Gathering - Live and Virtual Community Tour

Co-curators Cecile Chong and Sophia Ma are proud to present Gathering, an exhibition highlighting the relationships between forty-five Asianish artist members and their works at Tiger Strikes Asteroid–New York (TSA-NY) in Bushwick (Sat, June 24-Sun, July 30, 2023) and FiveMyles in Crown Heights (Sat, July 8-Sun, August 13, 2023).

In March 2018, Sara Jimenez, Maia Cruz Palileo, Gabriel de Guzman, and Cecile Chong formed Asianish. The idea of the group came out of their experience after participating in the NYC Creative Salon around the theme “identity.” The group is interested in informally sharing and discussing the nuanced and complex Asian identities and experiences in the US art world. The group holds space for these hybridized “Asian-ish” identities that are unique and specific to each member. The community continues to grow and recognize each other as a resource for growth, strength, and wisdom. As of May 2023, the group has 163 members.

Ma leads the community tour on Saturday, July 15, from 2-3pm at FiveMyles. The live stream and in-person tour centers on the theme of gathering as a community and how the works in the show highlight this essential component of the Asianish group.

The exhibition is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) and the Asian Women Giving Circle, a donor-advised fund of the Ms. Foundation for Women. Tiger Strikes Asteroid’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The co-curators thank the staff of FiveMyles and the artist members of Tiger Strikes Asteroid for their efforts.

Please contact asianishexhibition2023@gmail.com for press inquiries.
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Curator Biography
Sophia Ma is an independent curator and writer. Ma completed her master’s in art history and curatorial studies from Hunter College, CUNY, Fall 2020. Her thesis was on the relationship between the work and spiritual practices of the abstract painter Bernice Lee Bing (1936-1998). Ma also curated for Project Art Distribution’s five-year traveling retrospective exhibition of 200 artists and 400 artworks from Walter Elwood Museum to St. John’s University’s Yeh Art Gallery. Her solo projects include the curation of Alison Kuo’s “We Will Meet Again” at Think!Chinatown. She conducted studio visits with the residents of the International Studio & Curatorial Program, Parsons New School, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, and Residency Unlimited. Ma has written for multiple online art publications, including The Brooklyn Rail, Art Papers, Hyperallergic, Art Spiel, Arte Fuse, and White Hot Magazine. Ma currently coordinates the Storefront for Ideas for Immigrant Social Services, a unique cultural space focused on the well-being of community members in Chinatown and the Lower East Side.