Around the Community | Jade Wave Rising (part of USAAF 2023)

Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) present the multidisciplinary art exhibition Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power, as part of the 26th annual United States of Asian America Festival opening on April 27, 2023, taking place at SOMArts Cultural Center’s Main Gallery. The opening reception takes place Thursday, April 27 at 6pm, followed by a community art workshop and gallery walk-through led by curator Yeu Q Nguyen on Sunday, April 30, and a closing event on Sunday, May 21.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

What is power? Who wields it? How can it be owned, contested, and exercised? For Asian women whose embodiment of power has culturally been limited to either Dragon Lady, Lotus Blossom or Tiger Mom, these questions are ever more prevalent. The true definition of power remains elusive and open to inquiry.

Jade Wave Rising: Portraits of Power celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander woman agency and resilience in a multitude of manifestations. Jade is a rare mineral imbued with different metaphysical and cultural meanings, used since prehistoric times to adorn objects associated with power such as ceremonial daggers, jewelry, and crowns. Using jade as an allusion to more diverse definitions of power, the exhibition pays homage to overlooked figures in our history and establishes new legacies of leadership for a more equitable future for AAPI women everywhere.