pieces are often inspired by her Hmong heritage and her love for pop culture. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching anime/movies, and playing games with her husband and family.
Txhee Belinda Xiong
Literary Arts
Txhee Belinda Xiong is a Hmong-American female artist in the Twin Cities. She graduated from St. Catherine University with a B.A. in English, Creative Writing and a minor in Women in the Arts. She has worked as a writer for the community newspaper, Hmong Pages, as well as published an article on MNopedia, an online encyclopedia by the Minnesota History Center. Other publications include the Ariston and Hmong Museum 2022 Digital Zine. Among other projects, she spends time writing screenplays and working on short films with friends and the APIA Film Collective. She is currently a recipient of the MSAB 2023 Creative Support for Individuals grant for her upcoming memoir.
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Tou Yia Xiong
Visual Arts
Tou Yia Xiong is an illustrator from Brooklyn, NY, with Minnesota and Wisconsin ties. His work is inspired by nature, sports, urban design, inclusion, and his Hmong roots. He explores these themes through his distinct geometric style, which is defined by fragmented shapes, high contrast, minimal text, and a very playful approach to perspective. His illustrations often blur the line between digital and analog processes by using organic shapes and nuanced textures that have a handmade feel.
Xai S. Lor
Visual Arts
Xai S. Lor was born a refugee in Thailand, emigrated as a young child to the United States, and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is a contemporary artist, working primarily in painting and drawing. The colors in his paintings are influenced by the bright colors in Paj Ntaub (Flower Cloth), a type of artistic expression from his community. His painting has been shown at various museums and galleries. He earned degrees from the University of North Dakota, the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and two other colleges. He has taught Drawing at the University of North Dakota. Lor is currently teaching Drawing at Dunwoody College of Technology as an Adjunct Instructor.
Xia Xiong
Literary Arts
Xia is a Hmong creative from the Twin Cities Metro area. She enjoys drawing, painting, doodling, stitching, journaling, creating and imagining a better world where love is centered. She is passionate about working with marginalized communities, including her own Hmong community. In her free time, she enjoys quality time with friends and family, staying engaged in the community by attending public events, and supporting local businesses and spaces.
arts & media magazine
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Celebrate Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA Gallery & Cafe)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang
Celebrat Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA Gallery & Cafe)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang
Celebrat Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA Gallery & Cafe)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang
Celebrat Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA Gallery & Cafe)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang
Celebrate Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang
Celebrat Hmong's 2023 Magazine
$20.00 (pre-order)
$15.00 (in store at XIA Gallery & Cafe)
Welcome to [the 2023] edition of our magazine, a vibrant canvas where diverse stories from the arts and culture converge to inspire and enlighten. As you turn these pages, you'll find yourself immersed in a world where the lines between imagination and relity blur, challenging the status quo and enriching our cultural tapestry with diverse voices.
Cover Illustrated by Angel Yang